Hawks to stick with what has worked, Carroll 1st up to guard LeBron

Sticking with the recipe that led to a 3-1 record against the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, the Atlanta Hawks' DeMarre Carroll will be the first to check LeBron James as the Eastern Conference Finals kicks off Wednesday in Atlanta.

The regular-season blueprint wasn't rocket science: have Carroll - whose bread and butter is as a solid defender - pressure James on the perimeter with help from Paul Millsap and Al Horford behind him.

"I'm just going to go out there and do what I do, be the junkyard dog," Carroll told reporters Tuesday. "Try to harass him, get up him, try to make him uncomfortable for him. See what happens."

James' stats indicated some success on that front:

This of course matters. While James' 23.5 points per game against Atlanta this season was slightly lower than his season average, he has a habit of dominating the Conference Finals he plays in.

(Courtesy: FiveThirtyEight.com)

When the switches come, Millsap, Horford and Kent Bazemore off the bench will draw the assignment on James.

"We want to make it as difficult as possible with LeBron James," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Sometimes it's before they catch it or making it difficult when he has the ball. Also, changing up the looks where he maybe doesn't see or feel the same thing for the entire game."

The loss of elite perimeter defender Thabo Sefolosha hasn't really hurt the Hawks yet this postseason, but the matchup with the Cavs might be where it does. Picking up the slack now falls on Bazemore's shoulders, who says Sefolosha has been in his ear.

"I was being a little timid defensively because my biggest thing was guarding without fouling," the 6-foot-5 Bazemore said. "I took a step back on the aggression and really getting into guys. Thabo was just saying 'be aggressive.'"

The Hawks are allowing 98.2 points per 100 possessions, second-best in this year's postseason.