TORONTO - Over a dozen cameras and upwards of 30 reporters gathered in the hallway on the third floor of the Air Canada Centre, jockeying for position outside the Raptors practice facility Tuesday afternoon. No, they were not staking out a spot for the playoffs, now 11 days away. They were not there to take in the teams final scheduled regular season practice. They were not on hand to inquire about the injured Kyle Lowry or Amir Johnson, both of whom had returned to the court. The gravity of Jonas Valanciunas drunk driving charge and arrest had transcended basketball, it was bigger than sport. It was news, and rightfully so. The Raptors starting centre was arrested early Monday morning for impaired driving in Wasaga Beach - roughly two hours north of Toronto - where he spent Sunday evening visiting friends. Valanciunas did not speak to the media Tuesday, as he had not yet met with his legal representatives, but those that did - GM Masai Ujiri, coach Dwane Casey and a couple of his veteran teammates - said all the right things. Understanding the severity of the 21-year-olds poor judgment, the organization made their message clear. Without condoning his actions, they stood united in support of their youngest player. "Like I told him, Im upset with him and disappointed in him but hes mine," said Casey. "So we love him." "He made a mistake, like any other young man has probably done before. We all make mistakes and its what we do after it [that] is how were going to be judged." The news of his arrest was surprising to those within the organization. Coaches, teammates and even fans have come to know the wide-eyed sophomore for his sincere, albeit quirky personality. Mondays events seemed out of character, to say the least. "Hes a great person, great kid," said Ujiri, maintaining Valanciunas hasnt, to his knowledge had prior plights with excessive alcohol use or bad decision making. "Weve never had any issues here with him, thats the honest truth." Valanciunas met with Ujiri for an hour on Monday. The following morning he sat down with Tim Leiweke and Larry Tanenbaum before addressing his coaches and teammates ahead of practice. "He sat in my office there yesterday," said the Raptors GM. "He knew, face in his hands, that he was sorry about it." "Hes very apologetic," Lowry echoed. "I mean hes sick right now. Hes really hurt by it, hes really embarrassed by it [and] very disappointed in himself. I can tell you that for sure." Per NBA policy, no punishment - from the league or the team - can be handed down until the legal process plays out. Although the Raptors are unlikely to issue any supplementary discipline, the league will come down on Valanciunas with a suspension - of likely two games - when and if hes convicted or theres a plea of guilt. The ramifications for Valanciunas - the player - are modest. Hell continue to play. Any suspension he faces wont take into effect until the beginning of next season, at the earliest. He will not be required to attend his initial court date on Apr. 22, shortly after the Raptors begin their first-round playoff series. Hes been enjoying one of the best stretches of his career and theres no reason why that shouldnt continue, assuming he can stave off the legal distractions that are likely to ensure. For Valanciunas - the person - the consequences are intricate. He has some damage control, some image repair to do. Most importantly, he has some growing up to do. In the last year, his second in the NBA, weve watched Valanciunas blossom on the court, sometimes losing sight of the fact that he is also growing and learning as a young man. Valanciunas - less than a month away from his 22nd birthday - made a mistake, a stupid one. Thankfully no one was hurt as a result. Given what we know about the young seven-footer its not hard to believe that the apology he made to his team, to his coaches, to the organization and fans was a sincere one. Some athletes, upon putting themselves in a similar predicament, have apologized mostly for being caught, which doesnt seem to be the case for a remorseful Valanciunas. What many of those other athletes havent had is the support system the Raptors can offer their young centre. Both Casey and Ujiri have positioned themselves as mentors and father figures, not only for Valanciunas but for all their players, while the teams locker room is filled with positive influences who have already begun to steer the sophomore in the right direction. "Be smart," Casey told him. "We all have to be smart. All of us have to be smart in what we do, how we carry ourselves off the floor, where we are [and] who we hang out with." "I talked to him and I made him understand that the things he did were wrong," Lowry said. "He just has to suffer the consequences that come with that." "Its unfortunate that it happened to such a good kid in JV," the 28-year-old point guard continued, "but it happened. Hes 21, hes going to learn from it and Im sure hes never going to make that mistake again." Ultimately, thats the true test, as Casey wisely pointed out. How does he learn from Mondays incident? Will he grow as a result of it? He made a mistake. What does he do next? Maurice Cheeks Jersey . -- Mississippi State was crushed twice by Florida last season, once by 35 points and the other by 25. Amir Johnson Jersey .Y. - For once, Clayton Kershaw was glad to see a long shutout streak end. http://www.76ersprostore.com/Cheap-Jj-Redick-76ers-Jersey/. Zdeno Chara scored with 13 seconds left in regulation after David Krejci tied it late, lifting the Bruins to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night in a game that saw Orpik taken from the ice on a stretcher. Dana Barros Jersey . -- Adam Tambellini scored three times and set up one more as the Calgary Hitmen won their sixth in a row by crushing the host Lethbridge Hurricanes 8-1 on Saturday in Western Hockey League play. Ben Simmons Jersey .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday.A potent offence is one reason why the Toronto Raptors own the best record in the Eastern Conference. With a second straight meeting against a fellow division leader looming, the Raptors will try to bounce back from their worst offensive showing of the season Monday night against the Denver Nuggets.Their last game, though, didnt do anything to reinforce that belief. Toronto (15-5) has only averaged 100 points or more in four of its first 19 seasons, but its in very good shape to push that number to five. The Raptors rank second in the NBA, averaging 108.8 points per game, 4.7 higher than the franchise record set in 2009-10. You can catch all the action live on TSN2 at 7PM et / 4PM pt. They werent anywhere near that impressive Friday, shooting 40.7 percent from the field in a 105-91 loss to Central Division-leading Cleveland in their lowest scoring effort of the season. We were just missing shots, guard Kyle Lowry told the teams official website after scoring 22 points while making 7 of 18 from the field. I dont think theres anything we couldve done differently. (Greivis Vasquez) had a rough night, I had a rough night. The only ones who shot over 50 per cent I think were (James Johnson) and Amir (Johnson). Facing the Nuggets could help the Raptors get their offense back on track since Denver is one of the leagues worst defensive teams, allowing an average of 105.5 points.Toronto will get a chance to avenge that defeat to the Cavaliers on Tuesday, but will first try to avoid overlooking Denver (9-11). Toronto, thouggh, has dropped three of five games, splitting four without DeMar DeRozan, who is out with a torn left abductor.dddddddddddd The guard is second on the team with 19.4 points per game, trailing only Lowry (20.7). Lowry is scoring 28.4 over the past five games, but hes been held to 16.3 while making 35.7 percent from the field in the last four meetings with Denver. The Raptors split last seasons two meetings with the Nuggets, with the road team winning both. Denver has won seven of 10 at Toronto, but enters this one on a three-game slide following a 7-1 stretch. The Nuggets opened this three-game trip with a 119-89 defeat at Washington on Friday, and followed it up by falling 96-84 at Atlanta two days later. Theyre shooting a woeful 37.1 percent from the floor, including 11 for 57 from 3-point range over the past two games. However, a slew of injuries arent helping. Denver was without Kenneth Faried (back), Nate Robinson (back) and JaVale McGee (leg) on Sunday, leading to a season low point total. Were down 10 guys, coach Brian Shaw said. Guys have an opportunity to play, so they have to take advantage of those minutes. Guys have to step up. The most likely to return is Faried, who is averaging 13.4 points and 9.2 rebounds in five career meetings with Toronto. Ty Lawson has 22.0 points per game over his last five matchups with the Raptors, but Denver only needed 16 from him in a 112-98 road win Dec. 1, 2013. 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