The Ultimate Fold: DeMarre Carroll And Cory Joseph Were At The Casino Until 2AM The Night Before Game 5

Two Toronto Raptors players were spotted at a Cleveland casino — AT 2 IN THE MORNING — hours before they took the court against the Cavs in a pivotal Game 5, this according to the Toronto Sun.

To make matters worse, DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph played like crap after the 8pm tipoff — with the two hitting a combined 3 or 12 shots for 8 points.


Do I think that DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph being out until 2AM the night before a huge game that tipped off 18 hours later had any effect on their performance? Probably not. In fact, even if they played the best games of their lives on a full 8 hours of sleep they simply aren't important enough to what the Raptors do offensively to make much of a difference in a 40 point drubbing. That's why it doesn't bother me that they completely disrespected their team to go out and play some craps until the wee hours of morning. It just bothers me that they thought the Cleveland nightlife was worthy of the inevitable backlash that would come from doing so. It's a simple risk versus reward situation, and if the reward is a night out in 'The Land' then taking on any amount of risk whatsoever is simply a terrible investment of time.   

You know how your parents used to tell you to go to sleep early on Christmas Eve so that Christmas would come earlier (AKA they needed time to do the last minute wrapping they had been putting off for 6 months). That's how I would feel if I were staying in Cleveland. Forget that Carroll and Joseph were there on business, if I were there for "pleasure" I would overeat at dinner just so that I would crash faster and make my stay seem as short as possible. I don't care that two utility players were dumb enough to stay out until 2AM jeopardizing their ability to perform in a game that was over before the first courtside hot dog was finished. I care that they intentionally spent more hours awake in Cleveland than they had to. I care that they didn't wait until they got back to a real city like Toronto before playing pregame roulette. If you're gambling away your reputation for a couple drinks in a Cleveland casino then you're probably not a good enough gambler to be caught in a casino anyway. 


​h/t BSO