Charlotte, N.C. • In an expected announcement, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said following Wednesday's shoot around at TimeWarner Cable Arena that DeMarre Carroll will once again start in place of the injured Marvin Williams.
Corbin has shown a preference for Carroll in a starting role when Williams has been out. He has said it disrupts only the starting lineup, rather than also impacting the bench by taking a key reserve (Gordon Hayward perhaps) and putting him in the starting lineup. Carroll's situation is unique. Since the emergence of Alec Burks at the end of last month, Carroll has been bumped to the end of the bench, playing only when a teammate is injured but doing it as a starter.
The Jazz are 0-4 in games Carroll starts, which could also be looked at as 0-4 in games without Williams.
The first-year Jazz forward will miss the next three games inflammation in his right knee as team doctors want to see how he responds to treatment he underwent Tuesday morning in Salt Lake City. Williams said he received an injection, like before the Jazz's Dec. 30 loss at the Clippers, which he sat out.
"No player ever wants to miss time," Williams said. "But this is about the bigger picture, our trainers and our coaches have been around this game long enough to know it's not about right now."
Williams had looked forward to a return to Atlanta on Friday. He spent the first seven years of his career with the Hawks. He said he was "very, very, very" disappointed not to get to play against his former team.
"Hopefully if I rest," he said, "my knee can get better and it can knock this whole thing out and I'll be better for the rest of the season.
— Bill Oram
