The Raptors got destroyed by the Cavaliers on Wednesday night, losing Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals 116-78. It was so bad that we'd argue there was no chance Toronto was ever going to win the game. Sometimes, it's just not your night.
And while we agree that nothing short of a catastrophe (like, say, the scoreboard falling and crushing the Cavs' Big 3) was going to give Toronto a chance at a win, we'd still say it was probably not a good idea for a pair of Raptors players to take a trip to a Cleveland casino during the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the night before one of the biggest games in franchise history.
Those two players, DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph, were seen at around 2 a.m. with a large group of fellow gamblers at the Jack Casino in Cleveland's downtown area. Contrast that with reports that DeMar DeRozan was at the gym until 1 a.m. the day before to prep for a night against LeBron James.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey was unaware of what the betting duo was up to, thinking they were sleeping after a team dinner that included the squad watched the Thunder cream the Warriors in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
When asked about it after Game 5, Casey downplayed the whole thing and said that it wasn't the reason the Raptors lost by almost 40. "I didn’t know that," he said. "This has nothing to do with curfew. This isn’t why we lost...This is the NBA, they’re grown men. These are grown men. These things happen.” Casey also joked that it's probably good that Game 5 didn't tip-off until 8:30 p.m., which is a fair point.
In Game 5, Carroll scored five points, bricked all four of his three-point attempts, and was frequently clowned by LeBron James. Meanwhile, Joseph, who comes off the bench for Toronto, scored three points in his 10 minutes on the floor. However, it's safe to say neither player is directly to blame for the Raptors' 38-point loss.
The report about Carroll and Joseph staying out late on the night before a big game has ignited a heated debate on Twitter. Some people think they were wrong to do it:
Others have pointed out that the players staying out late is NBD:
We should point out that this isn't the first time NBA players have come under fire for gambling the night before a big game. A similar event happened almost 23 years ago to the day when Michael Jordan was spotted out at an Atlantic City, New Jersey casino the night before Game 2 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals between the Bulls and Knicks. The Bulls lost that game 96-91 (though Jordan scored 36 points) to go down 2-0 in that series before reeling off four straight wins on their way to an eventual NBA title.
But even with that being said, we wouldn't expect Carroll and Joseph to make a return trip to the casino if the Raptors are able to rebound and force a Game 7 in Cleveland. Whatever money they won or lost that night wasn't worth all this.
