DeMarre Carroll: The Hawks’ Barometer Going Forward

DeMarre Carroll has been the Atlanta Hawks’ most consistent player throughout the playoffs.  How he performs is usually indicative of how the team fairs in each postseason game.  While it is nearly given that DeMarre will contribute his patented lock-down defense every night as he is one of the game’s best on-ball wing defenders, it has been his offensive production that has given the Hawks lift when the team has needed it most.

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His vastly improved three-point game since coming over to Atlanta from Utah has at times carried the Hawks from the perimeter when Kyle Korver has struggled to sink threes.  Carroll’s natural ability to cut to the basket has been a go-to offensive option in times when the Hawks can’t seem to buy a bucket.  DeMarre’s improvement as an all-around offensive player has ultimately gotten the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Now that Atlanta has to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, DeMarre will have to continue his excellent play for the Hawks to advance to the NBA Finals.  While his defensive assignments in previous each series having been challenging, guarding LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in a best-of-seven series might be Carroll’s toughest task to date.  James and Irving can each get 20 points a game, on a bad day.  Both All-Stars are capable of scoring 45 or 50 points in a game if that’s what it takes for Cleveland to win.  No player on the Hawks can average 30 PPG for Coach Bud’s offensive system to work.

Cleveland has gone into some very heavy isolation sets during their playoff run.  At times either elite ball handler can dominate the basketball for most of a 24-second shot clock.  Knowing that the ball will likely stay in either James or Irving’s hands, DeMarre Carroll can have a mental edge defensively.  But even if he knows who is going to have the basketball, Carroll still has to limit LeBron and Kyrie’s offensive production for the Hawks to advance to the NBA Finals.  More or less, DeMarre Carroll is the Atlanta Hawks’ playoff barometer: how he performs in the Eastern Finals determines how far this Atlanta Hawks team can go in the postseason.