Cavs Vs Hawks: 3 Keys to Game 2

The Cleveland Cavaliers face off with the Atlanta Hawks tonight in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Cavs Vs Hawks Game 1 was not all that exciting, except for the whole Cavs victory part. The Cavs took the opening blow from the fired up home team and dominated the 2nd half to take home court advantage away from the #1 seed.

Game 2 tonight, still in Atlanta, presents an interesting situation for the Cavs. They already got the split that most teams hope for on the road but could take a commanding 2 – 0 lead before heading home to possibly close out the series in a clean sweep. Psychologically the Cavs are under far less pressure tonight but that could lead to a let down.

The Hawks on the other hand have their backs against the wall. Going down 2-0 on their home floor would be devastating and likely lead to a quick exit from the ECF. The Hawks looked gassed at times with only Jeff Teague and Al Horford making an impact on the offensive end. Now, likely without DeMarre Carroll, the Hawks need their system to help their players rise to the occasion. If not, another strike against the “superstar-less” team approach in the NBA. Fair or not.

Here are 3 keys to tonight’s game:

Ball Movement

The Cavaliers rely heavily on their stars, most often LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, to create their offense through isolation and pick and rolls. The Hawks rely more on player and ball movement to create their offense. Yet, even with heavy doses of LeBron and J.R. Smith isolation basketball, the Cavs had one more assist (20 to 19) than the Hawks.

The Cavs will need to try to move the ball with Irving possibly sidelined for the game. Other than LeBron, the Cavs lack anyone who can penetrate to create shots for themselves or others. Smith can create his own shot but mostly on the perimeter. Ball movement will make up for the lack of ball handling.

The Hawks didn’t go away from their offensive sets per se but they lacked the crisp, pass it around to find a great shot way of playing they had all season. Teague penetrated for a number of baskets and a few open shots were hit off 1 or 2 passes. The Hawks need to get back to a willingness to keep the ball swinging from side to side to try to get the Cavs out of position and to get some easy looks. That is the staple of their offense.

Both teams look like they will be thin off the bench tonight, ball and player movement could help get the other team into foul trouble.

Shooting

The Cavs got great shooting from JR Wednesday night and Irving chipped in 2 of 3 from downtown. No other Cavaliers player made a 3 point basket. LeBron limited himself to only 1 attempt but Iman Shumpert and James Jones missed 3 and Matthew Dellavedova missed all 4 of his attempts. The Cavs will need much better shooting to open up the floor and keep the Hawks from packing the paint on James.

The Hawks have really been hurt by the play of dead eye shooter Kyle Korver in the Playoffs. He hit 2 of 4 in Game 1 of Cavs Vs Hawks but only taking 4 deep shots is half his Playoffs average. The 49% regular season 3 point average is down to 36% in the Playoffs on 2 more attempts on average than in the regular season. The Hawks as a whole only made 4 three pointers, out of 23 attempts, for 18% shooting from deep. That must improve for the Cavs to take them serious from the outside.

Adjustments

We covered how each team would be impacted by the possible loss of Kyrie Irving and DeMarre Carroll earlier today. How each coach adjusts to missing one of their starters, or having them limited, will be huge and could tell the story of the game.

Carroll has been the prototype 3 and D guy and was tasked with guarding LeBron. Will Paul Milsap take on that responsibility now? If so, how will that impact his offensive production? Is Kent Bazemore, giving up 5 inches and 50 pounds, up for the challenge at all? Will the Hawks change their system at all on either end to try to make up for Carroll’s loss even though that system was responsible for much of their success this year?

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For the Cavs a similar problem exists with Irving’s injury. Will they rely more on an offensive system to create points or will they continue to try to rely on their talent alone to overcome the #1 seed? Defensively Matthew Dellavedova is an upgrade over Irving but how does Coach David Blatt adjust his rotations? Does Shawn Marion, Mike Miller or even rookie Joe Harris see the court? The Cavs Big 3 could be down to the Big 1, how do they adjust to that reality.

Tonight will likely be a tough test for both teams. These 3 keys will likely define the game.

What is your key to tonight’s Cavs Vs Hawks Game 2 match-up?

Next: Irving or Carroll: Whose Loss Would Have Bigger Impact?