The beauty of the Atlanta Hawks is they are more collective than collection of individual talent. When all five of their starters are clicking and in harmony, the whole operation is tough to beat. The downside to that approach is that when any one or two of their starters is off their game, they become vulnerable at the breaks in the system.
DeMarre Carroll shows why you shouldn’t give up on the Hawks
The journeyman forward has been Atlanta’s best player in its first-round series with Brooklyn. His play is a reminder that we shouldn’t judge players, or teams, too quickly.
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That dynamic has played out throughout their first-round series with Brooklyn. Paul Millsap has been notably hampered by a shoulder injury that's affected his shooting and his ability to drive right. Because he is Paul Millsap, the resourceful two-time All-Star has found other ways to contribute, but his struggles have put a dent in Atlanta's pace-and-space attack.
That doesn't mean, however, that the Hawks are beatable over the series. Not yet anyway. While Game 5 was perilously close down the stretch, the other Hawks made tons of plays in the final few minutes. Whether it was Al Horford or Jeff Teague, Atlanta had more than enough players to counteract Brooklyn's frantic comeback.
The nature of their win also belied the reality that the Hawks were in control for most of the game. Game 5 was a must-win and they responded accordingly, leading throughout the contest and making enough plays at the end to win by 10 points. Had a few bounces gone their way in Game 4, they would be done with their first-round work and we'd be talking about an intriguing second-round matchup with the Wizards.
The Hawks have been here before, albeit on the underdog side. In 2008, they were young and frisky and pushed the Celtics to seven games. Boston went on to win the championship. Last season they were just coming together as a group in Mike Budenholzer's first year in charge and took the top-seeded Pacers to seven without Horford. Even in their shaken state, the Pacers still made it back to the conference finals.
The lesson here is that more than a few teams had early round speed bumps on their way to deeper postseason runs. A loss to Brooklyn would obviously be devastating, but a long series doesn’t necessarily equate with a doomsday scenario.
Teams built for the long haul must have multiple options by necessity. While the Hawks don’t have the superstar-enabled margin for error that other contenders have, their entire ethos is based on the idea that anyone can be a star, given the right set of circumstances.
The most encouraging development in this series has been the play of DeMarre Carroll, their mostly unsung fifth starter. If you were just tuning in to watch the Hawks, it'd be hard to imagine that Carroll was the only member of the starting five to not play in the All-Star Game.
With apologies to Horford, Carroll has been their most important player throughout the series. When Carroll is on the court, the Hawks have outscored Brooklyn by more than 10 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com’s stats page. In the 58 minutes he’d been on the bench, they’ve been outscored by a staggering 32.7 points per 100 possessions. Long known for his defense, the self-styled Junkyard Dog has been phenomenal offensively. He’s averaging better than 17 points per game on 50 percent shooting that includes a 42 percent run behind the arc.
A journeyman during the early stages of his career, Carroll has found a home in Atlanta and is the embodiment of of the team's holistic approach. When he first arrived as a free agent, the Hawks envisioned him as a Bruce Bowen complimentary player. Once they understood his talent more, the comparison became Kawhi Leonard.
“My biggest thing is defense,” Carroll said earlier in the series. “I’m gonna stick with defense, I’m gonna hang my hat on defense. At the same time, who says I can’t get better on offense?”
That push and pull lays at the heart of every player's determination to make it in the league. No one dreams of being a role player, especially not players who are talented enough to be first-round picks. Dreams and reality clash early in pro careers, as does opportunity. When Carroll was drafted by Memphis, he and then-coach Lionel Hollins didn't always see eye-to-eye about his prospects. When opportunity presented itself in the form an injury to a key player, Carroll's role wasn't the best fit.
"My career didn't get off to the best start," Carroll said. "Right then everyone was saying, 'Is he a three, is he a four?' Then Zach Randolph got hurt and they stuck me at the four and I'm guarding guys like [Kevin Garnett]. I'm nothing but 205 pounds.
“At the same time, I feel like this is my second year all over,” he continued. “Last year I was a rookie and this is my second year. I feel like a better player, a more mature player. Not straying away from who I am, thinking I can be the Kobe or the LeBron or the KD, just being who I am. That’s the Junkyard Dog doing the nitty and gritty things.”
It took a long path to make it to this point. He was eventually traded from Memphis to Houston and waived less than two months later. He signed with Denver, was waived again, and ultimately made it to Utah and finally Atlanta. There was nothing in his career arc that suggested he’d become an integral starter on a 60-win team, let alone the player he’s become at this stage.
That's where coaching and individual development comes into play. Carroll went to work with then-assistant coach Quin Snyder on his footwork. Snyder has since moved on to the head coaching job in Utah, but player development is the Hawks' secret weapon. It's turned Millsap, Kyle Korver and Jeff Teague into All-Stars and Carroll into a two-way force.
“Player development is big in this league,” Carroll said. “When coaches take time to work kids on their player development, they can succeed. It’s about opportunity and player development. That’s what I believe.”
Carroll’s no kid, obviously, but if the Hawks have taught us anything this season, it’s that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge players. Sometimes all it takes is the right place, the right opportunity and the right coaching to bring the best out of someone.
We shouldn’t be too quick to judge teams, either. The Hawks are back in control of this series, and a clean slate awaits in the next round so long as they can continue to hone their identity as a collective.
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