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TORONTO - Its been almost a full year since Raptors forward Landry Fields underwent surgery to correct a debilitating and somewhat enigmatic injury to his right elbow; an injury that nearly turned him against the game that he loves. For Fields, the road to recovery has been a long and arduous journey, one that continues to this day as the 25-year-old prepares for his fourth NBA season and second with the Raptors. This summer was a time of reflection, a time of change in his life, both personally and professionally. Returning to play in 46 games following ulnar nerve surgery early last season, Fields battled through the aftermath of his injury, a hitch in his shot and the resulting toll it took on his confidence. He had targeted the offseason as a time of reconciliation, a time to reconstruct the shooting mechanics that had been betraying him. It turned out to be more trying than he could have anticipated. "There was a point where I was so frustrated, my dark days basketball-wise," Fields told TSN.ca in an exclusive conversation Tuesday evening. "Even in the summer there was a lot of ups and downs," he admitted. "Its just a continual process really. In my mind I thought I [would have] surgery and boom, Id be back to normal, but clearly [that] isnt the case." First and foremost, as Fields pointed out, the nerve still needed to heal and strengthen. Trying to avoid that temptation to put the cart ahead of the horse was his biggest challenge, as he juggled on-court work with the natural healing process that had to occur first. In an attempt to work around the injury and play through it last year, Fields developed some bad habits including what he called a "weird motion" in his shot. He recalled the "down periods" this summer, when he would be in the gym working tirelessly to hone in on his mechanics as he would lose the strength in his shooting elbow. The injury has forced Fields to reinvent his shot and his game while calling a few unexpected audibles along the way. He even tried to do something that is mostly unheard of at the NBA level, change shooting hands mid-career. "At that point I was like, its early in the summertime what if I just start working with my left [hand for] a couple months and see how far I can go," he said of the short-lived experiment. "It didnt really work as I excepted it. Im right handed, so I got off of that and stayed faithful to the process and what the doctors were saying." Fields was a 39 per cent three-point shooter as a rookie with the Knicks back in 2010-11, a year in which he attempted 219 triples. Last year he made just two of 14 attempts from long range. "In my mind I just wasnt playing with a full deck of cards," Fields said of his first season in Toronto. "I want[ed] to shoot it but I understood that my strength and my sensation and the sensory skills in my right hand arent nearly what they need to be so I cant really feel when Im going up for a shot." "Its almost like Im shooting a ghost ball or something," he joked. "So when thats going on, yeah youre confidence kind of dwindles. Youre like, I cant shoot right now, not because I dont want to but I literally cant. Its physical." Still not 100 per cent, Fields says he can "finally see a light at the end of the tunnel" and is ready to get back to work. Most importantly, he insists the confidence issues that plagued him last year are forever in the past. "You can tell his confidence is at a much higher level," teammate Aaron Gray said of Fields after the first couple days of camp. "He had to deal with so much last year that I hope no player has to do. Just finding your rhythm and your balance between life and basketball, its huge." Finding serenity in his private life, with a marriage and the birth of his first child, has allowed him to find that balance and put basketball in perspective. Although Steve Novak and Austin Daye will compete with Fields for minutes behind Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan at the wing positions, the presence of accomplished shooters could take the pressure off the Stanford grad. "I told him, dont even worry about his shot," said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. "Hes been working his butt off on his shot, his shot has improved but Im not even concerned about that because he brings so many other things to the table." "I think the weight of the world is off his shoulder," he continued. "Hopefully him knowing that we dont need his shooting to give us a chance to win, that takes some [pressure off]." Instead, Fields will be asked to contribute in other areas of the game, areas he has excelled at in the past, making for what should be a natural transition into his new role. At 6-7 Fields is a skilled defender that Casey has used in man coverage on the likes of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. He can handle the ball, move without it and rebound as well as anyone at his position. This will be an important season for Fields as he continues to work his way back from an injury that, at least temporarily, changed the way he approached his job. "Im just trying to go out there and really try to have fun again," he said with a smile on his face. "I think last year with the injury it took away that fun aspect for me of basketball and you never want to go to work and not have fun." "I would still work hard but [when] you dont see the kind of results that youre putting the time in to get, it really starts to play with you. So this year Im not [going] to worry about any of that, just [going to] try to go out there and play for my teammates, play for the city and really have fun with it all." Zapatillas Saucony Outlet . On Friday night, after a long rain delay, he was scratched from his scheduled start. Saucony Outlet España . -- Gary Harris gave No. http://www.baratassaucony.es/ . -- The Florida Gators are first yet again this season. Saucony Baratas Online .com) - The Los Angeles Kings werent playing their best hockey before the league went on break during the Winter Olympics. Zapatillas Saucony Rebajas . Sharper briefly appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court, where his arraignment was postponed until Feb. 20 at the request of his lawyers. They issued a statement saying he would be exonerated. Prosecutors then filed a motion to increase Sharpers bail to $10 million and outlined details of investigations involving him in Las Vegas, Tempe, Ariz. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard had 32 points and the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-97 on Sunday night. Thomas Robinson had 14 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for Portland, which won its second straight after a three-game slump. Kevin Love scored 31 for Minnesota, which had won three in a row. It was Loves franchise-best fifth straight game with 30 or more points. The Blazers played without All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed his third straight game with a groin injury. After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, Nicolas Batums fast-break layup gave Portland an 84-80 lead going into the fourth quarter. After Robinsons basket, Victor Claver dunked to extend the lead to 88-80. It was more of the same as the Blazers continued to attack. Robinson, who sparked the second-half comeback, blocked Corey Brewers shot on one end, Claver grabbed the rebound and Will Barton broke free for a dunk that gave Portland a 92-83 lead. Lillards 3-pointer made it 105-91 with 4:14 left, and Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman took Love out with 3:36 to go. The Timberwolves were coming off a 121-104 victory at Utah on Saturday night. Love led the way with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double. Love presented a significant matchup problem for the Blazers with Aldridge sidelined by a left groin strain. Aldridge, who averages a team-high 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds, is expected to be re-evaluated in the next few days. Aldridge wasnnt the only Blazer hurting: The team was also without forward Joel Freeland because of a right knee sprain and centre Meyers Leonard because of a left ankle sprain.dddddddddddd Love finished with 10 rebounds. The Timberwolves continued to miss centre Nikola Pekovic because of a sore right ankle and Kevin Martin because of a fractured bone in his left thumb. Love got off to a fast start with seven points as the Timberwolves built an early 18-9 lead. By the end of the opening quarter, Love had 13. Minnesota extended the lead to 43-28 early in the second quarter on Shabazz Muhammads short jumper. The Timberwolves stretched the lead to 52-34 after a short jumper and a pair of free throws from J.J. Barea. Portland then got back into the game with an 18-8 run capped by Robinsons two layups and Nicolas Batums 3-pointer, closing the gap to 60-52 at the half. A pair of 3-pointers from Lillard and Batum put Portland in front 74-73. It was short-lived and Love drained a 3 to give Minnesota an 80-76 lead before the Blazers furious fourth-quarter surge. Portland was coming off a 102-94 victory over the Jazz on Friday night. Lillard had 28 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter. NOTES: Love is from Lake Oswego, just outside of Portland. ... Adelman coached the Blazers from 1989-94, guiding the team to two Western Conference titles. ... Love has at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in 10 straight games, the longest run of 25-10 games since Shaquille ONeal had 13 in a row in 2001. ... Love has an NBA-high 47 double-doubles. ' ' '