Toronto Raptors: Exploring Their Small Forward Dilemma
With DeMarre Carroll’s status up in the air for the rest of the season, the Toronto Raptors will have to continue with their backup plan at their starting small forward spot.
It’s officially a landmark season for the Toronto Raptors.
In a year full of accolades, their recent and by far biggest achievement of eclipsing 50 wins for the first time in franchise history will make this season one to remember for all Raptors fans.
Despite the rewarding season the team has experienced, success hasn’t come that easy for the Raptors this year. Injuries have plagued the team from nearly the beginning of the season, with the most prominent one coming to newcomer DeMarre Carroll.
While there are conflicting reports on whether Carroll will return for the Raptors this season, a big question lies ahead for head coach Dwane Casey and the Raptors if they are truly without their big free agent acquisition for the playoffs. That question: With the postseason looming, who do you turn to start at the small forward spot?
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It’s a question that’s nothing new for the Raptors as Casey has had to turn to his bench to fill the team’s starting small forward spot ever since Carroll was sidelined in early January after undergoing surgery on his right knee. Considering the team’s success this year, the Raptors haven’t missed a beat in doing so, and it’s given some much needed playing time for some of the more raw, unproven players like Norman Powell.
In Powell’s case, however, he’s still a rookie and with expectations to get out of the first round of the playoffs, it seems more likely that Casey would prefer a more experienced player than Powell.
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That turns our attention to James Johnson.
While Johnson has received the fair share of starts in Carroll’s absence, it’s been an up and down year for the 29-year-old product out of Wake Forest.
Injuries have limited Johnson a fair amount this season and despite his solid shooting numbers (49 percent from the field and 32 percent from deep), his per-36 minutes this year rank as some of Johnson’s lowest outputs through his seven-year career, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Additionally, the Raptors have been better with Johnson off the court (Johnson’s on/off number is -5.5 points per 100 possessions), even though he only averages 16 minutes per game.
Nonetheless, Johnson has shown in the past that he could be what the Raptors need due to his size and defensive skills, and with him appearing fully healthy recently, it could be enough to turn his season around.
However, there’s one last forward Casey could turn to and that’s Terrence Ross.
After undergoing a horrific shooting slump early in the season, Ross has bounced back in a big way for the Raptors and his shooting prowess from deep (38 percent from three) has been a key reason why the Raptors have the fourth highest three-point shooting percentage in the NBA.
But Casey has been reluctant to insert Ross into the starting lineup this season (Ross has only registered seven starts this year), despite the injuries to both Johnson and Carroll. That’s not a knock on Ross at all, as it says more about Casey wanting to keep some continuity within the team’s bench.
In spite of all the injuries, Casey has made it work all throughout the year and the Raptors have had players step up for them in the unlikeliest of times.
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As it’s been for the Raptors throughout the regular season though, there’s no easy solution for Casey to choose, but the player he turns to as the starter could have a big impact on the Raptors’ playoff chances.