DeMarre Carrroll

[JohnMax]

Creating a wall -- Early Thursday morning, DeMarre Carroll, Atlanta's defensive stopper, was asked how to slow down LeBron James. He spoke of making him work hard on both ends and trying to tire him out. He also talked about needing a team effort.

Mission accomplished.

Carroll held James to 1-of-7 as the primary defender Friday night, but Kent Bazemore and others took turns helping out. They trapped James and created a wall in the paint, forcing him toward the sidelines. It was as good a defensive effort by any team against James all year. He never looked comfortable, finishing with 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-4 from three-point range. He also finished with nine turnovers.

Friday wasn't a case of an off night. The credit should go to Atlanta for taking James out of his comfort zone and not allowing him many easy looks. It was a page right out of the Gregg Popovich playbook, which isn't surprising since Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer was a Pop disciple.

It wasn't just James, either. Kyrie Irving scored a team-high 20 points, but was just 7-of-16, including 0-for-5 from three-point range. Irving had more turnovers (five) than assists (four). Of the Cavs' 18 turnovers, James and Irving, the two primary ball handlers, committed 14.

[...]

The Cavs have been getting by lately with a lot of isolation basketball. James and Irving are so dangerous one-on-one that playing more of a team style hasn't been necessary. That kind of ball works against the defensively deficient Raptors and Celtics, but it doesn't, and won't, against Atlanta's stifling defense. The Cavs have plenty of time left to improve. They should use Friday as a lesson.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/03/lebron_james_shut_down_by_dema.html

http://i.imgur.com/eopvq6a.png

[roffie]

no excuses

[hawkfan]

Creating a wall -- Early Thursday morning, DeMarre Carroll, Atlanta's defensive stopper, was asked how to slow down LeBron James. He spoke of making him work hard on both ends and trying to tire him out. He also talked about needing a team effort.

Mission accomplished.

Carroll held James to 1-of-7 as the primary defender Friday night, but Kent Bazemore and others took turns helping out. They trapped James and created a wall in the paint, forcing him toward the sidelines. It was as good a defensive effort by any team against James all year. He never looked comfortable, finishing with 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-4 from three-point range. He also finished with nine turnovers.

Friday wasn't a case of an off night. The credit should go to Atlanta for taking James out of his comfort zone and not allowing him many easy looks. It was a page right out of the Gregg Popovich playbook, which isn't surprising since Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer was a Pop disciple.

It wasn't just James, either. Kyrie Irving scored a team-high 20 points, but was just 7-of-16, including 0-for-5 from three-point range. Irving had more turnovers (five) than assists (four). Of the Cavs' 18 turnovers, James and Irving, the two primary ball handlers, committed 14.

[...]

The Cavs have been getting by lately with a lot of isolation basketball. James and Irving are so dangerous one-on-one that playing more of a team style hasn't been necessary. That kind of ball works against the defensively deficient Raptors and Celtics, but it doesn't, and won't, against Atlanta's stifling defense. The Cavs have plenty of time left to improve. They should use Friday as a lesson.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2015/03/lebron_james_shut_down_by_dema.html

http://i.imgur.com/eopvq6a.png

We need DeMarre's defense even more with Sefolosha out.

[hawksdogsbraves]

We need DeMarre's defense even more with Sefolosha out.

Baze has been playing great in Thabo's place though, his defense is really solid and he's figuring out the system the more playing time he gets.