The Toronto Raptors have had a great season, as they are 43-20, which is the second best record in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are just 2.5 games back of the Cavaliers for first place in the East, but they are not placing too much emphasis on getting the one seed come playoff time. Toronto's main focus is to have everyone healthy so they can make some noise in the postseason.
A player they really want to have healthy is DeMarre Carroll, but he hasn't been all season. Carroll was the Raptors' big offseason addition, as they signed him away from the Atlanta Hawks, but he has only played in 23 games and wasn't even healthy for those. Carroll hasn't played since the beginning of January after having arthroscopic knee surgery, but it looks like he is getting close to being back on the floor.
Head coach Dwane Casey said about a week ago that Carroll was on schedule and making some good progress. Casey did not give a timetable, but he did say that Carroll will only return when he is 100 percent. That is in line with the Raptors wanting to give rest to their guys like Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to ensure full health for the playoffs.
Carroll has been getting up shots recently and ramping up his activity, but the big step is being cleared for contact. Carroll was sent to New York earlier this week to seek clearance from his doctor to take full contact and return to practice. The expectation is that Carroll will be cleared relatively soon, at which point he will have to work himself into game shape.
The Raptors are hoping that Carroll will be able to return before the playoffs so he can get a bit of a rhythm instead of just being thrown out their for the most important games. There is a little more than a month left in the NBA regular season, and the Raptors have 19 more games. Their plan is to get Carroll in the last 10-13 games to prepare for the playoffs.
This season hasn't gone exactly as planned for Carroll, as he has missed a lot of time, but even when he was playing, he was dealing with knee and foot issues that caused him to underperform. All can be forgiven, though, if he can come back for the playoffs and impact the game like the Raptors thought he would when they signed him. Carroll is an extremely good player, so if the Raptors can get him back fully healthy for the postseason, he will provide a huge boost and turn the Raptors into an even bigger threat out East.
