Through three-and-a-half quarters of a 97-89 Game 1 loss, the Atlanta Hawks looked physically overwhelmed against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They had a tough time containing LeBron James (31 points, eight rebounds, six assists), got bludgeoned on the boards (49-37) and appeared submissive on the offensive end against a more muscular Cleveland team coming off a six-game slugfest against the Chicago Bulls.
That was bad enough.
Then, with under five minutes to go in the final frame, DeMarre Carroll tumbled to the floor and suffered what appeared to be a non-contact injury to his left knee.