Photo credit MattAzevedo.com.
The championship hopes of Raptors 905 just took an unfortunate hit.
Will Sheehey will miss the remainder of the season due to a dislocated right elbow suffered on Saturday against Erie.
Sheehey left the game and was taken to a local medical facility, and things looked pretty dire. Dire is a bit of an understatement now that the severity of the injury is known, as he was a prominent part of the 905 rotation. A key part of head coach Jerry Stackhouse’s democratic offense and their switchy defense, the loss of Sheehey strips some of the team’s wing depth and leaves them without one of their more experienced leaders.
This could thrust Axel Toupane, often the team’s super-sub, into a starting role for the postseason, although Stackhouse has options. With Brady Heslip entrenched at point guard – the plan doesn’t currently involve a Toronto Raptors point guard being assigned in the playoffs – Toupane, E.J. Singler, Antwaine Wiggins, and Bruno Caboclo are the team’s primary wings, and the latter two play some time as small fours. Singler’s role becomes even more important now, and it’s possible Stackhouse will try Heslip next to John Jordan if an offensive spark is required. There are options.
The 905 will be fine for their two remaining games. The games are meaningless in the grand scheme, and Stackhouse had hoped to get Negus Webster-Chan more run down the stretch, anyway. But it may force the rotation to tighten a bit in the playoffs, something the 905 haven’t done often. Even if that’s a logical step for the playoffs, the hand being forced isn’t ideal. And again, Sheehey is an important piece at both ends of the floor, one who will require multiple players stepping up to replace.
The Indiana product has been one of the team’s most consistent contributors. In 38 games, Sheehey was averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, two assists, and 1.3 steals while hitting 35.6 percent of his threes. Here’s hoping he’s recovered in time to find a good situation for the 2017-18 season, if a repeat year with the 905 isn’t in his plans. The roughly eight-week timeline normally associated with this type of injury suggests he should be ready for Summer League, at the very least, but there’s been no specific timeline laid out here.
