Preview: Eastern Conference Finals

   

Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Game 1: Wednesday, May 20, @ Atlanta, 8:30 ET
Game 2: Friday, May 22, @ Atlanta, 8:30 ET
Game 3: Sunday. May 24, @ Cleveland, 8:30 ET
Game 4: Tuesday, May 26, @ Cleveland, 8:30 ET
Game 5: Thursday, May 28, @ Atlanta, 8:30 ET*
Game 6: Saturday, May 30, @ Cleveland, 8:30 ET*
Game 7: Monday, June 1, @ Atlanta, 8:30 ET*
* If necessary

The Eastern Conference Finals, or the LeBron Conference Finals, begin tonight. It is a battle between a team with no "superstars" vs the superstar in the NBA. Team basketball vs Lebron. A little much, but that is how people are looking at it. The season series was a 2-2 split, but the J.R. Smith, Timofey Mozgov, and Iman Shumpert Cavs have only played the Hawks one time. The Hawks took that game in Atlanta, but this series will be nothing like the regular season. The Cavs are without Kevin Love (Kelly Olynyk is such a jerk) and Kyrie Irving is playing with a bad foot and a sore knee. People forget that the Hawks are without Thabo Sefolosha, arguably their best perimeter defender. Paul Millsap (18.8 PPG and 8 RPG) and Al Horford (17 PPG and 5 RPG) did their fair damage against the Cavs in the regular season and I do not see that stopping in the playoffs. Lebron (4.7 TPG) and Kyrie's (3.3 TPG) turnover numbers in the regular season are a cause for concern but turnovers did not stop the Cavs in the last round.


The Hawks and their new logo have been the biggest surprise of the NBA season. Putting issues in front office aside, the players and the newly crowned coach of the year, Mike Budenholzer, played their way to 60 wins and the best record in the East. This team thrives on ball movement and getting the open shot. The biggest criticism against the Hawks is that they do not have a "star" player, but they had four All Stars. Most basketball organizations would love to have players like Al Horford, Kyle Korver, Paul Milsap, or Jeff Teague, but none of these guys have their own shoe or own commercial. Having five good basketball players who play together and space the floor are a threat to any team whether they have "stars" or not.

LeBron and his winning ways have returned to Cleveland and the his team have their eyes on a title. This Cavs team has more talent than any of LeBron's other Cleveland teams, but injuries throughout the year have robbed the fans of watching this team really perform to its potential. This season has had no lack of drama, whether it be who is in what selfie or if LeBron or David Blatt are coaching the Cavs. Yet, here the Cavs are with a chance to go from number one pick to the NBA Finals. Injuries have really hurt this team as they have lost an underrated role player in Anderson Varejao, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving is playing on two bad legs. This Cavs team lives and dies by LeBron and the three ball, but these guys really seem to enjoy playing with each other. It will be exciting to see if LeBron and his "clique" fight through adversity and reach the Finals.

Kyrie Irving is one of the most exciting players in the league to watch, and that is what makes his injuries so devastating. A key in this series will be how much the Cavs can get out of Kyrie, but more importantly how can David Blatt/Lebron hide Kyrie on defense. The draw back on the Hawks not having a star player is that you have to guard each player on the court evenly. Kyrie cannot guard Horford or Milsap, he definitely cannot chase Kyle Korver around, and Demarre Carroll will just take him down to the post. This leaves Kyrie guarding Jeff Teague, and I am not sure I would like this matchup with Kyrie healthy. When Teague heads to the bench, the Hawks will just bring Dennis Schroeder in, a quicker and more explosive guard. Kyrie is a huge question mark in this series, but if he can gut it out and just hold his own on defense the Cavs will have a good chance of winning this series. For the Cavs to win this series they will need their role players to show up. They need the good J. R. Smith, the same Dellavedova from the Chicago series, and for Tristan Thompson to keep playing like a rebound addicted Canadian. Most importantly, they need LeBron to attack the basket and just play basketball. The Cavs do not need LeBron deciding how he will play before the game tips off. Instead they need LeBron to be agressive, which will force the defense to collapse and he can kick it out to one of the members of his "clique."

For the Hawks to win this series they need to play just like they have all season, with a few players stepping up their game. The "German Rondo" or in my opinion the "German Wiz Khalifa," Dennis Schroeder needs to play just like he did in Game 5 and Game 6 against the Wizards. He was aggressive and in control all while hitting jump shots. Schroeder could really force the Cavs hand and take Kyrie Irving out of the game by continuously exploiting an injured Irving. Another person who needs to step it up for Atlanta is Kyle Korver, the sharpshooter simply struggled to find his shot against Washington, shooting 28.6% from behind the arc. Iman Shumpert will more than likely guard Korver and if he can hit shots that will open up lanes for Teague, Schroeder, and Demarre Carroll. The Missouri product, Carroll, has the biggest responsibility in this series and that is containing LeBron James. You are not going to stop LeBron James, what you have to do is limit his opportunities in the paint and force him to take jump shots. If Carroll can do this the Hawks have a great shot of winning the series. This is a huge series for the Hawks and if they can create mismatches through their ball movement and contain LeBron they have a very good chance to beat the Cavs.

If I could make one change to this series, I would bring Zaza Pachulia* back to the Hawks. Reason one being that this guy just pisses every player on the other team off. The second being that he and Timofey Mozgov could battle it out as the ugliest/most European looking players in the league. Sadly, this will not happen but it should still be a great series. As for my personal prediction, I believe the Hawks beat the Cavs in seven games. Kyrie being hurt to me is huge, and I just do not think Dellavedova can be on the court for 30+ minutes. The Hawks are going to be ready to play every game and they want to prove everyone wrong. Another reason I like the Hawks is Budenholzer. He was a coach on the Spurs staff for seven seasons and I am sure he has some tips on how to contain LeBron. If the Hawks win - this is a big if - it would be a huge win for all the small market teams out there that cannot necessarily attract superstars or retain them.

*Johnathan is an avid Zaza Pachulia fan, he even has a signed jersey from him. As a tribute to his career, Johnathan and Zaza have agreed to not shower until Zaza is back in his rightful home of Atlanta.