DeMarre Carroll proclaimed himself fit to return from a sprained right thumb following three days off.
The Hawks starting small forward did not travel on the two-game road trip to Orlando and Boston to get rest and treatment for the thumb and a few other ailments.
“Those days (off) really helped me a lot,” Carroll told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It feels good. I got a lot of shots up today. The rest was big for me, not only my thumb but my whole body. I had a lot of little nicks and bruises. I had a chest bruise, my ankle. I feel good. I’m ready to go.”
Carroll said he would play Friday against Golden State. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer didn’t dispute the notion.
“I just do whatever DeMarre tells me to do,” Budenholzer joked. “Hopefully a couple days of rest will put his thumb in a position where he feels like he can go and we feel like it’s the right thing. Most things are pointing in that direction.”
Jenkins out
John Jenkins did not practice and remains out with nerve pain in his left leg associated with a lower back injury. The Hawks have said Jenkins will rest and receive physical therapy in the short term. Budenholzer had no further update.
Center rotation
Budenholzer said he would continue to go game-by-game in replacing Al Horford at center in the starting lineup. Elton Brand has started the three games without Horford and averaged 15 minutes. Pero Antic and Gustavo Ayon have rotated in at the position.
“I don’t think there is going to be a monumental ‘This is what we are doing,’” Budenholzer said. “We’ll piece it together and continue to play and see what groups work well together. If something works, we’ll obviously keep with it.
“We like them all (Antic, Ayon and Mike Scott). They all bring something different and unique. They are human. One plays better than another on that night. They are all, to whatever degree, comfortable with that and they understand they are going to play. We figure out who is best as the game goes on.”
Scott at the small forward
Scott started at small forward against the Celtics Tuesday and Budenholzer was pleased with the second-year player’s performance.
“I think Mike was fine. He had a couple open shots I wish he would have made. Other guys had open shots (and missed). Overall, he was good. There are a couple of little things that could always be better. It wouldn’t matter who was starting. Coaches are always nit-picking. I thought he was good.”
Not to be lost was the difficult move to the small forward from the power forward spot Scott has mostly played in his NBA tenure.
“It’s a big adjustment,” Budenholzer said. “It’s a very big one. Offensively, it’s significantly more difficult. The 4 and the 5 position there basically is no difference. And the 2 and the 3 there is basically no difference, and even to a certain degree the 1, when we are talking about our motion (offense). You go 3 to 4, it’s Venus to Mars. It’s a big jump. I’m actually pretty impressed with him today. I don’t know how much we’ll use it, or even experiment with it, but to even try it, is a compliment to him. Sometimes, it has nothing to do with skill set. It’s a lot to remember and a lot to know and read. He’s got a good feel for basketball. He’s a pretty good basketball player.”
Scott had eight points and seven rebounds against the Celtics.
More Korver
Here is some more insight offered by Kyle Korver on playing without Al Horford.
“DeMarre was out too (the last two games),” Korver said. “We are playing all kinds of lineups. We are throwing in new defenses and schemes on the fly because we haven’t had a lot of practice time. A lot of what we are doing is we are creating energy with a lot of these defenses and a lot of these sets because we have to play harder. Everyone has to be really engaged. We can’t just rely on talent any more. It’s a process. You try things out and some things work and some things don’t. Even with Al, we hadn’t really hit our groove until a few games ago with Al and Paul (Millsap) and that was with all of our best players. It’s just going to take time. I thought we played well that last few games without him, just battling and showing character and different guys stepping up. That is what it’s going to take.”
