You may have noticed that I failed to mention who the Raps played in the headline. Or whether or not they even won or lost. Well, does either truly matter at this point?
The fact that last night could eventually be looked at as the beginning of this squad’s saving grace calls for something other than a normal post-game review.
But before I get into THE RETURN OF DeMARRE CAROLL, a little overdue housekeeping is in order. And as “luck” would have it, coming full circle will not be a problem.
The Fan Base / Club’s Current State of Affairs
This community has made it readily apparent that hardcore fans almost never miss a game. But considering the overall attitude of “show us come playoff time” the majority of this fan base has expressed throughout the year, the masses have somewhat set the regular season’s final stretch on cruise control. Or better yet, take a nonchalant approach ever since the Raps became seemingly disinterested in overtaking Cleveland to sit atop the East.
That’s not to say the above isn’t understandable, though, especially moving forward where three of the Dino’s last four games are against the worst the East has to offer. And hey, players and coaches aren’t the only ones who go through an 82-game grind. Not to mention the fact that the excitement surrounding the start of the Blue Jays’ season has forced its way into the spotlight.
Still, whether or not you’ve remained “all in”, recent games have undoubtedly provided less and less meaning as the schedule comes to a close (at least on the surface). And whether or not you agree with this club taking its foot off the gas in terms of doing whatever it takes to surpass the Cavs, encouraging signs have come along for the ride.
Most of us had been eagerly awaiting a chance to see Delon Wright receive a jump in minutes, if only for one night. And though giving Lowry and DeRozan the night off in San Antonio can be questioned considering a squad like the Spurs can only help boost postseason readiness, we were able to catch a glimpse Wright’s potential upside. That might be neither here or there to the casual crowd but Wright setting the groundwork to potentially answer some lingering doubts was a welcome sight to the hardcore faithful.
Now, this game was never going to be Villanova-UNC — and I’ll admit my opening statement will somewhat come back to haunt me when I say this — but last night also offered an opportunity to see how a team with essentially nothing to play for responded against a team still fighting to position themselves within the playoff structure. One that was riding 15 wins in their last 20 games with the added incentive of avoiding a season sweep. And with the potential for this matchup to meet once again, perhaps in the 2nd round, any shift in momentum between the two plays an integral role regardless of what happened earlier in the year.
However, even though all of the above attached a worthy storyline to the club’s current state of affairs, I don’t think any of us were prepared for the announcement made roughly an hour before tipoff:
DeMarre to the Rescue!
Ok, it didn’t quite hit the wire with that kind of emphasis. But when “DeMarre Carroll has been upgraded from questionable to available” is something every single fan has been waiting over three months to hear, it should have.
He may have only seen the floor for 14 minutes but DC’s contributions were meaningful in more ways than one. It didn’t take long for Carroll to remind everyone his court awareness was sorely missed. Knowing when to cut to the rim, when to help on defense, when and where to best position himself for the rebound, and spending time alternating between the three and four spots was more than enough to get excited over what he can BRING BACK to the table.
It’s safe to say he passed our collective expectations — largely due to what we heard from him during his pre-game scrum:
(snippet taken from Blake’s Pre-game News and Notes)
“As long as it doesn’t get outrageous, where I can’t bend my knee, that’d be a problem. There’s going to be some swelling and I know that and it’s just going to show me how mentally strong I am.”
Watching DeMarre fight for loose balls, be a physical presence in the paint, and squash opportunities the other way with four steals in limited court time has helped dismiss the viewpoint (at least for now) of his return ending up being a possible disruption. He’s just too damn experienced for that to happen.
But of course, plenty took place beyond those 14 minutes. Some moments were of the low variety, some were of the high: Here’s a cheat sheet:
The Highs:
- Kudos to T-Ross for keeping the team afloat with timely threes during a tough first half stretch.
- Same goes to Norman Powell for staying poised after a bit of a rough start. And to Casey for continuing to show faith by handing the rookie consistent crunch time minutes.
- Powell’s emergence has come during Carroll’s absence (it’s even a major reason why he’s gotten an extended opportunity), but just think of what these two can accomplish on defense while playing together for certain stretches… The potential is tantalizing.
The Lows:
- Open look after open look. We’ll have to wait for DeMarre’s intensity to have the trickle down effect it once had. The Raps were a no-show when it came to guarding the perimeter.
- They both contributed in spurts, but seeing Lowry and DeRozan shoot a combined 13 for 39 (33 percent) was tough to stomach. It’s not so much the misses themselves but what came along with it. I’ll paraphrase an excellent quote from Assistant Coach, Rex Kalamian:
“I’ve talked to Kyle and DeMar about looking for fouls. They have to play through physicality.”
- Looking for the call and complaining to the Ref has forever been a bad habit for each of them. And come playoff time, especially in a seven-game series, it needs to be kicked to the curb.
Enter Carroll once again:
Did I mention the Raps played in Atlanta last night? Or that they lost?
We know who the Raps are, and with the two-seed locked and loaded, all that counts is that DC showed the potential for this outing to be a springboard for progression and eventually becoming a vital playoff contributor in the process. With the final outcome of no consequence, Toronto came out a winner no matter what the scoreboard says.
If all goes according to plan, I think we can bump up the notion of DC only being a 15-20 minute weapon off the bench. Perhaps a Round 2 starter?
Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself?
Well, Round 2 of the Carroll tune-up tour continues tonight as Indiana comes to town. And this optimism suggests that there’s now a game that can challenge your Friday night plans for the Jays’ home opener.
But we’re all in this together, right?
