The Hawks now face an uphill battle in the Eastern Conference Finals.
They just might be able to make the climb with DeMarre Carroll.
The Hawks got very good news on Thursday when tests of Carroll’s injured left knee revealed no structural damage. Many feared the worst when the Hawks starting small forward, and primary defender of the Cavaliers’ LeBron James, when down in obvious pain late in the fourth quarter of a 97-89 Game 1 loss Wednesday. Carroll spent several minutes on the floor after his knee buckled on a fastbreak layup following a steal. He was helped off the floor by teammates and needed crutches to leave Philips Arena as he was unable to put weight on his left leg.
An X-ray was negative and an MRI exam revealed a left knee sprain. Carroll will be day-to-day and is listed as questionable for Game 2 of the series Friday. The Hawks lost home-court advantage to the Cavaliers in the best-of-seven series between the top two seeds in the conference.
Carroll was at Philips Arena Thursday and walking without crutches.
“DeMarre is a strong guy,” said Kent Bazemore, who will likely start if Carroll cannot play. “I saw him this morning. His spirits were high. We are optimistic. … It’s always good to see a guy walk in under his own power, smiling, laughing and cheering. That’s always good news.”
Carroll was not made available to the media Thursday following a team video session. Earlier in the day, Carroll announced the good news on social media. He posted a photo on Instagram of praying hands with the words “THANK YOU GOD!!! #BLESSED #JunkyardDog #ATLHAWKS”
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer would not say whether Carroll would be able to play Friday.
“We are very hopeful. Sometimes you fear it can be the worst. Right now, everything that we are getting back is positive. We’ll monitor it for the next 24 hours and hope for the best. He’s important to us, obviously.”
The Hawks can ill-afford to lose Carroll for an extended period of time as they already trail in the series. In addition to his defensive ability, Carroll has been the Hawks’ leading scorer through 13 postseason games.
“If he’s able to go (Friday) I would be very surprised, but I hope he’s able to come back at some point because you don’t want someone to end their season on something that looked like it was season ending,” James said.
In addition to Bazemore starting and guarding James, Paul Millsap could see time on the Cavaliers star. Millsap guarded James in the fourth quarter following Carroll’s injury. The Hawks are already thin at the wing defender position with Thabo Sefolosha out for the season with a broken leg.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Bazemore gives up considerable size to the 6-8, 250-pound James.
“With me being 200 pounds soaking wet and (James) being massive, I’ve got my hands full,” Bazemore said. “But I’m going to try to use other ways (to defend him), my hands, my feet, poking at the ball, hopefully throwing his rhythm off.”
The 6-8 Millsap is only an option on James if the Cavaliers go with a small lineup – not one that features the 7-1 Timofey Mozgov and 6-9 Tristan Thompson.
“Not getting into foul trouble, that’s the challenge for me,” said Millsap, who called the news on Carroll a sigh of relief. “Physically, I feel good. I feel I can get out there and guard him the best I could if it comes down to it. That’s why we’ve got a team, so one guy doesn’t have to carry the whole burden.”
The Hawks won their semifinal series against the Wizards after losing Game 1 at home. They cannot afford to lose both games against the Cavaliers at Philips Arena with Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland Sunday and Tuesday.
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