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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - For a player that prides himself on his toughness and ability to play through just about anything, the most frustrating part of DeMarre Carroll's recovery from knee surgery earlier this season was how little control he had over his own fate.

That's the first thing that came to his mind when he crumpled to the court after barrelling into Heat guard Goran Dragic in the second half of Wednesday's Game 5, a frightening moment for both Carroll and his team.

"I thought it was the knee when he first went down," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said of the injury, which turned out to be a left wrist ailment. "That was scary."

"Initially I thought I broke it because my whole wrist went numb," Carroll admitted. "I was like, 'here we go again.’ But I tried to stay positive."

At one point Carroll was unsure whether he'd even be playing in the postseason, having missed over three months with the knee injury. He had hoped to return sooner, but the swelling flared up and Toronto's medical staff continued to hold him out in the interest of his long-term health.

This time, the hard-nosed forward caught a break. All of the tests he underwent on his wrist came back clean, showing no structural damage, just a bruise. With a possible series-clinching Game 6 on the horizon you can bet Carroll will do everything in his power to be in uniform and ready to go Friday night.

"I will have a lot of say, let’s put it that way," Carroll said, sporting a brace on his left hand 14 hours after the Raptors' took a 3-2 series lead over Miami. "I talked to my so-called dad, Alex McKechnie (Raptors director of sports science), and let’s see what happens. He said let’s take it day by day. Me being who I am, I’m pretty sure I’m going to fight him to play."

"If it ain’t broke, with me, I’m ready to play."

That's music to the ears of Raptors fans around the nation. Since opening the postseason on a minute restriction, Carroll has been one of the team's most valuable players.

Outside of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, nobody has logged more minutes than the 29-year-old forward. He's averaging 9.7 points and hitting 38 per cent of his three-pointers, but his finest work has come on the defensive end, where he spent most of the first round guarding Pacers star Paul George.

He has spent the bulk of this series chasing around Dwyane Wade. Although Carroll shot just 1-of-7 in Wednesday's 99-91, he helped hold Wade to 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting. 

Carroll was just the latest casualty in a series that has already seen its fair share of injuries. Both teams are without their starting centres. Jonas Valanciunas was lost for the remainder of the conference semi-finals with a badly sprained ankle, while Miami’s Hassan Whiteside remains day-to-day after injuring his knee, though he has been ruled out of Game 6. Heat forward Luol Deng also left Wednesday's contest, also with a left wrist injury and, like Carroll, he's being listed as questionable for Friday's game.

Fortunately for Carroll, the injury is not on his shooting hand. If it simply comes down to how much pain he can tolerate, it's a safe bet you'll see him in the Raptors' starting lineup.

The Raptors hope to seize the excellent opportunity they have in front of them, but it’s one they've let slip through their fingers before.

They were in the same position, up 3-2 on the road, against Indiana in the first round when they lost Game 6 by 18. With a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in this series the last time they were in Miami, the Raptors dropped Monday's Game 4 in overtime. They believe they're at their best when their backs are against the wall, yet they've had difficulty manufacturing that mentality without actually seeing a desperate situation in front of them.

"If you've got to motivate players at this time of year to play hard, to play through things, to play through nicks and bumps, we're in the wrong business," Casey said. "It's that time of year. You better come out with your guns loaded and ready to go. This is what the NBA is about at this time of the year. That type of energy is expected, is demanded. It should be there." 

"If you come out in any frame of mind other than playing hard, [getting] loose balls, 50/50 balls, whatever it is, you're in the wrong profession. You need to go play volleyball or golf or an individual sport or something like that if you've got to be motivated at this time of the year."

Miami's season is on the line, so you can bet they're going to come out swinging Friday night. The Raptors, with or without Carroll, have to be ready to take those punches and fight back. They're one win away from uncharted territory - the franchise's first ever trip to the conference finals. While the Raptors will have a couple chances to get there, they'd be wise to avoid a winner-take-all Game 7 against this more experienced Heat team, even if it would be at home.

They need one more win. It'll be the toughest one to get.

"It's one of the most difficult things to do in sports," Casey said. "The hardest thing to do is close a team out, especially a prideful team like Miami... Our antennas are going to have to be up with a seriousness and a concentrated effort, much like we started [Game 5] with. We have no shot if we don't go there with those intentions and that kind of focus in mind."