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Key: Guarded Optimism
Nothing could have been more beneficial to the Wine and Gold – and specifically a banged-up guard Kyrie Irving – than the five-day layoff after their Game 6 win in Chicago.
Kyrie came into the series battling some nagging injuries, specifically a sore right foot, and seemed to aggravate everything when he inadvertently stepped on Tristan Thompson’s foot early in the affair. With Irving unable to return, Matthew Dellavedova had the biggest game of his young career, netting 19 points in the series-clinching win.
The Cavaliers – who’ve given Kyrie plenty of rest and treatment – will need both guys as close to healthy as possible as they go against Atlanta’s potent point guard combo of Dennis Schroder, who’s shot 89 percent from the stripe in the playoffs, and All-Star Jeff Teague, who’s averaged 14.2 points and a team-leading 7.8 assists. Atlanta ranked second in the league in assists at 25.7 per game, dishing 25 or more helpers on 49 occasions – recording assists on 68 percent of their made baskets, best in the NBA.
If the Cavaliers hope to knock off the East’s top seed, their point men will have to match up well against Atlanta’s.
Key: Middle of the Action
Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson have been rock-solid through the first two rounds of the playoffs, with Thompson making a major leap in Cleveland’s Second Round series with Chicago. But the competition gets stiffer as the Cavaliers climb the Eastern Conference ladder. And they’ll have to get past a pair of All-Stars in Atlanta’s frontcourt if they want to make it to the next step.
Thompson has been stellar in relief of the injured Kevin Love, notching three double-doubles in his last four starts and averaging 10.4 points and 11.8 boards in his last five – including a clutch 13-point, 17-rebound performance in Game 6. (LeBron James has also been big in compensating for Love’s absence – averaging 11.0 rebounds per game against the Bulls.) The Cavs come into the Second Round leading all playoff teams in blocked shots at 7.6, powered by Mozgov – who’s averaging 2.2 swats per contest, notching at least one block in each of his 10 postseson starts.
Al Horford has been great throughout the playoffs, averaging 15.8 points and 10.2 boards through the first 11 games. Paul Milsap is right behind at 15.3 and 8.6. If the Cavaliers hope to get past Atlanta, they’ll need to match up well against the Hawks dynamic duo.
Key: Two of a Kind
The Cavaliers coaching staff – and the backcourt duo itself – deserves a ton of credit for making the smooth transition, with J.R. Smith moving to a reserve role with Iman Shumpert’s insertion into the starting lineup. When Smith returned, the Wine and Gold didn’t skip a beat and the duo – dealt together in a three-team deal by the Knicks in early January – have actually solidified the squad on both ends.
In the Chicago series, Shumpert averaged 12.7 ppg, with Smith scoring at a 12.8 ppg pace. Both hit huge shots and both played excellent defense throughout the Second Round. J.R. Smith has been one of the most prolific three-point shooters of his generation, but he and Shumpert are about to take on someone that’s just as deadly – All-Star guard Kyle Korver.
The Wizards did a good job of bottling up Atlanta’s sharpshooter, but he’s always a threat to go off – and the main reason the Hawks were the top three-point shooting team in the Eastern Conference. But the Wine and Gold come into the Eastern Conference Finals as the second-best squad against the three-pointer, holding foes to .305 shooting. Something’s gotta give.
Key: King of the Road
Just when you think LeBron James can’t do anything more to etch himself into Cavaliers postseason lore, he has a series like the one he did against the Bulls – becoming the first player since Magic Johnson in 1991 to put together a series with averages of at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
He’s one of six Cavaliers who’ve won it all, and now that the Wine and Gold are in the rarified air of the Eastern Conference Finals, the youngsters will rely on him even more to take the next step.
James has faced the Hawks three times this season – erupting for 32 points in Cleveland’s 33-point win at The Q in early November, netting 21 as Atlanta returned the favor one month later and struggling with 18 points and a season-high nine turnovers in the Cavs’ March 6 loss in the ATL.
The Hawks’ DeMarre Carroll, like Tristan Thompson, has made a name for himself during the 2015 Playoffs, averaging 17.1 ppg in the postseason, doubling-up in his last two outings against the Wizards – including a 25-point, 10-rebound outburst in the deciding Game 6. LeBron – who the Hawks blitzed in the pick-and-roll in Cleveland’s March 6 loss – has said that he “relishes the challenge” of going up against Carroll. That challenge begins on Wednesday night in the Dirty South.
Key: X-Men Origins
As we’ve seen through the first two series, the stars will pretty much do what they’re going to do, but it’s often the role players that dictate the direction of the game.
In Cleveland’s Second Round series with Chicago, James Jones helped the Cavs bounce back from a loss in the opener with 17 points off the bench in Game 2. Matthew Dellavedova was very good defensively throughout the series against Derrick Rose and Aaron Brooks – and came up huge on the offensive end when Kyrie was sidelined in Game 6 – going 7-of-11 from the floor for 19 points. Even Kendrick Perkins scored on a couple of big second-half hoops in the six-game Semifinal set.
For the Hawks, reserves Kent Bazemore, Dennis Schroder and Mike Muscala each had big moments in their six-gamer against Washington. (And although Shelvin Mack and Mike Scott have barely seen action so far in the postseason, the Cavaliers have learned the hard way exactly what each of those guys can do.)
The Hawks have four All-Stars in action, the Cavaliers have two, including arguably the game’s greatest player. But so often in the postseason, it’s a role player who makes the difference.