The pay grade
DeMarre Carroll is the de facto defender between he & Korver, and improved his three-point shot from a 28.6 percent clip in his last season with Utah into a near-40-percent shooter two years later. He’s become so valuable that Grantland reported league executives have preliminarily named the next free agent steal “the next DeMarre Carroll.”
Joe Johnson dominated the Toronto Raptors last year by posting up DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross to death, and the two were just no match for his 6’7″, 240-pound frame. Johnson bested him in the post twice in the fourth quarter during their last matchup, but Carroll[note]And Mike Scott, who will presumably take his fair share of Johnson’s abuse.[/note] has the length and strength to contend with Johnson that DeRozan didn’t. If Johnson can shake off the rust, hit some spot-up threes, and get weird and make some noise in spot minutes at power forward, this one could be some fun to watch.
Edge: Even
