Hawks officials said that DeMarre Carroll suffered a sprained left knee late in Wednesday night’s 97-89 loss to the Cavs, and he will undergo an MRI Thursday as teammates hope for news better than the injury looked.
Carroll’s knee appeared to buckle with 4:59 left in the game just moments after he stole a LeBron James pass.
“The doctors are saying it’s a knee sprain,” said head coach Mike Budenholzer. “We’ll see what we learn [Thursday], and figure out what gives us our best chance [regarding potential roster combinations should Carroll not be able to play in Game 2 on Friday].”
After remaining on the floor under the Hawks’ basket for a couple minutes, Atlanta’s starting small forward was helped from the Philips Arena floor. He put no weight on his left leg while leaving the court.
Carroll, a five-year veteran who is having his best professional season and heading into unrestricted free agency, is the Atlanta defender chiefly tasked with defending Cavs star LeBron James.
He averaged 12.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals in the regular season, and entered the Eastern Conference Finals as Atlanta’s leading postseason scorer with an average of 17.1 points per game on 52.4 percent shooting.
“Somebody has to step up,” point guard Jeff Teague said after scoring 27 points. “DeMarre has been our glue guy all year, and was playing well in the playoffs … hopefully, he can get back healthy soon but one of the other guys in there will have to step up.”
Carroll scored 20 or more points in seven of 12 playoff games, with two double-doubles, before Wednesday.
Several teammates surrounded Carroll on the floor while Hawks staff members tended to him, and several found it difficult to talk about him after the game.
“It was hard to see that,” said Kyle Korver. “We love him like a brother.”
Reserve point guard Dennis Schroder added, “He’s a great player for us. Nobody wants to see that. It’s not good for us. I [hope] he can play, and I hope he gets well soon.”
Carroll was limited offensively Wednesday, scoring five points on 2-of-7 shooting, but with the nickname, “Junkyard Dog,” the Hawks rely heavily upon his reputation as a top-notch defender as he typically defends the opposing team’s top wing player.
With reserve forward Thabo Sefolosha already lost with a broken fibula and ligament damage, the Hawks could be without the two defenders that would be asked to most often defend James in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Much of that duty would likely fall to Kent Bazemore, who would give up three inches of height and about 55 pounds to James. Forward Paul Millsap defended James late Wednesday. Budenholzer might also deploy the bigger Mike Scott, who did not play in Game 1 against the Cavs, and whose postseason playing time has been limited.
“DeMarre is a perimeter player,” Budenholzer said. “I think most likely [the Hawks would] play more Kent Bazemore and players like that. Mike Scott and Mike Muscala are always ready.”
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