DeMarre Carroll – A Journeyman at Home
Sometimes, life in the NBA is just about finding the right fit.
DeMarre Carroll, a scrappy 6’8’’ combo forward from Alabama, found it with the Atlanta Hawks.
Carroll, who was picked 27th overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2010 Draft, looked like he was on his way to a good career in the NBA,
But because of being a misfit in the Grizzlies’ rotation in the 2010 season, the Missouri product was traded to the Houston Rockets in 2011, before playing for two more teams, the Denver Nuggets and the Utah Jazz, as a legitimate journeyman in the league.
In August 2013, Carroll was picked up by Atlanta, and it was there where he found a home, a purpose and a right fit.
Because of his tenacity on both ends of the floor, the combo-forward earned the trust of coach Mike Budenholzer, who around the time was retooling the Hawks to what they are now.
Budenholzer awarded Carroll the starting small forward job in the 2013-2014 season, and the journeyman did not disappoint. He was not even a reliable scorer as he only normed 11 points on 47% shooting, but he did more good things on the court, like defending the opponents’ best wing players, running in transition and boxing out bigger guys for rebounds.
If Budenholzer is aiming to replicate the San Antonio Spurs, it looks like he is turning Carroll into a version of SAS’ Bruce Bowen, who is not known for his scoring but rather for his impact on intangibles in the court.
We are not saying that Carroll does not help on offense, because he has become a very good cog in the Atlanta offense this season. He is putting up 12 points on 46% shooting, including a 39.7% clip from the arc. He is not one to be doubled on defense, but you should not leave him alone either.
If you watch Atlanta games, you’ll definitely see how much worth Carroll is to the Hawks. His zest and energy on the court rubs off on his teammates, giving them lift whenever the team is going through some tough games on the road and especially at home.
He is far from irreplaceable (because aside from a few superstars no one is indispensable in the league), but we do not think anyone can do his job better. He can stretch the floor, run in open court, defend the perimeter and the paint, and even explode for 20+ points on some very good nights.
His teammates Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, Al Horford and Kyle Korver made it to the All-Star Game one-way or another, so it might have hurt Carroll’s feelings, or it might not, we’ll never know.
But we are sure that Carroll is not one to give up, that he is one to continue working with a journeyman attitude, the he will go on the floor every night and prove to everyone that he is a vital piece of the Atlanta Hawks.
Stats from basketball-reference.com
Photo by BleacherReport
