DeMarre Carroll is out indefinitely with a right knee contusion, the team announced Monday.
It’s unclear when Carroll suffered the injury, but he gave the old no comment on a question about his health last week, so it stands to reason he’s been banged up for a while. He missed three games earlier in the season due to plantar fasciitis, so it’s been a rough start to his Toronto Raptors tenure.
Part of that may be due to the heavy workload he’s taken on when healthy. Carroll is averaging 34.2 minutes in 18 games and guards the opposing team’s biggest perimeter threat each night, and it’s been suggested often on this site that head coach Dwane Casey would be well-served to cut back on Carroll’s minutes. The team has been 12.3 points per-100 possessions better with Carroll off the floor, a number that understates his impact and points to his tough assignments but also highlights that he’s performed somewhat below the level he established for himself in Atlanta. Carroll’s 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.
It would behoove the Raptors to give Carroll all the rest he needs to ensure his long-term health for the season. That may be easier said than done with games to win and few options behind him, but it’s the best approach with a lot of season left.
Speaking of options behind him, it’s Terrence Ross, not James Johnson, drawing the start in Carroll’s stead.
Johnson started the three games Carroll missed earlier in the year and acquitted himself well. Casey wanted to disrupt as few roles as possible that time around, but with Ross – now rebranded from Terrence to Terry to T.J. Ross by Raptors Republic – struggling, Casey may see this as a chance to break Ross out of his prolonged slump.
Ross is averaging 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 16.7 minutes this season, shooting a woeful 33.3 percent from the floor and 29.8 percent from long range. He’s been spacey on the defensive end as usual, and some encouraging shot-creation from early in the year has disappeared. More frustrating than any lack of development, though, has been his inability to knock down open looks he normally cans. That’s kind of the key with Ross right now – he’s missing makable shots, and it’s very likely he’ll regress to his career shooting norms and improve as a result. Until then, his lack of contribution in other areas will remain frustrating.
And sure to frustrate some fans is the continued “under-utilization” of Johnson, who has mostly played well when called upon. But Johnson is tough to play alongside DeMar DeRozan and is an awkward fit with the starting group due to spacing concerns. With the second unit – likely in an expanded role with Carroll out – he can act as a secondary ball-handler and the unit’s best defender at the forward spots (and even as a super-small center). With the roster thin right now, Casey may deem Johnson’s multi-faceted role off the bench more valuable than a more narrow one with the starters. Or Johnson’s occasional penchant for turnovers and sleeping off-ball on defense continue to frustrate, negating all the good he can do in other areas.
This could also mean more time for Norman Powell, who provided a spark in the past in spot duty. Powell’s a hard worker, a good defender, and an effective if erratic straight-line driver, though he brings some of the same spacing concerns as Johnson. Anthony Bennett may see some run, too, though that may be in smaller lineups due to the injuries to Jonas Valanciunas and Lucas Nogueira instead of on the wing in support of Carroll.
