The Toronto Raptors find themselves yet in another sticky situation when it comes to the NBA Playoffs. They are the 2nd seed, facing the 7th seed, Indiana Pacers, and are tied 1-1 in the series, heading into Indiana on Thursday. Something that should help them regain advantage is that Terrence Ross will be available for them in Game 3. There has been a lot of speculation about how serious and legitimate this Toronto team is and how far they can go, especially in their star studded duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. The only thing is, in these past 2 games they haven’t been to their ‘star studded’ capabilities and it’s been the supporting cast that has made this series tied at 1-1 in the first place.
Ross suffered a head injury during the 2nd quarter of Game 2 going after a loose ball and colliding heads with teammate DeMar DeRozan. Now, DeRozan was fine (not like his shooting is showing), but Terrence Ross had to leave the game and he would not return because he did not pass the concussion protocol on Tuesday in game 2.
Thursday it was announced by the Toronto Raptors that Terrence Ross will be available to play in Game 3 on Thursday after passing the concussion protocol. According to Joe Wolfond of the Score:
After complaining of a headache, he was held out of the second half for precautionary reasons, and had been listed as questionable in the lead-up to Thursday’s game. But after showing no concussion symptoms in the past two days, Ross was given the go-ahead to suit up.
The fourth-year swingman has struggled through the first two games of the series (as he did in the last two postseasons), shooting just 4-of-12 from the field, averaging 5.5 points, and looking lost or out of sync on multiple possessions. In 13 career playoff games, he now has a 3.8 PER.
With Ross available and Toronto at full health, they should have every reason to be able to take over this series. In Game 2 it was obvious that no one else on the Pacers would be able to help Paul George enough, so unless he puts his team on the back for 48 minutes, the Pacers will struggle. It’s up to the Toronto Raptors coaching staff and players to realize this advantage and finish off this series, can Terrence Ross give them that edge in Game 3?
