yup* and the ones where he'll drive hang in there and be able to look off option 1 to set up an open 3/dunk for option 2.

*that's a 4 pass stretch there of nice passes that show his skill & versatility as a passer. that 2nd pass to battier is insane, and exactly what you're talking about. nobody else has ever been able to make that pass, he makes it routinely.

rly happy for Carroll, he's been fantastic and should get paid.

Great news for Carroll. I was so sure he tore something there.

Word. I would make a huge offseason run at him as a GM of most teams. Basically a downgraded Kawhi Leonard: solid 2-way player, can defend multiple positions, post up (a little bit), and hit the 3-ball (decently). He is exactly the kind of small forward every team should want.

If I'm Danny Ainge for instance, I'm making a big push to sell DeAndre and Carroll on the merits of an "up and coming" Boston team... but it's probably going to be hard to extricate those guys unless their teams for some stupid reason don't want to pay them.

If you had a team in need of a small forward, what would you prefer, go after Carroll or see if it possible to pay Khris Middleton enough to make the Bucks not want to match an offer sheet?

Carroll is 29 and overrated after having a great season, do not want

Is he really 29? Wow. Considering how little I'd heard of him, figured he was maybe in mid-20s at most. Yeesh.

You go with the younger two-way wings (kiwi, butler, green, wes, Middleton) if you can get them, but DMC is just a tier below...has played great for two years now and only improving

29 isn't that old and he should be good (and likely improve somewhat) for the next 4-5 years

Him not being 24 just means that teams that are years away shouldn't be looking at him, but any of the 20 teams that hope to make playoffs next year would benefit from having him, even if just as a great bench backup

ya obv Middleton>>Carroll.

Carroll is still a great piece on a team trying to title. That's the thing about the Hawks, their entire starting lineup (sans Teague I guess) is full of great pieces on a team trying to title. They just need a star.

dude was still in college at age 22 shooting 60% from the free throw line and in the 20's % from 3.

there is hope for everyone

Carroll was also excellent in Utah before the Hocks snapped him up super cheap

Really happy to hear he didn't shred his acl

Ummmm I disagree

Yeah, he's on his sixth team and 2/3 of his career minutes has come in the past two seasons with Atlanta. He was seen coming out of college as a hustling tweener forward without a clear position.

I feel like there should be at least a dozen guys like him who are bouncing around on the fringes of the NBA and could come in and provide a similar level of production on the right team. I'm guessing most guys here tend to freak out if their team signs a guy who has bounced around and provided sub-par statistical numbers in limited minutes, but it's the sort of thing that a lot of teams need to try instead of filling out their bench with veteran retreads. (I'm looking at you, Doc Rivers.)

Carroll could be great elsewhere or his career could look similar to Gary Neal if he signs for more money with a team that doesn't use him properly.

"If you can get them". Do you tie up your cap space trying to sign a guy to a huge offer sheet that is likely to be matched or do you go after the lesser, older player who is more gettable? If you chase second-tier free agents first and ignore top guys you are unlikely to get, do they appreciate the attention and become more likely to sign with you?

Yeah I remember when the Hawks signed DeMarre I was like "oh ok, I think I've heard of him. I wonder what Utah fans think about this" and their fans on reddit/twitter/etc all loved the guy.

He had only played like 500 minutes total for them, but people were clearly big fans. That sold me on him, and then he's only exploded in skill/value/awesomeness since then.

"When in doubt, shoot."

"I'd rather take a contested shot than an open shot any day, it's kind of boring when you get open shots. It's more pressure because when you get a wide-open shot everyone is expecting you to make it."

"I learned early on in my career when Jordan was probably one of the best toughest-shot makers there was and I tried to idolize my game after his as much as I could. Didn't really pan out for me like that but I've always been accustomed to taking those shots."

"Every coach tells me to stay within myself and then when I make those tough shots I tell them 'this is myself.'"

--J.R. ****ING SMIFF

Kyrie going for an MRI and is questionable tonight. Sounds like he won't play. What a turnaround from Wednesday morning. So goddamn frustrating.

Guy is made of glass. Good god dude. He just needs to sit his ass on the bench this game because he's just a liability on defense

Guy had 6 days off. Just mail it in

Sit him until game 6. See what happens until then.

Kyrie has a great history of missing a lot of time only to come back and put up a high scoring, high efficiency, me first no passing type game in an elimination game only to lose to a worse team with a guy that runs like god shooting 3s and jumpers. I would be ok if he did this again.

Not sure how the Hawks when 2 of the next 4 tbh

They win tonight and then win 1 in Cleveland and then win game 5 back at home

Wouldn't be surprised if cavs mail it in tonight and are content with the split

Completely expect this

I could see them coming out not caring a whole lot in the first quarter, but then they see Tristan working hard and dominating the offensive boards and they turn it up. It's nice to have a guy like Tristan on LeBron's team because LeBron certainly does mail it in sometimes.