Toronto Raptors wing player DeMarre Carroll was brought to locker room during the game against Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, March 4. His injury made coach Dwane Casey to think harder to deploy different strategy.
Carroll injured his ankle in the first half of Saturday night game against the Bucks. He never returned to court, according to Bleacher Report. Earlier this season, the versatile wing player has missed five games after his last season’s knee injury.
He had to undergo an arthroscopic surgery in his knee after playing for 26 games last season. He returned to the court just in time for the 2016 playoffs, but he injured his wrist in the Game 5 of the second round against Miami Heat. The Raptors defeated the Heat 4-3, but the Cavaliers overpowered Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Without him and Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors has no second option in the team’s roster. According to Toronto Star, the Raptors has no consistent second offensive option.
Toronto Raptors is now 37-26 and ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference. Raptors must keep the consistent play to be able to maintain the playoffs track. However, without the dynamic duo Lowry and DeMar DeRozan in the backcourt, wing player such as Carroll is needed to launch the team’s offensive.
The Raptors is not a team with good defense. It allows the opponent to score 104 points per 100 possession and making 10.3 offensive rebound in average. Therefore, the team needs to escalate its offense.
Unfortunately, neither Serge Ibaka, Jonas Valunciunas and Pattrick Patterson have shown their consistent offensive tenacity to help DeRozan making points. Carroll is the only second option offensive for Raptors, averaging 9.2 points with 40.6 percent shooting accuracy from the field.
With Carroll’s injury, coach Casey need to rethink another offensive strategy for the next games. Watch the interview in the Toronto Raptors locker room with Carroll as he explained his ankle below:
