Atlanta Hawks-Cleveland Cavaliers preview capsule
By Brian Mahoney
A look at the Atlanta Hawks-Cleveland Cavaliers semifinal series (with regular-season and playoff records):
No. 1 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (66-16, 4-0) vs. No. 4 ATLANTA HAWKS (47-35, 4-3.)
Season series: Cavaliers, 3-1. Cleveland easily won the first matchup, but the final three games were decided by six or fewer points. The Hawks snapped the Cavaliers’ 11-game winning streak with a five-point home victory in December, and the Cavs needed a free throw by LeBron James with 1.6 seconds left to pull out an 88-87 victory on their other trip to Atlanta. James didn’t shoot well against the Hawks, but still averaged 26.3 points and 8.3 assists.
Storyline: Off since completing a sweep of Detroit on April 26, the Cavaliers finally got an opponent for the second round when the Hawks outlasted Miami in an ugly seven-game series that ended Sunday. Eliminated in this round last year, Cleveland will be heavily favored to get by an Atlanta team playing in the conference semifinals for the first time since 1999.
Key matchup I: Anderson Varejao vs. Josh Smith. The athletic Smith, who averaged 16.3 points and 8.9 rebounds in the first round, can score from inside or the perimeter. But he’s an emotional player who can lose his focus, and Varejao is one of the best in the league at getting under an opponent’s skin.
Key matchup II: Mo Williams vs. Mike Bibby. Bibby, a playoff veteran, was perhaps Atlanta’s most consistent player in the first round, when he scored 14.9 points per game and made 16 of 30 3-pointers. He may have to be even better so Williams, who punished the Hawks by averaging 23.3 points in the regular season, will have to spend energy on his defense.
X-factor: Zaza Pachulia. Pachulia gave the Hawks some strong play off the bench in the first round, averaging 7.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in about 24 minutes per game. Atlanta will need him to provide more rugged play to compete with a physical Cleveland frontline that lists the 6-foot-8 James as its small forward.
Prediction: Cavaliers in 5.
The 2 teams that took Bos to 7 last season (this should have been the EC semi's, stupid refs).
I see a solid series. Both teams legitamately got better this season. Unfortunately the Hawks lost Josh C, and the Celtics added Mo, but still, I see this series going to 6, with at least 2 thrillers.
I think this series is going to be alot more interesting than one would think.
The Hawks are a wildly athletic team while the Cavs are very un-athletic.
I think this has the makings of a very good 6-7 game series if the Hawks run the ball every chance they get. If they get stuck in a half-court game, the Hawks are gonna get wiped out.
Run Forrest, Run!
Most people are expecting us to get swept, I don't expect to win the series but I at least hope we can win one game. Maybe even two games if we're lucky, maybe even thr- nah Im pushing it lol
No series preview needed...Cavs in 4...Hawks inconsistent play wont work against the Cavs. They arent the Miami Heat
^ this
Atlanta at Cleveland Preview
Game info: 8:00 pm EDT Tue May 5, 2009
TV: TNT
By George Henry
Coach Mike Woodson spent much of the last two weeks insisting that his Atlanta Hawks had to defend an entire team, not just one player.
Now that the Hawks have advanced to the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals after beating Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, Woodson knows the next challenge, facing newly crowned league MVP LeBron James and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, will be much harder.
“They’ve got one thing on their mind, just like we do,” Woodson said Monday. “They’re trying to win a le, and we’re trying to do the same thing.”
One day after coasting past Miami for a Game 7 victory that advanced Atlanta to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, Woodson gathered his players for a brief pep talk.
Not that it was some kind of news flash, but Woodson wanted to hammer in the Hawks’ minds that they must manage their emotions in a venue where Atlanta has lost four straight and eight of 10.
The Cavaliers, who are 41-2 at home this season after sweeping Detroit in the first round, took a six-point victory over the Hawks two months ago at Quicken Loans Arena. Woodson was so frustrated with the officiating that he was ejected. Point guard Mike Bibby and forward Josh Smith also were hit with technical fouls.
“It’s really important to stay calm,” Smith said. “We’ve just got to stay together. No matter what goes on, we can’t let our emotions get to us because every possession is so important.”
James presents enough matchup problems to make Woodson lose sleep. He considers the 24-year-old a complete package of smarts, power, finesse and speed, and that’s just offensively. As a defender, James’ ferocity impresses Atlanta’s fifth-year head coach.
“I’ve been in this league 27 years, and I’ve never seen a player—I think Michael Jordan is probably the best player to ever play this game—but I’ve never seen a player like LeBron with the strength, the athletic ability, the speed and just the know-how to play the game,” Woodson said. “It’s scary because he’s so young. So it’s going to be a challenge for our team, and that’s a good thing because our guys will step up. I’d like to think our guys can beat him.”
Though the Hawks were 1-3 this season against Cleveland, Atlanta guard Joe Johnson believes his team drew confidence from ending the Cavs’ 11-game winning streak five months ago at Philips Arena. Then again, the Hawks are essentially two different teams at home and on the road.
They led by as many 29 points in a Game 7 win over the Heat, boosting Atlanta’s home record to 34-10 this season. On the road, the Hawks fell to 16-27 after losing two of three in Miami.
“This is the part of the season that we live for, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Johnson said. “You never know when you’re going to get back to this point. We really want to try to cherish this and try to take advantage of it.”
James is coming off a sweep of the Pistons in which he joined Oscar Robertson as the only other NBA player to average 32 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists in a single postseason series.
