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  • Raptors at Hawks

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    lethalweapon3

     

    “True to True North!”

     

    Welcome back to the ATL, DeMarre Carroll! We miss you** so much!

    **Okay, well, here's a qualifier. By “you,” I’m suggesting the Atlanta Hawks and its legions of fans genuinely miss the gritty defensive wizard who shot 49% on field goals while averaging 13-and-5, all for the low-low (and declining) price of $2.4 million “you”.

    The gritty defensive wizard “you” that averages 13-and-5 in four extra minutes, and shoots 40% from the floor, while earning $13.5 million a year (and rising) for tonight’s visitors, the Toronto Raptors (8:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports South)? Meh, not quite so much. But we’re awfully glad to see you’re alive and doing well!

    The extent to which the 2015-16 Atlanta Hawks “miss” the 2014-15 DeMarre Carroll is a pointless exercise best suited for Thursday Night punditry killing the time in between cellphone, Viagra and Xbox ads.

    Now, there’s no need for Masai Ujiri to start cussing us out for stating the obvious. Besides, what the heck else was the Raptors GM supposed to do? In the ensuing summer after his two-time Atlantic Division champions get bounced in the opening round by Paul Pierce – again – he’s going to sell his ravenous fanbase on who, as his big-ticket free agent addition? Luis Scola? Cory Joseph? Bismack Biyombo?

    Who else could he go after that aspires to become Kyle Korver’s Brother from Another Mother while applying lockdown defense on three, if not four, opposing player positions? Nobody on his current roster was going to do those things. Certainly not leading-scorer and subpar-defender DeMar DeRozan (21.2 PPG; 22.2 3FG%).

    Surely not Terrence Ross (33.8 FG%), who gets so much blame heaped upon him that fans have taken to calling him “AlbaTRoss”. Probably not Patrick Patterson (37.5 FG%). And clearly, not James Johnson, last summer’s Junk Yard Dawg-Lite, who has fallen so far out of coach Dwane Casey’s rotation that he spent his Thanksgiving Day tweeting how unthankful he is about his playing time.

    Why go after DeMarre Carroll-Lite when DeMarre Carroll is still out there? As far as Ujiri knew at the time, Paul Millsap was on the verge of taking his talents to the Magic Kingdom. That would either free up Atlanta to re-sign what was supposed to be his big prize, the player Casey would later call a “perfect fit” for the Raptors’ defensively deficient core, or would compel the Hawks to eat into the money the Hawks planned to offer DMC to instead meet Millsap’s demand.

    Bringing Casey with him down to Buckhead, the mission was clear: this was not going to be a negotiation. This was a beg. Don’t let Carroll even think about returning Detroit’s call, or Phoenix’s, or Atlanta’s. This had to be a done deal. They had to make the Birmingham native feel Toronto was going to feel just like home, that his addition would make the monumental difference between first-round exits and NBA Finals contenders.

    By almost all accounts, Toronto fans are pleased as punch about the acquisition. So what if DMC’s shot accuracy is down? It’s not that much worse than the two stars on the team, Kyle Lowry (41.9 FG%) and DeRozan (42.1 FG%). He’s not there for offense, anyway. Neither is Biyombo (27.3 D-Reb%, 10th in NBA), whose rim protection, together with Carroll’s addition and Lowry’s renewed attention to defensive detail (3.8 steals per 100 opponent possessions, 2nd in NBA), has propelled Toronto back among the league’s top-ten defenses (99.5 opponent points per 100 possessions, 9th-best in NBA) after dropping to 23rd in D-Rating last season.

    Just about every Eastern Conference team has gone through some measure of tribulation in this early stage of the season. Atlanta (12-8) has been inconsistent and disappointing lately, but lifted sprits with a big home win over Oklahoma City on Monday. Toronto (11-7) was rolling with consecutive wins over the Clippers, Cleveland and arch-nemesis Washington (the latter, a low-scoring affair, won on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Cory Joseph, off a drive-and-dish by DeRozan) before falling flat at home to Phoenix on Sunday. They’ve had a couple days to collaborate with Carroll on how to gameplan for tonight’s game at the Highlight Factory.

    Carroll had one of his better all-around games versus the Suns (20 points, 8-for-13 FGs, 7 rebounds and 2 steals). But Toronto struggled to shoo Eric Bledsoe (9-for-11 FTs) off the free throw line or stretch forwards Mirza Teletovic and Jon Leuer (combined 8-for-11 3FGs) off the perimeter.

    While Carroll attends to long-range threat Kyle Korver (43.2 FG%), the guys who fill in Carroll’s spot (as best he can) for the Hawks, Kent Bazemore (41.2 FG%) and starter Thabo Sefolosha (40.7 3FG%), should find open shots from the corner. As Carroll shifts to help Scola with Millsap (career-high 18.6 PPG, 9.8 RPG, and 3.6 APG), the Hawks’ swingmen should have little trouble getting open against either of DeRozan or Ross.

    Al Horford (21 points and 11 rebounds vs. OKC), your mission, should you choose to accept it, is again to attack the interior, as Toronto’s depth is shallow without starting center Jonas Valanciunas (fractured hand, out for five more weeks). Former Hawk developmental project Lucas Nogueira has 34 more minutes of NBA action than you do. Any effort by Horford and point guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder to get Biyombo into foul trouble would be advantageous in the long run. Thanks largely to Carroll, Biyombo and an improved Valanciunas, Raptor opponents have only averaged 38.2 PPG in-the-paint.

    With a bevy of scattershot shooters, Toronto will hope Atlanta doesn’t bring their A-game and allow the Raptors to feed off of second chance points. Tiago Splitter remains out of action, so backups Mike Muscala and Mike Scott must continue to join Atlanta’s wings to help secure defensive boards. They’ll find ample shot opportunities on the offensive end as well, especially if the Hawks can push the tempo on the Raptors.

    Teague (51.1 FG%, 44.4 3FG% vs. TOR last season) will face more defensive resistance from Lowry and the Raptors compared to last season, so his decision-making with the ball must be better than it was in stretches against the Thunder (5 assists, 6 turnovers). Teague Time needs to be spread out for the balance of the game, so a barrage of layups won’t be needed to save the day in the closing minutes.

    Let’s Go Hawks!

    ~lw3


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