As the Toronto Raptors are wont to do, they kept all of their injury updates very close to the chest on Saturday. And so your pre-game notes come a little late here on Boxing Day, not because I was drying my eyes from a World Junior Hockey Championship loss (why was Hicketts trying to put a stick on that?) but because there were no official updates on a myriad of injuries.
Here’s what we knew going in: DeMarre Carroll and Jonas Valanciunas had both practiced Friday and were expected to be upgraded to probable. Patrick Patterson was believed to be feeling better after suffering from flu-like symptoms. James Johnson was listed as the “projected” starter at small forward on the team’s official twitter account, but there’d been no update on his sprained ankle. Kyle Lowry missed practice due to a travel issue but was expected to make the game. Bruno Caboclo and Norman Powell hadn’t been assigned to Raptors 905, who play at 7 p.m. in Canton.
That’s a lot up in the air 90 minutes before their 5 p.m. tip-off against the Milwaukee Bucks on TSN. You can read more about the game in our full preview, and note that the line held mostly steady at Raptors -3.
So, rapid fire, here are updates on the seven (!!) Raptors who weren’t confirmed in or out for Saturday’s game:
Carroll (knee contusion): Will return off the bench on a minutes restriction.
Johnson (ankle sprain): Took “boxing day” too literally, used MMA training to knock out Nick Nurse at shootaround. Will return and start.
Valanciunas (fractured finger): Still out.
Lowry (travel): Will play.
Patterson (flu): Will play.
Powell: TBD
Caboclo: TBD
So the rotation will look something like this:
PG: Lowry, Cory Joseph, Delon Wright
SG: DeMar DeRozan, T.J. Ross, (Powell?)
SF: Johnson, Carroll, (Caboclo?)
PF: Luis Scola, Patterson, Anthony Bennett
C: Bismack Biyombo, Lucas Nogueira
And yes, that’s Johnson as the starting three. Johnson will return to the starting lineup in place of Ross, while Carroll gets his feet wet off the bench, likely on a minutes limit. (Update: Yes, on a minutes limit.) Carroll needs to eventually rediscover some chemistry with the starters, and personally I’d find it easier to manage his minutes at the start of the first and third quarters, but this is a way for head coach Dwane Casey to pick and choose his spots with the returning stopper.
Carroll was averaging 12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.9 steals while shooting 38.6 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent on threes in 18 games before the injury. Ross has drawn most of the starts in his stead and has been playing solid, but Johnson’s length and ability to provide secondary ball-handling could come in handy against the long, lanky Bucks. Johnson also turned in his two best games of the season last week as a starter. On the season, the team’s best mixed martial artist is averaging 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 14.3 minutes and shooting 57.8 percent from the floor. He’s even knocked down five threes!
Valanciunas remaining sidelined shouldn’t be that surprising, even if he was believed to be ahead of Carroll. The Lithuanian was cleared for practice Monday but sounded as if he’d need a week or so to get back to game form. It’s also possible the Raptors don’t want to return two players in the same game, opting instead to give Valanciunas another practice or two before he returns Monday or Wednesday.
Despite the belief of some commenters and tweeters, Valanciunas was playing the best two-way ball of his career before getting injured. Bismack Biyombo has filled in admirably, especially at the defensive rim and on the glass, but the team is demonstrably better with Valanciunas and Biyombo best-suited for a backup role. In 14 games, Valanciunas was averaging career-highs of 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and showing improved defense in the team’s new system.
The Bucks, meanwhile, will roll with something looking like this due to injuries to Greivis Vasquez and Jerryd Bayless (no revenge games here):
PG: Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis
SG: Khris Middleton, O.J. Mayo, Rashad Vaughn
SF: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damien Inglis
PF: Jabari Parker, Johnny O’Bryant, Copeland
C: Greg Monroe, John Henson, Miles Plumlee
It’s worth noting that the Bucks under Jason Kidd cared little for actual positions, but interim boss Joe Prunty used a more typical starting lineup (the one above) on Wednesday. Kidd is sidelined due to a hip issue.
Not much else doing for pre-game news and quotes, as very few beat writers seem to be covering the game. They deserve a holiday break, too, I suppose.
