CHARLOTTE - With his role on a new team in flux, Raptors back-up point guard D.J. Augustin is in the middle of a nostalgic week. Just four games into his Raptors career, Augustin returned to Charlotte - a city in which he played and lived for four years - on Wednesday and will make his first return to Indiana two days later. "Its different," Augustin said of his emotions, sitting in the visitors locker room at Charlottes Time Warner Cable Arena moments before Wednesday nights game. "Its a different feeling being on this side of the locker room but thats how life is, you have different experiences, you change, [experience] different changes in your career and thats where Im at now." "[Its] familiar territory. I lived [in Charlotte] for four years. The team drafted me, gave me a chance in the NBA so its real special, always to come back is a great feeling." The sixth year guard signed a one-year deal with Toronto during the summer after spending last season with the Pacers and the four prior as a Bobcat. Charlotte and Indiana are the only NBA homes Augustin had ever known. Coming off his worst statistical season with the Pacers, Augustin is still trying to find a comfort level in his new home. The back-up point guard has already experienced ups and downs in his short time with the Raptors. After a disappointing preseason, the veteran was given first crack at the gig, spelling Kyle Lowry off the bench, based on his experience over rookie Dwight Buycks and the recently signed Julyan Stone. Averaging 2.8 points and 1.4 assists, playing just under 12 minutes as reserve in Torontos first five games, Augustin has shown glimpses of the player he once was in Charlotte. Most concerning, he has been inconsistent, occasionally erratic at the point of attack and has struggled with his jump shot - one of his strengths as a player - shooting just 24 per cent from the field and missing all seven of his three-point attempts. "[Im] still trying to get comfortable," Augustin admitted. "Weve got a lot of games to go. [Im] still trying to get comfortable [and] get in a rhythm but once it comes I think well all be clicking." "Hes just finding his rhythm," Dwane Casey echoed. "I think hes trying to be a good teammate now, trying to find his teammates and move the ball. I think that may be taking away from his shooting a bit." "Hes done a solid job," his new coach continued. "You always want more but hes done a solid job for what we need." In the first of his two homecomings, Augustin played just six first half minutes against the Bobcats Wednesday, missing his only field goal but connecting on his three free throw attempts. Searching for answers at the position, Casey opted to go with Stone off the bench in the second half as Augustin watched his new team drop a disappointing and controversial game to his old one. Drafted ninth overall by Charlotte in 2008, Augustin experienced his greatest personal success on mostly terrible Bobcats teams during his four-year tenure. With the Bobcats, Augustin averaged 10.9 points and 4.4 assists, shooting 37 per cent from long range and starting in 142 of 282 games. He is still trying to get back to that level. "This is my sixth year in the NBA, I know its a long season," he acknowledged. "Youve got to take care of your body and do the little things to help you play better on the court." On Friday he will make his first return to Indiana to face the undefeated Pacers, where both he and his team have something to prove. Kevin Durant Shoes Deals . 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Clearance Kevin Durant Shoes .Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems to be leaning the fiscally responsible way.Let me put it like this: Its going to be a challenge, Jones said of re-signing both of Dallas biggest potential free agents.Ive often wondered how to truly judge managers, especially the ones who are getting their first shot at a big league job. How much slack should we cut them? How long before you write them off? How long before you say theyve truly arrived? For the purpose of this article, I decided to look at the first five seasons in the careers of five different managers, To make this a little more interesting, Im not going to put names to their records until a little later. For now, Ill just call them managers A, B, C, D and E. Lets start with A. He got his first managerial job in the MLB at age 37. Over his first five years, he was 63 games in total under .500 at 344-407. Manager B was also a star player and got his big league start as a skipper at 36. His teams had two winning records over his first eight years. Over his first five years, his clubs had three seasons of 95 or more losses and compiled a record of 286-420. At 43, Manager C started his first MLB managerial gig. His record over his first five years wasnt very pretty, either, checking in at 348-414. Each of these gentlemen managed two different teams over those five-year spans, as well. Makes you think that maybe they should have started planning for a future outside of baseball. Managers D and E are both still managing. D got his first job at 38 and over the five seasons, guided his teams to a cumulative record of 383-427. Are we sensing a pattern here? E got his first chance at managing in the MLB at 42 and, lo and behold, he was the only one of the quintet to hit .500 in his first fuve seasons at 305-305. Were the first four managers washouts? Hardly. Was Manager E on the road to success? That remains to be seen. Maybe now, its time for the big reveal. Manager A is Bobby Cox. He managed 29 years in the Bigs, four with the Toronto Blue Jays and 25 with the Atlanta Braves. He led the Jays to their first AL East title in 1985 and the Braves to their one and only World Series title in Atlanta in 1995. He finished his managerial career with 2,504 victories versus 2001 defeats. Manager B is Joe Torre, who now works in the commissioners office. Like Cox, he managed for 29 years and had the bulk of his success with the New York Yankees, winning four World Series crowns in four tries. Manager C is Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel, who, like Torre, didnt strike gold until he arrived with the Yankees.dddddddddddd He won seven World Series in the pinstripes, including a record five straight. His teams reached the World Series nine times. Manager D is Cleveland Indians bench boss Terry Francona, whos still in the thick of the Wild Card race. He started with the Philadelphia Phillies, but found his niche in Boston winning World Series titles in 2004 and 2007 with the Red Sox, breaking the Curse of the Bambino forever. Manager E is the Blue Jays own John Gibbons. He is the only one of this group of five to even reach .500 in his first five years as a manager in the Big. Three of the other four have made it to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and Francona is well on his way to getting there, as well. I am in no way stating that John Gibbons will follow that same path, but the first five years of the other four at least gives you pause for some sober thought. Gibys record in his second term with the Jays is 152-165, but with a week to go in the 2014 season, the Blue Jays at least have four more wins than they did a year ago. Will John Gibbons be back as manager in 2015? I have a hunch he will, but like Randy Carlyle with the Maple Leafs this season, it figures to be his make-or-break year. - The Kansas City Royals have an excellent chance this week of making it back to the postseason for the first time since 1985, when they won their one and only World Series title in seven games over their state rival St. Louis Cardinals. The Royals played their final home game of the regular season Sunday and pushed their attendance to 1.9 million for the season. It was their highest total since 1981, a span of 33 years. The Cardinals, on the other hand, finished their home season Sunday with an average attendance of 43,712at Busch Stadium, pushing their total attendance to 3,540,649. That is the second-highest total in franchise history next to 2007. Its no wonder St. Louis is considered one of the crown jewel franchises in baseball. - I dont know whether Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is going to be the American Leagues MVP, but hes got to be right up there in the voting when its all said and done, Altuve, through Sunday, is leading the Majors with a .345 average and has 220 hits, the most by a second baseman since Charlie Gehringers 227 with Detroit in 1936. ' ' '