The Toronto Raptors were one of the more buzz worthy teams a couple of weeks ago, as they were closing in on the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors have gone 4-4 over their last eight games, though, and talk of them beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in a series has quieted significantly.
A lot of the Raptors mediocrity lately has had to do with an injury to their star player Kyle Lowry. Since Lowry had fluid drained from his elbow, he has not played nearly as well as he had been playing all season, and as a result, the team has struggled a little bit.
While Lowry's health moving forward is a major question mark, the Raptors may be getting some good news on the injury front. Head coach Dwane Casey believes that DeMarre Carroll will be able to return to the lineup this weekend after missing more than three months of action. Carroll has already missed 42 consecutive games for Toronto but has said all along that his hope was to play in the last few regular season games.
Carroll has been back on the court going through workouts for quite some time now, but swelling in his knee has prevented him from ramping up his activity as much as he would like. Casey says that the swelling is nearly gone at this point, and because of that, Carroll has started to do more in practice. The 29-year-old forward was able to get in a full practice earlier this week and was seen doing intense 2-on-2 drills, as well.
The Raptors have not said officially that Carroll will be back this upcoming weekend, but Casey sure sounded like that's what he expected. Obviously they have to wait and see how Carroll's knee responds to the intense workouts, but provided he comes out of them OK, he will have about three games to get in a rhythm before the playoffs start. Casey said that the final three games of the season will be used as Carroll's "test lab."
Lowry's health is obviously essential to the Raptors as we near the playoffs, but getting Carroll back close to 100 percent would be a huge boost. Carroll is the team's best perimeter defender and is also a weapon on offense, so although he might have a minutes limit, he will still be a huge factor in deciding how far Toronto goes in the postseason.
