The Toronto Raptors may find themselves perilously thin at the wing soon.
Already down a DeMarre Carroll, the Raptors watched Terrence Ross limp off the floor with an apparent lower-back injury in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game against the Washington Wizards. Ross checked out with 8:47 to play, having scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in 18 minutes while playing decent, if somewhat unsteady defense (so, the usual).
Terrence Ross just limped out of the game, holding his lower back. #raptors #rtz
— Chris O'Leary (@olearychris) January 9, 2016
He’s not on the bench as of this writing, and the team announced that he’s out for the remainder of the game with a sore lower back. Ross clarified to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun after the game that it was a back spasm, not a contact injury.
The designation of a “sore back” is at least mildly encouraging, though it stands to reason that Ross will be questionable for Saturday’s game against Philadelphia. With Carroll and Ross sidelined, the Raptors are likely to close with Cory Joseph and Kyle Lowry sharing the backcourt and DeRozan at the three. Moving forward, it would mean James Johnson definitely stays in the starting lineup, a heavier load for Joseph off the bench, and, most interesting, an opportunity for Norman Powell. There’s a chance Delon Wright could see minutes in some two-point guard looks, too, as the Raptors simply lack the wing depth to get by without a heavy dose of dual-point units.
Whatever the rotation answer if Ross misses time – Head coach Dwane Casey said after the game that he wasn’t sure what his plan was if Ross was out – it’s sub-optimal. Wright has played well in the D-League and Powell brings nice energy and defense, but Lowry, Joseph, and DeRozan are already being leaned on so heavily. Casey talked earlier in the week about potentially using Patrick Patterson or Anthony Bennett at the three in Carroll’s absence, and super-big lineups would become a small-minute possibility, too.
In 31 games entering play Friday, Ross was averaging 7.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 23 minutes while knocking down 36.4 percent of his threes. Since being rebranded T.J. Ross on Dec. 7, he’s played much better defense and put up 10.4 points per-game with a 40-percent mark from outside. In that time he’s been, dare I say, good, if still a little inconsistent, and the team would desperately miss his shooting.
Still, it’s next man up, and the timing couldn’t be better if injuries had to pop up: After the 76ers tomorrow, the Raptors have just one game in eight days.
