NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference – Round 2
Tip-off: Monday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -7.5, Total: 200.5

The Hawks will be hoping to steal Game 1 when they face the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Monday.

Both the Hawks and the Cavaliers are coming off of impressive victories in the first round of the playoffs, as Atlanta defeated Boston in six games and Cleveland defeated Detroit in four. The Hawks were the ones that faced the tougher opponent, but they took care of business and won each of their final two games of that series by double digits. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, played a ton of close games against the Pistons and won only one of their four games by double digits. They did, however, average 103.5 PPG in the first round and the Cavs need to continue to play well offensively moving forward. Cleveland dominated this head-to-head series in the regular season, going 3-0 both SU and ATS in the three meetings between these teams. It’s worth noting that 10 of the 14 games played between these teams have gone OVER the total over the past three seasons. One thing that favors the Hawks coming into this game is that they are 16-5 ATS revenging two straight losses where their opponent scored 100 points or more over the past two seasons. The Cavs are, however, 8-1 ATS in home games against Southeast division opponents this season. C Tiago Splitter (Hip) remains out for the season for the Hawks and the Cavaliers should have a full lineup when they hit the court on Monday.

Atlanta is coming off of a tough series with Boston and now faces a very good Cleveland team. The Hawks can beat the Cavaliers in this seven-game set, but they’ll need to play some of their best basketball of the year. That means that they’ll need to dig in defensively and really avoid turnovers on the offensive end. Two guys that are going to be absolutely crucial in this series are PG Jeff Teague (16.5 PPG, 6.0 APG in playoffs) and PF Paul Millsap (16.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.7 BPG, 1.2 SPG in playoffs). Teague has a big matchup with Kyrie Irving in this one. He played well against Boston, but this series is going to be another grind for him. Teague must hold his own on both ends of the floor and it’s important that he gets off to a good start on Monday. Millsap, meanwhile, must dominate around the basket and really play well defensively. He’ll see time guarding both Kevin Love and LeBron James, so he’ll need to play hard but also avoid foul trouble. Atlanta also needs C Al Horford (12.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.7 BPG in playoffs) to show up in this series. He scored less than 10 points in three games against the Celtics and he’ll need to make sure he makes more of an impact on a nightly basis in this series. The Cavaliers are weak at the center position and Horford can give the Hawks a huge edge in this series.

The Cavaliers are going to be well-rested coming into this series, as they were able to sweep the Pistons last round. They’ll now try to take care of the Hawks, but it’s not going to be easy. As is always the case for Cleveland, SF LeBron James (22.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.8 SPG in playoffs) is going to need to be on top of his game this series. He averaged 27.3 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 7.7 APG, 1.7 SPG and 1.3 BPG in three meetings with Atlanta during the regular season and should be able to dominate them once again on Monday. The Hawks do not have anybody with his blend of size and athleticism, so he’ll need to be aggressive in going to the basket in this series. The Cavaliers will also be expecting a lot out of PG Kyrie Irving (27.5 PPG, 4.8 APG, 1.3 SPG in playoffs). Irving was unstoppable against the Pistons and will now need to keep playing well for his team. He must attack the basket in this series, as it’ll give him and his teammates more space to shoot outside shots. He also has the speed and shiftiness to really give the Hawks fits. PF Kevin Love (18.8 PPG, 12.0 RPG) is another guy that must step it up and help the Cavaliers advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Love was outstanding against the Pistons, scoring both around the basket and on the perimeter. He’s in a groove offensively, but he’ll also need to play some solid defense on Paul Millsap in this series.