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Toronto Raptors: DeMarre Carroll Will Be Raptors’ X-Factor In Playoffs

By Michael Saenz

Dec 5, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll (5) tries to drive to the basket as Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) defends during the second half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll (5) tries to drive to the basket as Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) defends during the second half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Raptors welcomed back DeMarre Carroll earlier this week, and he could very well be the team’s X-Factor in making a deep playoff run

Let’s not sugarcoat it, the Toronto Raptors are not getting the respect that they probably should be getting as the NBA playoffs draws near.

As the second seed in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors are getting little-to-no thought as a team that could represent the Conference in the NBA Finals. For a team that has played the Cleveland Cavaliers tough in the regular season, who will be their biggest competition in the East, it’s strange to see the general idea that a team like the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics would give the Cavs the most trouble in a series.

While a lot of that has to do with what the Toronto Raptors have done in the playoffs, or in their case haven’t done, some of that also has to do with their roster.

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Led by career years from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan this season, the other names on the roster aren’t that impressive. And that’s OK. However, the one player that could play a key role in the team’s run in the playoffs is a player that has only played in 24 games this season – DeMarre Carroll.

Sure, the support cast of Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross, Luis Scola, Norman Powell and Cory Joseph isn’t bad, there’s something that Carroll brings to this team that no other player on this roster can – intangibles.

And that’s not a knock an any other player on the roster. It’s a testament to how crucial of a role Carroll will play for the Raptors in the playoffs. It’s also something that we saw Carroll do last season with the Atlanta Hawks.

Carroll is the type of player that every successful NBA Championship level team in the NBA needs – the type of player whose contributions often go unnoticed, certainly on the state sheet.

He’ll sacrifice his body, steal extra possessions for his team and shutdown the opponents’ best player.

On the other end, he’ll hit that killer, back-breaking three-pointer too.

Of course, the key for Carroll is health. He returned to the Raptors lineup Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks, ironically against his old team, and logged 24 minutes. He’ll have a few more regular season games to get his legs under him before the games begin to matter again.

But as the Raptors’ big offseason acquisition, there’s a reason why Carroll is on this team. He brings an element that Toronto didn’t have last season or the year before – when they were eliminated in the first round on both occasions.

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The Toronto Raptors already had the talent to potentially make a deep run in the playoffs, but DeMarre Carroll might be the x-factor that they’ve always needed to actually make it happen.

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