TORONTO - For months weve been hearing all about their impossibly difficult early-season schedule. Jason Hammel Jersey . Through 34 contests, the Raptors have had the most difficult slate of games in the Eastern Conference, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Theyve played 19 on the road and 16 against winning teams, both tied for most in the East. They have seen both conference finalists, Miami and Indiana three times. In spite of it all, Toronto is right where Dwane Casey had cautiously hoped they would be; at sea level. "These five games are a crucial stretch of games here at home for us," Casey said ahead of Wednesdays 112-91 victory over the Pistons, a win that got Toronto back to the .500 mark. "Its a very crucial time." Following another daunting road trip, capped off by disappointing but expected losses to the Heat and Pacers, the Raptors schedule finally begins to ease up. Wednesdays meeting with Detroit was the first of four straight against losing teams. Four of their next five are at home and only two of the remaining 12 contests in January come against opponents that went into Wednesdays games with winning records. Casey had spoken about using recent tests against the leagues best as a measuring stick for his emerging team but these upcoming few weeks may tell him more about where they stack up in the Eastern Conference. They must continue to win the games they should. Taking care of the Pistons, one of the Easts talented disasters, was a promising first step. Toronto coughed up an 11-point second-quarter lead in what turned out to be an ugly opening half for both teams. DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson combined to shoot 0-of-16 while the team was outscored by 16 points in the paint, outworked by another physical frontline. Lucky to be down only four at the break, the Raptors adjusted going into the second half, where they outscored the visitors 62-37. "We pretty much said, this is a must-win game," Johnson maintained. "We have to go out and take it and we did that." Although they shot just 41 per cent from the field, the Raptors knocked down 11 three-pointers, including five from Terrence Ross, who had 17 points on the night. Toronto improved to 8-2 on the season when connecting on 10 or more three-balls. Kyle Lowry led the team in scoring with 21 to go along with nine assists, Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas both added double-doubles and DeRozan finished with 19 points, 13 of which came from the free throw line. "We knew it was going to be a grind it out game and thats something were learning to do," Casey added. "Theres no pretty games in the NBA, its a mans league," he continued. "To win in this league, to win in the Eastern Conference especially - I found out in my three years in it - its a mans [conference]. Its a hit, knockdown, drag out [conference] and the strong survive. Were learning how to do that." The Raptors were a different team coming out of the locker room after intermission. They bested the Pistons in the paint - Detroit leads the league in that category - out-rebounded them and imposed their will on a struggling team that has now lost six in a row. After eight lead changes in the first half, there was just one in the second and it was all the Raptors needed to seize control. "Theyre must-win games," Johnson said. "Theyre all home and we need to win those games just to stay at the top of our division. Theyre must-win games and weve got to come out and play hard." With Brooklyn on deck, followed by games against the woeful Bucks and Celtics, the Raptors have to continue to do just that. Theyve got to seize this opportunity. Although Toronto is just 1-5 facing the Pacers and Heat this season, theyre 11-5 against the rest of the conference. Sitting just one game out of third place in the East - after the Horford-less Hawks upset Indiana on Wednesday - the Raptors are now in a position to validate their recent success. They can separate themselves from the heap of mediocrity theyll be facing throughout the duration of the month of they will end up blending in with them. "Theres no reason for any of us to be content or satisfied or be able to be happy about [where we are]," Casey preached. "Weve got to play like a hungry team. Weve got to continue to grow, weve got to continue to have the underdog attitude because thats where we are. " "Were nowhere near an established program. Im not kidding myself, I know what an established program is all about and were not there yet. We have a lot of growth to do with our core group of guys." George Brett Jersey .com) - The Golden State Warriors have started another winning streak and theyll try to pad it Tuesday night when they head to Staples Center to face the Los Angeles Lakers. Kelvin Herrera Jersey . The triple gold medallist from the 2010 Paralympics tweeted on Tuesday: "Woke up with a virus yesterday. Timing couldnt be much worse. Not the ideal prep for the . http://www.cheaproyalsjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-frank-white-jersey . The group of Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, & Slava Kozlov were a dominant force for The Wings at one point in the 90s.Kent, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Henrik Stenson and Patrick Reed both won on Friday, while Victor Dubuisson suffered his first loss of the week, but all three were among eight players to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Volvo World Match Play Championship. Stenson finished atop the Palmer group with five points, Reed led the way in the McCormack group with four points and Dubuisson finished tied for first in the Gabrielsson group with Pablo Larrazabal, meaning both of them advanced. Defending champion Graeme McDowell suffered his second straight loss and he was eliminated. Stenson used an eagle on the 17th hole at The London Golf Club to defeat last years runner-up Thongchai Jaidee, 2 & 1, which ousted Jaidee from the tournament. Reed came through with a 3 & 2 victory over Jamie Donaldson to advance and eliminate the Welshman. Stephen Gallacher defeated Ryder Cup teammate Dubuisson for his first win of the week, but Dubuisson stilll advanced, while Gallacher was sent packing. Cheap Royals Jerseys. . McDowell, who needed at least a halve and some help to move on, could not make the putts down the stretch as he fell 2-down to Joost Luiten, who won all three of his matches in group play. Luiten finished with six points to lead the Larson group. Jonas Blixt, George Coetzee, and Mikko Ilonen all finished second in their respective groups, earning them a trip to the quarterfinals. Blixt halved his match with Paul Casey and the duo finished tied for second in the McCormack group. Blixt went on to par the first extra hole to move on. Coetzee fell 2 & 1 to Francesco Molinari, but thanks to a halve with Stenson on the first day, Coetzee earned three points throughout the week, which was good enough to advance out of the Palmer group. Ilonen was also able to outlast Alexander Levy and his 1-up win earned him two more points for a grand total of four in the Larson group. MORE TO FOLLOW. ' ' '