DeMarre Carroll injury update: x-rays negative
By John Buhler
DeMarre Carroll’s wrist injury, suffered in Game 5 against the Miami Heat Wednesday night, yielded negative x-rays. He is now day-to-day.
The Toronto Raptors can let out a sigh of relief. It seems that small forward DeMarre Carroll did not break his left wrist in Wednesday night’s Game 5 versus the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Raptors’ media relations Twitter account announced on Thursday afternoon that Carroll’s wrist injury yielded negative x-rays and he will be questionable for Toronto’s Game 6 in South Beach on Friday night.
While Toronto holds a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series with the Heat, losing a defensive stalwart like Carroll may have been too big of a loss for the Raptors to handle going forward. In this tight second round series, the team whose back court generates more offense has won all five contests so far.
Carroll came to the Raptors in free agency last summer after being the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks’ shutdown perimeter defender that shot over 40 percent from three-point land. While Carroll has dealt with a myriad of injuries this season, his presence in the Toronto lineup doesn’t go unnoticed.
His on-court demeanor and defensive acumen gives this traditionally offense-first team in Toronto some much-needed bite on the other end of the floor. In all likelihood, Carroll probably won’t play in Game 6 at American Airlines Arena on Friday night, but should the Eastern Conference Semifinals yield a Game 7 back in Air Canada Centre, expect Carroll to suit up for the Raptors in that win-or-go-home matchup with the feisty Heat.
Toronto has two chances to close out the Heat in this best-of-seven series. If the Raptors can get a win without playing Carroll, the better the team will be equipped to take on the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, a team that is a perfect 8-0 in their first two playoff series against the Detroit Pistons and the Hawks.
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