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Key: Seventh Heaven
The Cavaliers haven’t dropped a regular season or playoff game since June 10 – Game 4 of the NBA Finals – and look to move to 7-0 for the first time since 1976-77, the fall after the Miracle of Richfield.
Cleveland had its closest call of the season against the winless Sixers on Saturday night – with Channing Frye hitting the game-winning three-pointer with 1:05 to play at the Wells Fargo Center. Kyrie Irving made a pair of big defensive plays in the final minute, but it was J.R. Smith who saved the day – stripping Gerald Henderson before he could release a shot in the closing seconds.
The Hawks won their first three games of the season, dropped two straight and bounced back against the Rockets on Saturday night at Philips Arena.
The last time these two clubs met, the Wine and Gold were wrapping up another four-game sweep of the Hawks, their 12th straight postseason victory over Atlanta. Overall, the Cavs have won 11 straight against the Hawks and look to continue that stretch with the first of four this season on Tuesday at The Q.
Key: Top 10 List
Early in the first quarter on Saturday night, LeBron James continued his steady rise through the NBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Hakeem Olajuwon to move into the Top 10.
On Monday afternoon, James went 2-for-2 this season, being named the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week once again – his NBA record 55th nod. Against Philly, the four-time MVP was excellent again, leading both teams with 25 points and 14 assists – his third straight double-double – going 9-for-23 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the stripe to go with eight boards and a pair of steals. When LeBron registers at least 20 points and 10 assists, the Cavaliers have won 23 straight games.
James will match up with Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore (mixed with some Thabo Sefalosha, who leads the NBA at +76) on Tuesday night. Bazemore is coming off his best game of the season – notching 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including 3-of-4 from long-range, in the Hawks’ 15-point win over Houston on Saturday night.
Key: Downright Offensive
When the Cavaliers and Hawks squared off in last year’s Eastern Conference Semis, the Wine and Gold set NBA marks from the three-point line, canning 77 triples over the course of the four-game sweep. In Game 2 alone, the Cavs hit 25 bombs – setting the NBA record for three-pointers in any game, regular or postseason. So far this season, the Cavaliers have drilled an NBA-best 80 treys, with their 13.3 made threes, the top mark in the league through six games.
While less explosive than the Cavaliers, the Hawks have been very efficient on the offensive end so far this season – ranking third in the league at 27.3 assists per game, including at least 30 twice and 22 in all six games.
With Jeff Teague now manning the point for Indiana, Dennis Schroder has taken over in Atlanta, and he’s off to a strong start – averaging 15.0 and 6.5 helpers through six games.
He won’t have an easy night at the office on Tuesday when he squares off against Kyrie Irving, who struggled on Saturday night, finishing with eight points on 3-for-17 shooting – his first game below 20 points since Game 2 of last year’s Finals.
Key: Love Machine
If it weren’t for LeBron James’ scalding start, the headlines would be focused on Kevin Love, who’s been outstanding to start the 2016-17 campaign.
On Saturday night in Philly, Love notched his third double-double of the season, finishing with 20 points and 11 boards – his third consecutive 20-plus point game. So far this season, Love’s netted at least 18 points and five boards in all six contests.
Love will go up against Atlanta’s leading scorer, Paul Millsap, on Tuesday night. The Hawks’ three-time All-Star was their most efficient player when these two teams squared off in the Second Round last spring, and he’s off to another great start this year. On Saturday night, he notched his second double-double of the season, going off for 23 points, 11 boards, four assists and five steals against Houston.
Between Love, LeBron, Millsap and Dwight Howard, we’ll be watching some of the top double-double machines in the business on Tuesday night.
Key: Battle of the Bigs
Despite changing locations – returning to his hometown in the offseason – Dwight Howard is doing his thing again this year, averaging 17.0 points and 12.3 boards per contest and is tied for the NBA’s top spot with five double-doubles, including four straight.
Howard is also ranked 2nd in the NBA in field goal percentage at .617, trailing only his teammate – Mike Muscala – who’s shooting at a .710 clip so far this season. Muscala has shot at least 50 percent from the floor in all six games this season and has notched double-figures twice.
On the opposite side, Tristan Thompson has been rock-solid all season. On Saturday night, the sixth-year big man led all rebounders with 13 and has pulled down at least 10 in each of his last five games, averaging a team-high 10.8 boards per contest this year.
His backup, Channing Frye, has been just as solid of late: tallying double-figures in his last three outings, averaging 11.3 points on 57 percent shooting from beyond the arc over that stretch.