National Basketball Association
Do Hawks have a LeBron stopper in DeMarre Carroll?
National Basketball Association

Do Hawks have a LeBron stopper in DeMarre Carroll?

Published Mar. 7, 2015 1:39 a.m. ET

LeBron James summed up his performance Friday night at Atlanta in two words: "I sucked."

But were James' 5-for-13 shooting and nine turnovers just him having an off night in the Cavaliers' 106-97 loss, or was it the defense of the East-leading Hawks —€” and specifically DeMarre Carroll?

The 6-foot-8 forward from Missouri pestered James from the tipoff to the final buzzer, and got plenty of help from his teammates. James repeatedly had to give up the ball, overwhelmed at the pressure coming at him from every direction. He had eight assists, but that was more than offset by the ones he threw away.

"I wanted to be a gnat," said Carroll, who's found a home in the Hawks' starting lineup the past two seasons after playing for four teams in four years. "You know, when you're outside in the summer, and you can't get that gnat away from you."

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James tossed a pass to no one in the corner. He argued about a call so vehemently that he received a technical. Carroll sent James tumbling to the court with a hard foul midway through the fourth.

With Carroll as his primary defender, James shot 1 for 7 for five points with four turnovers, according to ESPN, including 0 for 6 in the first half.

How difficult is it to force the four-time MVP into that many mistakes? James had committed nine or more turnovers just five times in his entire career entering Friday night's game.

Carroll always wants to be on the other team's best player, according to coach Mike Budenholzer.

"One of the things that makes him great is he brings it every night. So he gets the best player every night," Budenholzer said. "It's a big part of our defensive identity."

So is Carroll a LeBron stopper? Probably not. While Carroll and the Hawks held James to 21 points in their only other game against him this season, James did average 34 points against them last season with the Heat.

For his part, James wasn't worrying about it.

"I can't be worried about the Hawks right now. It's not like we're going to face them in the first round," James said. "It was the first time they used that game plan on us. They kind of caught us by surprise. Down the road, if we get to that point, we'll be all right."

FOX Sports South's Zach Dillard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

 

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