The Toronto Raptors will be without DeMarre Carroll as they take on the Miami Heat on Sunday, the team announced.
Carroll is battling plantar fasciitis in his right foot, an injury that’s been bothering him for nearly two weeks. He missed practice Saturday and indicated that while he wanted to play, he believed he may be hurting the team more than helping playing at an estimated 70 percent. Here’s Carroll at Saturday’s practice, courtesy Chris O’Leary of the Star:
I think it’s just me knowing I can do more and I can definitely. If I could hit a jumper it would have really helped this team.
…
Every time I hit the ground, every time I jump (I feel it). I’m shooting the ball and everything’s on my toes so I’m missing a lot of easy shots.
Terrence Ross was the presumed starter in Carroll’s stead but James Johnson unexpectedly drew the nod. This could mean potential minutes for Norman Powell and extended run for Ross off of the bench. It may also mean the Raptors hesitate to go small, given both a lack of wing depth Sunday and Miami’s penchant for playing two more traditional bigs, even if Josh McRoberts and Chris Bosh can play the role of stretch-four.
For those unfamiliar, plantar fasciitis is a remarkably uncomfortable foot condition that makes it feel as if you’re constantly running with stones – or glass – in your shoe. Plantar fasciitis occurs when the band of tissue running from the heel to the toes becomes inflamed from overuse. The only real remedy is rest and stretching, and in worse cases players have been sidelined for up to six weeks with the ailment. The idea of rest isn’t likely to sit well with Carroll, who has already played through an elbow contusion this season and played the Eastern Conference finals last season “on one leg,” and it’s nice to see the Raptors taking the long-view with their big free agent acquisition so early in the year.
Carroll had his worst two-way performance as a Raptor on Friday against the Orlando Magic, lacking lift on his jumper and laboring on his usually sharp cuts.
For the season, Carroll is averaging 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 steals in 35.7 minutes, roughly in line with his Atlanta production, in counting terms. In efficiency terms, Carroll’s doing slightly less on a per-minute basis and his shooting has been an issue, as he’s hit 34.2 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from outside. It’s far too early to make an evaluation of his play, particularly if he’s been playing hurt, and his defense has come exactly as advertised.
Slow Starts
The Raptors will need to get off to a better start on Sunday than they have been through six games. The team ranks sixth in overall net rating so far, but the quarter-by-quarter numbers tell a much different story:
Here’s Casey, also from O’Leary’s piece, on the slow starts:
Getting used to playing (regular-season) NBA minutes is totally different than pre-season. Back-to-backs are totally different. These things are understood but we have to continue to build winning habits and not digress into making simple mistakes.
…
You can’t control whether a guy gets a fingertip on the ball or you miss a layup, a shot. You can control when you get in your correct spot, whether you’re cutting hard and setting your screens and spacing properly. That was our biggest problem offensively, our spacing
Carroll, meanwhile, thinks the team has been “tip-toeing” to open games. If Ross starts, he’ll need to have one of his “Terry Ross” games instead of a “Terrence Ross” outing, because the Raptors can ill-afford another cold open.
Closers
Notice the fourth-quarter ranking above? That’s thanks in large part to the team’s closing unit, where Cory Joseph slides in place of Luis Scola alongside the starters. That group has outscored opponents by 41.1 points per-100 possessions over 22 minutes, with 18 of those minutes coming in the fourth quarter.
It’s an impossible look to use without Carroll, and it will be interesting to see if the Raptors go super-small with Joseph-Kyle Lowry-Terrence Ross-DeMar DeRozan-Jonas Valanciunas or experiment with a two-guard, one-wing lineup that sends Ross to the bench in favor of Joseph. There’s also the option to use Johnson in Carroll’s role.
CB-Foe
Here’s a fun fact: Chris Bosh has never lost to the Raptors. Bosh has swept 11 meetings since he left for South Beach, averaging 17.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and two assists while shooting 47.4 percent from the floor.
The Line
The Heat stand as 2.5-point favorites, with slightly more public action leaning the Raptors way. That line was just two is as of 12:30, indicating the Carroll news or a general lean in the Heat’s direction shifted things by a half-point.