Despite playing poorly at times against Miami, Johnson believes the Hawks created some momentum by holding off Wade, who finished third in the MVP voting as the NBA’s leading scorer.
“They’re both tough to guard. LeBron is probably the most physical and stronger than Wade, but they’re both relentless scorers,” Johnson said. “With the players LeBron has around him, guys like Mo Williams, Delonte West, (Wally) Szczerbiak, Daniel Gibson making shots—and even ‘Big Z’ (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) shooting 3s—it’s going to be tough. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I think we’re up to the challenge.”
Along with Johnson, Smith expects to draw several defensive assignments against James.
“He does amazing things, not just for himself, but for his teammates in getting everybody involved,” Smith said. “He’s very unselfish, and he plays with great energy every time he steps out on the floor.”
Notes
Hawks:
Former Hawks owner Ted Turner watched from a front-row seat. ... With G Acie Law sidelined by a back injury, the Hawks dressed G Speedy Claxton. The $25 million bust went more than two years without playing until the final week of the season, and he actually got on the court in the waning minutes with the outcome long since decided.
Cavs:
F LeBron James banked in a 41-foot shot to beat the halftime buzzer, capping a 20-9 run that gave the Cavaliers a 12-point lead. ... C-F Ben Wallace, who missed Cleveland's final two regular-season games with a strained knee, played 11 minutes Saturday. He collected just one rebound while failing to take a shot. ... The Cavs are only one of five teams to win 39 regular-season home games.
Team Stat Leaders
Points
Joe Johnson Atl 21.4
LeBron James Cle 28.4
Rebounds
Al Horford Atl 9.3
LeBron James Cle 7.6
Assists
Joe Johnson Atl 5.8
LeBron James Cle 7.2
Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
Atlanta 47-35 2nd Southeast / 4th East 98.1 96.5 Road 16-25 Lost 1 5-5
Cleveland 66-16 1st Central / 1st East 100.3 91.4 Home 39-2 Lost 1 7-3
Cavs in 4
I think you guys will be surprised...Hawks are really hard to beat in Atlanta.
Hawks were probably the only team to beat all 4 of Cavaliers/Lakers/Nuggets/Magic this season.
Only top team they didn't beat were the Celtics.
cavs in 3
IDK last year the Hawks took the Celtics by surprise. The Celts took them lightly. I don't see the Cavs making that mistake. Is just the teams different mindset. The Hawks are just happy to be in the semis. The Cavs on the other hand with LeBron are focused on something bigger then just getting into the 2nd round. I think LeBron will make quick work of them.
Preview: Cavaliers (1) vs. Hawks (4)
Express-News
Season series: Cavs won 3-1
Key matchup: LeBron James vs. Maurice Evans, et al.
Nobody matches up against James, who was just named this season’s MVP, without help from his team’s defensive scheme. Not Bruce Bowen. Not Ron Artest. Not Kobe Bryant. So Evans, a rugged veteran whose presence in the Hawks’ starting lineup is entirely a function of his defensive ability, won’t be on James without lots of help. The Hawks’ only hope: a scheme that takes away James’ driving lanes and turns him into a jump shooter.
Cavs can win if: James doesn’t get hurt. Even if James has a routinely outstanding series, they win in five or six games. No need for The King to score 32 a game, as he did against the Pistons, or average a triple-double. As long as he is moderately productive, and occupies two or three defenders, the Cavs win easily.
Hawks can win if: See “Cavs can win if” and flip the first sentence. Misfortune for James is the Hawks’ only hope. Absent that, their best shot is for Josh Smith to set an all-time playoff record for blocked shots and for Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby to make, oh, about eight 3-pointers apiece in every game.
Prediction: Cavs in 4.
- Mike Monroe
This series is going to be worse then the Hawks/Heat series. Only exception being 4 straight Cavs blowouts.
Game 1:
Referee Assignments
Tue. May 5
Atlanta @ Cleveland: S. Javie, D. Bavetta, B. Kennedy
I'll be there to see a beat down. Sold all my tickets for the Pistons series knowing they would sweep, so hoping for a little bit of a more compe ive sereis
WTF do you have against atlanta? Are you mad because Josh Smith dunked on your 2time MVP?
Yawn, I wish we were in the leastern conference.
The East is the better conference.
Lets go Hawks! Give yourself a chance to win, that's all I ask.
That Al Horford is a fake tough guy. If I wanted to play a fake tough guy, I'd calamari Stoudemire. Don't flex and show me mussels just because you dunked. And that Mike Bibby looks like minime. I remember doing that commercial with him a few years ago. He peed his square pants and we weren't even really playing. I'm going to walk all over these crab es.
I have nothing against Atlanta. I love the city in fact I go there 2 times per year. I am just expressing my opinion of the team.
Actually, both conferences aren't that great this year. The fact the Heat, 76ers, and Hawks were competing in the playoffs against your Eastern elites is a testament to that.
East has two great teams. West has one, maybe one and half great teams (Lakers Offensively, Houston defensively) and the rest of the teams competing were all good teams.
West is still deeper than the East.
Nope. East is better at the top, better at the bottom. East won the season series over the West. East has the defending NBA Champion. East > West. Fact.
Actually, both conferences aren't that great this year. The fact the Heat, 76ers, and Hawks were competing in the playoffs against your Eastern elites is a testament to that.
East has two great teams. West has one, maybe one and half great teams (Lakers Offensively, Houston defensively) and the rest of the teams competing were all good teams.
West is still deeper than the East.
lol @ East vs. West smacktalk
Who gives a ?
+1
There have to be better topics to post about other than that.
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