TORONTO - The Raptors have won seven of eight games, with just four remaining on the docket before the playoffs begin, but their head coach has been reluctant to celebrate his teams bittersweet late-season success. OG Anunoby Raptors Jersey . Thanks in large part to a soft schedule and their improved efficiency on offence, they are finding ways to pull out games that they have probably deserved to lose. In that way, progress has been made, as Raptor teams of the past would universally find creative and increasingly frustrating ways to squander winnable games. The red flag is routed in their recent slippage on defence, Dwane Caseys bread and butter. With the postseason around the corner, Casey knows that mental and physical toughness is about to become more important than ever. He cant help but be concerned with what hes seen. "If we havent taught defence by now we shouldnt be coaching," he said following a Thursday afternoon practice session. "Its a mindset right now, its a focus. Its this time of year throughout the league, its an epidemic." Over the last two games, Toronto has allowed Milwaukee and Philadelphia - the NBAs two worst clubs - to score 212 points combined, shooting exactly 50 per cent from the field, with each team exceeding 60 points in the painted area. On the season, the Raptors are surrendering 102.0 points per 100 possessions, the eighth-best mark in the association. Since Mar. 25 - a span in which theyve played nine games, six against sub-.500 competition - that number has ballooned to 107.2, ranking 17th, below league average. Offensively, theyve picked up the slack. Over that same stretch of nine games, the Raptors have scored 4.1 points more per 100 possessions than their regular season mark. Simply put, their shots are falling. Theyve connected on 44 per cent of their three-point attempts in the last four contests. That said, theyve made it this far with their commitment to defence. Thats what Casey knows, thats what he preaches and for whatever reason, his team has struggled to regain their identity at the most inconvenient time of the year. "Weve just got to get back on track," DeMar DeRozan said, following Torontos 125-114 win over the lowly 76ers on Wednesday. "Weve got to get out of whatever were not doing on the defensive end before the playoffs start. Just clean that up and use the next four games for that. Understand what were not doing and get back to the basics of what got us to this point." "We saw it on film, we showed the film, we talked about it, went through it this morning," Casey added the next day. "Its something thats going to have to be internal. Guys have to decide individually, Imma guard my yard and Im not going to let a guy blow by me." For the most part thats been the most glaring issue, containing speed and quickness on the perimeter, something the Raptors have been burned by consistently throughout the latter part of the season. Its easy to look at the 126 points Toronto has given up in the paint over the past two games and assign blame to the teams interior players but most of those buckets have come as a result of blow-bys and mental lapses on the perimeter. "Its a lot of things that factor into it and weve got to understand and learn that weve got to bring the same effort and focus every night," Casey said. "Its not something you teach. I mean, were not going to change defensive fundamentals. You cant drill it, its too physical. So its a mindset of understanding where we are in the season and understanding what were playing for." "Its not a lack of energy. Guys are playing hard, were just not focused on what we need to do and what were trying to do scheme-wise and playing smart." Surely some of the drop off can be attributed to injuries and having to shift rotations. Kyle Lowry returned to the court Wednesday after a three-game absence with a knee injury while Amir Johnson, the teams most valuable help defender, has missed most of the last four contests nursing his sore ankle. Johnson participated in a light practice Thursday and is nearing a return to game action, though the coaching staff will be cautious with his playing time when he is able to suit up, as early as Friday at home to the Knicks. "Its a day-to-day thing," Casey said of Johnsons status. "He probably could have went [Wednesday] night if it was totally needed but we need to get him healthy." With or without Johnson, the Raptors will be pursuing history when they host New York Friday evening. With a win, or Nets loss - theyre at home to Atlanta - Toronto would clinch its second division title in franchise history, while also matching a team record for most victories in a season with their 47th. Theyll also have an opportunity to go 15 games above the .500 mark for the first time in their 19-year existence. "That would definitely be an accomplishment," Johnson admitted, "but our main focus is just going game-by-game until we get to the top and then we can celebrate all our accomplishments." Meanwhile, the Knicks are a desperate team, sitting two games behind the Hawks for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Well rested after four days off, they could present a challenge for Toronto and its ailing defence. "We expect nothing but theyre best shot," Casey said. "Theyre going to come out guns blazing, playing hard, as we should after our defensive performance [Wednesday] night. So I expect both teams to come out, I think itll be a hard fought game but weve got to play hard and smart." DeRozan and Lowry are also chasing history as their career seasons come to a close. Lowry needs just one three-pointer to tie Morris Petersons single season franchise record, previously set in the 2005-06 campaign, while DeRozan is 10 made free throws away from matching Chris Boshs mark of 504 from 2008-09. Toronto Raptors Jerseys . - UFC 178, previously announced for Sept. Kyle Lowry Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4) – He had a strong game Sunday; was very good in tight with big saves on Crosby, Malkin and Neal in-crease. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-Jodie-Meeks-Jersey/ . Rob Klinkhammer and Mikkel Boedker scored 63 seconds apart in the first period for the Coyotes, who handed the Kings their third straight loss and took over sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. Mike Smith made 36 saves.With just two teams left vying for the Stanley Cup, one question remains to be answered; will the experienced Los Angeles Kings win their second championship in three years, or will the underdog New York Rangers end their 20-year Stanley Cup drought? The Kings hold the advantage in experience between the two teams, returning to the Final after winning it all in 2012. Conversely, the Rangers find themselves in the Cup final for the first time since the team last won the Stanley Cup in 1994, when Mark Messier captained the team. The Rangers understand the Kings enter this series as the favourite, but plan to approach this series the same way the team approached their previous three. "Throughout these playoffs, and its not going to change now, weve been the underdog," Rangers coach Alan Vigneault said on Monday. "But what weve done is focus on how we play and what we need to do on the ice." The Rangers enter the series as the slightly more rested team after defeating the Montreal Canadiens in six games after taking their previous two series to Game 7. The Kings, meanwhile, enter the Final after becoming the first team in NHL history to win three straight Game 7s on the road. For the first time in these playoffs, the Kings go into a series with home-ice advantage. One matchup that could be a determining factor has Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist going up against the explosive offence of the Kings. The Rangers have used strong goaltending from Lundqvist throughout the playoffs to reach the Stanley Cup Final. The 32-year-old posted a 2.03 goals against average and a .928 save percentage through the first three playoff rounds. The Kings offence has benefited from a wealth of players scoring points in order to return to the Final. Serge Ibaka Raptors Jersey. Six Kings have more points in these playoffs than the Rangers leading scorer, Martin St. Louis. Anze Kopitar leads the playoff in scoring with 24 points, and assists with 19. Linemate Marion Gaborik enters the series having scored more goals (12) than anyone else in the first three rounds. Teammate Jeff Carter is second with nine, while Justin Williams and Tyler Toffoli each have seven goals. For the Rangers, St. Louis has six goals and seven assists in the playoffs. St. Louis has been the emotional leader of the Rangers as the team has rallied around the veteran since the sudden passing of his mother during their second round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers will try to help Lundqvist by finding ways to score on Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, who has posted a 2.86 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 21 playoff games leading to the Final. Quick, however, has experience playing in the Cup final and stopped 125 of the 132 shots he faced against the New Jersey Devils in 2012 en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy. Overall, the Kings and Rangers used different strategies to reach the Final. The Kings outscored their opponents 73-60 in the first three rounds, while the Rangers outscored their opponents 54-45. Will the Kings cruise on the strength of their offence and goaltending to win their second Stanley Cup in three years? Or will Lundqvist continue his playoff dominance and lead the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup victory in 20 years? As always, its Your! Call. ' ' '