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It’s been a week, and man do I miss Cavs basketball. Fear not, fellow Cavs fans, for our marquee matchup with the Atlanta Hawks is finally upon us. While the NBA on TNT guys might have predicted a sweep, Atlanta is no pushover of a team, and Cleveland is going to have to exploit some mismatches to really run away with this series. That being said, here are five keys to a Cleveland semifinal series victory.
Live and Die by the Three
Cleveland won and lost games at the three point line this year. They tied the then-league record for most threes in a single playoff game at 20 during their first series and in the postseason Cleveland is number one in three point attempts, averaging almost 35 attempts a game. It’s safe to say that the Cavs love the three point shot almost as much as Drake loves the Cheesecake Factory (I mean he mentions it five times in “Views”, which is at least four times too many).
Atlanta might not be the 60-win team they were last year, but they still can play. One of the top defenses in the league makes for a tough challenge. Players such as Kyrie Irving and J.R. Smith need to step up, but a return of Iman Shumpert or Matthew Dellavedova’s shooting stroke will help solidify Cleveland’s hold over the Series
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Crash the Boards
Despite being considered one of the best frontcourt pairings in the NBA, Paul Millsap and Al Horford ranked 24th in rebounds per game during the regular season. Luckily enough for us Cavs fans, Cleveland just so happens to have 82 million responses to this projected weakness. Allowing Tristan Thompson to play during crunch time, paired with Kevin Love’s new(ish) position as a post bully should give Cleveland a much needed advantage, allowing for missed threes to be recovered and given right back to J.R. Smith, or others, so he can take some almost impossible shots and nail them (despite missing the open look only seconds before).
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May The King reign for a thousand years
Last year in this same playoff matchup, LeBron James was an actual monster, averaging 30 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists over the four games that were played. While some of that came down to the additional touches he was receiving due to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love’s limited availability, a main reason for this success came from the absolute mismatch anytime DeMarre Carroll stepped out. Sure there was a lack of Thabo Sefolosha, who was supposed to be his primary defender, but clearly, James was able to dominate Kent Bazemore whenever they matched up. Bazemore is now the starting small forward for Atlanta, and the Cavaliers’ leader should be able to dominate, and force Coach Budenholzer to switch Paul Millsap onto James, freeing up Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson. Either way, letting LeBron do his thing can only lead to a net positive.
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Watch the Point Guards
Atlanta uses an interesting system where their starting point guard (Jeff Teague) plays even minutes with his backup (Dennis Schroder). Being able to cycle backcourt members in and out, means Cleveland is going to more often than not be facing a well-rested opponent at the point guard position. Add in the fact that Schroder is almost as good, if not better than his starting counterpart. Cleveland, while already paying attention to Kyle Korver, will have its guards put out more effort into pressuring the duo who has been a large factor in Atlanta’s success.
It should be noted, however, that during the Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks series that Jeff Teague tweaked his knee, and despite Kyrie Irving not being the best defensive point guard, he should be able to exploit every part of that mismatch and Teague’s slower reaction speed. Please just, let’s not get too hurt, we don’t need more playoff team’s point guards going down to injury.
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Shush the Crowd
The idea of “Home Court” advantage is more than just a myth. The cheers from the crowd during opponents’ free throws might not have an impact, but the mental aspect of a crowd will slowly wear on players over the course of a game. The thing I didn’t know until starting research about Atlanta is that they really hate Cleveland, like far more than anyone really should. The top post on the Hawks’ subreddit was incredibly aggressive after they beat the Avery Bradley-less Celtics. An angry crowd is a loud one, and if Cleveland is going to shut them down, that means coming out of the gate early, and controlling the inevitable runs that the team might pull together.
Luckily, we have just the team to do so, and just the situation to foster it. It’s not uncommon for teams who spent a week off to have a sluggish start, since instead of playing basketball all day, teams are more often doing Yoga in LA, killing the “Running Man Challenge”, or playing a therapeutic round of bowling as a team. Luckily for the boys in Wine and Gold, their first two games are at The Q, meaning the home crowd will be standing right behind the likely sluggish start (even if we were playing the day before it’d be a slow start, that’s what we’re known for). Here’s hoping for some insane dunks from the King and his Cavaliers to keep the energy up.