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. Henri Richard Canadiens Jersey . 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? Guy Lapointe Jersey . - Their offence is underperforming. Carey Price Jersey . Those who impressed in each of the three events were asked to attend the main CFL Combine which begins Friday in Toronto. NEW YORK -- Falling a game short of the NBA Finals last season, the clear goal for the Indiana Pacers is the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the home-court advantage that comes with it. Keep this up, and they will have the best record in the whole league. Paul George scored 24 points and the Pacers improved the NBAs only undefeated record and the best start in franchise history to 7-0 by beating the Brooklyn Nets 96-91 Saturday night. David West added 18 points and hit the clinching free throws for the Pacers, who won their first six games in 1970-71, when they played in the ABA. They have the longest winning streak to open an NBA season since both the Lakers and New Orleans were 8-0 in 2010-11, according to STATS. "I really dont get too caught up in the historical value of it, other than were ahead of the race," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Were trying to get the 1 seed to put ourselves in the position come playoff time with the best chance to come out of the East." Roy Hibbert finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Lance Stephenson also scored 15 points. "We executed. Thats the maturity for this team," George said. "Years ago we would have lost that game. We would have lost this game tonight just on not making shots and not executing and getting guys in spots to be aggressive at. But were growing as a team. Were getting mature and were finding ways to win games." Deron Williams and Joe Johnson each had 17 points for the Nets, who fell to 2-4 and lost at home for the first time this season. Brook Lopez scored 16 and Paul Pierce had 15. "Were just learning to play together. We didnt have everybody healthy for training camp and were all coming together and trying to win a championship and it doesnt happen overnight," said Williams, who added 10 assists but had a costly late turnover and committed what he called a "stupid" foul on George Hills 3-point attempt down the stretch. "Were not panicking, we know its going to come together, were confident that we can overcome these little struggles and were going to sstay together no matter whats happening on the outside. Howie Morenz Jersey. " Brooklyn trailed by 10 midway through the fourth quarter, but got a 3-pointer from Pierce that bounced on the rim at least four times in a spurt that cut it to 94-91, and they got the ball back after George threw away a pass with 20 seconds left. But Johnson was just long on a 3-point attempt with about 11 seconds to go and West grabbed the rebound and hit both free throws after being fouled. Vogel said the Pacers have made winning the East their priority after they lost Game 7 of the East finals on the road in Miami. The quick start has them well on their way. "Were just going out, playing the game," George said. "We feel very prepped for the game. Everybody is dialed in. Were not worried about keeping the streak alive, were just worried about going out there and playing our hardest and winning a ballgame." Indiana beat Chicago and Brooklyn, two of the top teams in the East, this week. The Pacers brought back their starting five and improved their bench, realizing that gives them an early advantage over teams like the Bulls and Nets that made changes since last season. "Cant take nothing away from Indiana. Theyre a pretty good team right now and were still a team thats kind of learning on the fly in game-time situations," Johnson said. The Pacers opened an early nine-point lead that the Nets wiped away thanks to a strong performance by their reserves. Brooklyn already had nine players score midway through the second quarter and took a 46-44 lead into halftime after Lopezs jumper with 11 seconds left. Indiana, which has trailed at halftime in six of its seven games, then outscored Brooklyn 28-21 in the third quarter. The Nets were without reserve Andrei Kirilenko, who has battled back spasms this season and woke up hurting Saturday. NOTES: Pacers president Larry Bird was in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, where Indiana State unveiled a statue in his likeness before its season-opening game. Bird led the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA championship game. ... Indiana snapped a four-game losing streak against the Nets. ' ' '