May 22, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward DeMarre Carroll (5) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) go after a loose ball during the first quarter in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
7. Demarre Carroll, Toronto Raptors
Numbers to know:
.567 2-pt FG%, ranked 4th in the NBA, and 1st among SFs
.395 3-pt FG%, ranked 17th in the NBA, and 3rd among SFs
Carroll is the perfect teammate for today’s NBA of 3-and-D wings, and pace-and-space offense. Toronto landed themselves a gem in Junk Yard Dog 2.0. He ranks in the top 20 in 2-pt FG%, 3-pt FG%, eFG%, TS%, and ORtg. His ranking in 2-pt FG% is especially noteworthy as the other players in the top-5 are all centers.
It’s his defensive prowess, however, that will set him apart this season.
The Raptors were one of the worst defensive teams last year, so Carroll will be leaned on to help bring Dwane Casey’s squad back to the top-10 in defensive rankings. Carroll’s opponents would hit only 30.8% of 3-pt FGA, 4.3 points below their season average of 35.1% — that number ranked No. 1 among SFs.
On March 6, Carroll harassed Lebron into a season-high nine turnovers, leading his Hawks to a win over the Cavs in a battle of the top-2 seeds in the Eastern Conference. There were the makings of a competitive conference finals before Carroll went down with an injury in game 1, robbing Atlanta of their “Lebron stopper” (alright no one can stop Lebron, so let’s say, “Lebron disrupter”) — Cleveland would easily sweep the Hawks afterwards.
Next: Carmelo Anthony