The Toronto Raptors now find themselves perilously thin on the wing. Already down DeMarre Carroll for what’s believed to be about four more weeks, the Raptors may have lost the man replacing him in the starting lineup on Monday.
James Johnson took a bad spill in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets, requiring help to get off the floor and then limping to the locker room with Alex McKechnie. He has been ruled out for the game with a left ankle injury and is headed for X-rays, per Raptors Media Relations. The Sportsnet broadcast updated that Johnson has a sprained left ankle and that X-rays were negative.
He appeared to hurt the ankle on the fall, which came as he made an ill-advised attempt to steal the ball from Danilo Gallinari in transition after Johnson had missed a tough look at the rim.
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Should Johnson be shut down moving forward, the options at the three are, umm, not great, Bob. Head coach Dwane Casey would lean heavily on the two-point guard look to require just a single wing while likely inserting T.J. Ross into the starting lineup. Norman Powell could conceivably see minutes, or Anthony Bennett out of position at the three, but the most likely case is a lot of Ross, a lot of two-PG looks, and very little use of a small four. That’s not a death knell, but it’s hardly ideal to be down the team’s top two small forwards and forced into playing a two at the three, something they’ve tried to avoid as best they can this year.
UPDATE: Powell started the second half. Casey could be opting for role consistency here to keep that highly effective bench foursome in their regular rotation.
Prior to the injury, Johnson was having a pretty terrible night, shooting 1-of-2 with a pair of turnovers, two rebounds, a block, and an assist in 10 minutes. He fell asleep multiple times on defense and made a few curious decisions on offense.
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Of course, Johnson’s injury was the impetus for a Nuggets run, and hardly any Raptors were making good decisions Monday. It’s been a rough night for everyone through 24 minutes, and it only stands to get tougher with Johnson sidelined.
In 12 games starting for Carroll since Jan. 4, Johnson was averaging 5.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.9 blocks in 19.4 minutes, shooting 44.1 percent from the floor and 7-of-17 on threes. He’s filled in admirably, particularly against opponents who start a wing he can sink his teeth into defensively, though the starting unit as a whole in part due to some spacing issues. That five-some has been outscored by 1.5 points per-100 possessions in 203 minutes on the season and the Raptors have been 20.1 PPC better with Johnson on the bench since he re-entered the starting lineup.
On the season, Johnson is averaging five points, 2.2 rebounds, and one assist in 15.5 minutes, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor.
