Atlanta Hawks: The Importance Of DeMarre Carroll

DeMarre Carroll has been an important player for the Atlanta Hawks all season long and remains key to their playoff hopes.

Carroll isn’t called the “Junkyard Dog” for no reason. He has improved his shooting ability and offensive impact, but it is his scrappy, gritty and all-out effort style of play that has defined who Carroll is as a player.

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He has overcome many obstacles to get where he is today, both before he made it to the NBA as the N0. 27 pick of the Memphis Grizzlies, and since, bouncing from team to team before finally catching on in Atlanta.

Carroll’s underdog story and mentality fits well on the Atlanta Hawks. Al Horford is the only starter that was drafted in the lottery (No. 3), Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver were both second round picks and Jeff Teague was picked at No. 19.

In fact, the only other players on the roster drafted in the lottery are injured Thabo Sefolosha (No. 13) and veteran power forward Elton Brand (No. 1). The rest of the players on the team were either mid-late first-round picks, second rounders or undrafted.

This collection of non-stars was able to win 60 games, second most in the NBA and secure the top seed in the East. It is a team that embodies the saying “greater than the sum of its parts,” which is a big reason head coach Mike Budenholzer won the Coach of the Year Award.

Compared to the glittering stars and superstars of the second seeded Cleveland Cavaliers—LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love—the Hawks appear to be almost nameless. None more so than DeMarre Carroll, the only Hawks starter not to be named an All-Star this season.

However, that does not mean Carroll is any less important than the other Hawks starters. His contributions on both ends of the court have been vital in setting the tone and leading the Hawks to victory. Carroll has had such a big impact on a team-friendly contact that GMs are looking for “the next DeMarre Carroll.”

Apr 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) shoots the ball against the Brooklyn Nets in the third quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

Offensive Importance

During the regular season, the Hawks had the 6th-best offense in the league, per NBA.com. They have built their offense by being extremely balanced.

How balanced?

Despite scoring 102.5 points per game, the Hawks had only one player score 30 or more points in a game. Paul Millsap scored 30 back in November against his old team, the Utah Jazz. That wound up being the highest scoring game of the year for a Hawks player.

The rest of the NBA had players score 31 or more points in a game 332 times, according to Basketball-Reference.com. That means 332 times a player scored more points in a game than any Hawks player did the entire year.

Suddenly, DeMarre Carroll’s 12.6 points per game on 48.7 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three seem a whole lot more important.

It is not just his scoring that is important, but the threat of his outside shot and the space it creates for others.

Carroll is not only an accurate shooter from three, but an active one. He averaged 4.3 attempts per game in the regular season and his shooting plays a key role in the Hawks pace-and-space offense. As a team the they shot 38 percent from three, second only to the Golden State Warriors.

In the same way the the Hawks are a team greater than the sum of their parts, Carroll’s shooting is worth more than just the baskets that get credited to him. Line him up alongside the other capable 3-point shooters among the starters, Teague (34.3), Millsap (35.6 percent) and Kover (49.2), and a defense will be scrambling from side-to-side trying to contain shooters.

If Kyle Korver’s 3-point shooting bends the defense, Carroll and the other Hawks break it.

Mar 6, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles the ball as Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) defends during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

Defensive Importance

Carroll is an important cog in the Hawks’ offense, but even more important on the defensive side of the ball. Coach Budenholzer has clearly stated Carroll’s defensive impact. From Chris Vivlamore of the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,

“We talk a lot about the only way we are going to be good is if we are good on both ends of the court,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “DeMarre really sets the tone for us defensively, gives us our spirit and our identity. I just think that end of the court isn’t appreciated enough, isn’t given enough accolades and attention.”

Budenholzer goes as far as saying that Carroll give the Hawks their “spirit” and “identity” on the defensive end. During the regular season, the Hawks ranked seventh in defensive rating and held opponents to 97.1 points per game, fifth-lowest in the league.

Carroll was a big enough part of the Hawks success on defense that he was the only one from his team to receive any votes for Defensive Player of the Year.

In the playoffs, the Hawks defense has been even more important as their offense has struggled. Thus far, the Hawks have held the Brooklyn Nets to 91.5 points per game and taken a 2-0 series lead.

Carroll’s defense in the playoffs has been stellar. As the primary defender against Joe Johnson, he has been a big part of harassing Johnson into shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from three during the playoffs. In last year’s playoffs, Johnson shot 53.3 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from three.

It doesn’t look like he will be able to replicate that feat with Carroll and the other Hawks hounding him.

Carroll’s ability to shut down the opposing team’s wing threat is not isolated to the Nets. In early March, the Hawks faced off against the red-hot Cavaliers and were able to beat them 106-97. Carroll forced LeBron James into shooting 1-of-7 when he was the primary defender and helped the Hawks hold him to 5-of-13 shooting overall.

Carroll’s ability to match up against James on the defensive end alone makes Carroll extremely important to the Hawks playoff hopes.

Playoff Expectations

After posting a franchise-best win total, the expectations for this Hawks team have begun to rise. Add to that the fact that their only championship came back when they used to reside in St. Louis and gas was $0.24 a gallon and anything less than making the Conference Finals would be a disappointment.

However, despite the increased expectations from finishing with the best record in the East, most people are still picking the Cavs to make it to the Finals. The Hawks are OK with that though. Carroll sums the Hawks attitude up perfectly.

From Sekou Smith for NBA.com,

“A lot of people are doubting us. But we’re all we’ve got. And at the end of the day, we know the style of basketball we’ve been playing can carry over into the playoffs. So we’re not really worried about the naysayers. By the same token, we want to do like San Antonio does, slide under the radar and let everybody talk about someone else. Let Cleveland be the talk of the East and we’ll just slide under the radar.”

The Junkyard Dog is used to beating the odds. Or at least coming back to try again if he doesn’t the first time.

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