National Post (National Edition)
Carroll cared, so direct the boos elsewhere
Ex-Raptor had his issues, but there was never a lack of effort
DeMarre Carroll is going to get booed by many Toronto Raptors fans when he makes his return Friday night.
We get it, but it’s a mistake. While Vince Carter, Chris Bosh and Tracy McGrady deserved the vitriol for the way they handled their exits, Carroll did the team a favour. Plus, he did something else in service of the franchise and his teammates that should be lauded.
Carroll ruffled some feathers when he indicated to this reporter in a phone interview in July that there were some issues that held the Raptors back.
“Toronto is an (isolation) team. That’s what they win off (of). That’s what they’ve been playing off of for five, six years now,” Carroll had said.
“This year, I feel like a lot of guys didn’t trust each other and a lot of guys, they didn’t feel like other guys could produce or (be) given the opportunity, so there was a lack of trust on our team, so that’s what hindered us from going (as far as they wanted to go).”
Carroll was ripped for the comments — or maybe more for the headlines, by people who didn’t read the article itself — but he was right.
There was a lack of trust, part of which was because Carroll and Patrick Patterson missed a lot of shots, and the style was far too individualistic and easy to neutralize in the playoffs.
Just this week, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said this about the changes the franchise knew needed to be made, and the difficulty on selling Kyle Lowry and De Mar DeRozan on the new philosophy:
“It was a challenge because those two guys are all-stars, they are Olympians, so, ‘Why do we have to change, coach? I’m one of the best in the league going one-on-one,’” Casey said.
“But, Kyle understands, DeMar understands, for us to go and to keep guys from keying on them and taking them out once the playoffs (come) and once you have time to prepare for a week, they understood that. They are smart players.”
You can’t argue with the results so far. The passing is way up, as is the shooting efficiency. Toronto is harder to guard — only the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets have been deadlier — and a deep roster has contributors in every corner sharing the load.
Many fans don’t like the contract Carroll was given, but nobody would have turned it down if in his position. At the time, he was one of the bigger free agent signings in franchise history and could have been a nice fit had he been healthy. Carroll has bounced back this season in Brooklyn, averaging career bests in scoring, rebounding and made three-pointers. He leads the clubs in starts, minutes and rebounds per game.
It’s also not his fault that the franchise had to unload draft picks to move his big salary due to future luxury tax concerns.
You can argue that maybe Carroll should not have revealed internal issues. What nobody can argue is that the 31-year-old didn’t give his all for the club.
Carroll rushed back from knee surgery when he probably should have rehabbed for longer because he wanted to be a part of a team that went all the way to the conference finals for the first time. Carroll was far from 100 per cent, but gutted out an early return to help out his teammates. That should count for something.
Carroll was a fan favourite in Utah, Atlanta and Memphis before he was making big money and hampered by injuries.
He shouldn’t be celebrated Friday night at the Air Canada Centre, but he shouldn’t be booed either.