The Toronto Raptors are in Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers at 7 p.m. on Sportsnet One.
Carroll and Valanciunas still out
Joining them on the trip are DeMarre Carroll and Jonas Valanciunas, both of who have been sidelined for some time. And while it’s encouraging that both are travelling for this week’s three-game road trip, it’s unclear if they’ll play, and neither are likely to do so Monday.
Carroll is dealing with a knee contusion that’s cost him the last four games, and he’s yet to progress as far as doing cardio on the knee (I, on the other hand, have no such excuse for my lack of cardio, but it’s mass cultivation season, anyway). It’s possible Carroll sees action after a couple of more days off, but his absence will be felt opposite Paul George.
George has been remarkable this year, neck-and-neck-and-neck with Kyle Lowry and LeBron James for the non-existent Eastern Conference MVP award, and no Carroll means that DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, and James Johnson will see time on him. Patrick Patterson may be tasked with it, too, and one shudders to imagine Luis Scola trying to chase George or C.J. Miles when the Pacers go small. Whether the Pacers opt to do so often will be interesting, as they may prefer a second big on the floor opposite Scola (they’d have Miles cover Patterson). They could opt to stick Miles on Bismack Biyombo in order to keep the small group out there, tasking Ian Mahinmi with Scola and rim-protection duties, but in any case the Raptors will have a big-small mismatch somewhere with George checking the Eastern Conference Player of the Week on the wing.
Here’s a really good read on the Pacers’ flexi-ball approach from the immensely talented Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.
Valanciunas, meanwhile, was originally projected to be back in early January. He’s progressed to wearing tape (per Chris O’Leary of The Star) instead of a smaller brace on his injured hand, and his shooting hand is fine (well enough to give me a forceful pat on the shoulder), but it seems doubtful he’s back on this trip. Biyombo has generally played well in his stead and Lucas Nogueira returned from a sprained ankle Sunday, and those two – plus the Pacers’ penchant for playing small when the matchup dictates – will make Monday manageable for head coach Dwane Casey. It’s certainly unfortunate, though, as Valanciunas dropped 21-and-15 when the two sides met in the season opener (a game the Raptors won by seven).
Other status notes
With Raptors 905 off until Wednesday and the Raptors a little short on bodies, I expected Delon Wright to get recalled after last night’s game, joining the team for the trip. That wasn’t the case, and he remains with the 905 unless the team opted not to publicly update his status. That shouldn’t be a huge deal, as Monday doesn’t figure to be a blowout. The thinking here is probably that Wright can stay with the 905, practice today and tomorrow and then play Wednesday, as opposed to only doing shootaround today, having a likely off day Tuesday, and practicing Wednesday. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, he gets recalled for the Thursday-Friday back-to-back with the 905 off.
Myles Turner is the only injury for the Pacers,, as he remains sidelined with a hand fracture. That’s a little disappointing, as I’m a huge fan of his potential, but it’s probably best for the Raptors.
The Line
The Pacers have oscillated from 4.5- to 5.5-point favorites throughout the day, and the line currently sits at Raptors +5. Given how much run the Raptors had to task their top players with on Sunday, that seems like a bet against fatigue on the second night of a back-to-back. Tough to blame the oddsmakers there, even if the Pacers have dropped four of their last five following a terrific 12-2 run.
Check out the full game preview here.
One other note
This Rajon Rondo situation is a farce. I don’t have another forum for this, and RR isn’t the appropriate one, but allow me a request: Please be decent to each other.
