Of all the matchups in this opening round series between the Hawks and the Nets, the clash on the wing has provided some of the most intriguing, even if on paper it necessarily isn’t the marquee battle.
It’s not just about DeMarre Carroll and Joe Johnson as players, but what each represents to each franchise too. They are the singular embodiment of two contrasting systems that have gotten their clubs to their respective positions thus far.
On the one hand is Johnson, the much-maligned former Hawk who’s slow-moving, concrete sets drew the ire and frustration of basketball purists and eventually the city of Atlanta.