Cavs show their best, and worst, in Game 1 win

The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to secure a 1-0 series lead over the Atlanta Hawks with a 104-93 win on Monday Night, in a game where the Cavs showed their best and worst.

The result was the same, but the process, not so much.

There is nothing new about the Cavaliers defeating the Hawks in a playoff game, as they have defeated Atlanta in nine straight of them. It is a favorable match-up for Cleveland, as they posses more star power than Atlanta.

However, this one may have been a little closer than the previous eight, as the Cavs displayed how dominating their best basketball can be, and conversely, how poor their worst basketball can be, all in one night.

Let’s start with the good.

Coming off an eight-day break, many valid questions were being asked about how the Cavaliers would start the game. The classic rest vs. rust argument was brought up, especially after the Cavs lost Game 1 of last year’s Eastern Conference Semi-Finals coming off an eight-day break.

There were no such troubles in the first quarter of Game 1 against Atlanta, as Cleveland ran out to a 30-19 lead. The Cavaliers were full of energy and intensity on both ends, as they dished out nine assists on 11 made field goals, while holding the Hawks to a 33.3 field goal percentage.

The Cavs had a nice mix of inside outside play in the opening quarter. Cleveland shot 4-of-7 at the rim in the first quarter but they also went 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, including 5-of-7 from the left wing.

A refreshed and rejuvenated Cavalier unit was outrunning a Hawks team, who were coming off a physical six-game series against the Boston Celtics. Paul Millsap shot 1-of-5 in the opening period, and Al Horford was 0-of-4.

It had all the makings of yet another blowout in this year’s playoffs. While things slowed down in the second term, the Cavs were still in control of the ball game.

Cleveland’s defense has been a downfall ever since coach Tyronn Lue took over but after holding Atlanta to a playoff-low 29.8 percent shooting in the first half, it seemed as if the Cavs had re-found the defensive identity that led them through the playoffs last season.

The Cavaliers were communicating, active and sharp defensively. Atlanta, known for their slick ball movement, could get nothing going against the Cavs defense. Tristan Thompson was protecting the rim and causing the Hawks the same problems as he did in last year’s conference finals. Atlanta couldn’t get any dribble penetration and failed to convert on their long distance attempts.

The peak for the Cavaliers came when LeBron James threw down a rim-shaking fast break dunk with 3:56 remaining in the third quarter. At that point, the Cavs led 72-54, and the game, for all intends and purposes, was over.

Then, an epic momentum swing occurred, and the Cavaliers showed that their worst basketball can see them give up a lead, as quickly as they can build one up with their best ball.

The Hawks ended the third period on a 16-5 run after the James slam, and carried that into the fourth quarter, where they would eventually take their first lead of the ballgame with eight minutes remaining.

Within the matter of eight or so game-time minutes, Atlanta clawed their way back from an 18-point deficit. While that fact alone causes some concern for the Cavaliers, the larger issue is how the Hawks were able to run all over the Cavs so quickly.

For one, the Cavs defense resorted back to the middling unit we saw throughout the seasons second half, and the first round. All of a sudden, Atlanta was getting a bunch of wide-open looks, as Cleveland failed to rotate and communicate like they did in the first half. The Hawks duo of Jeff Teague and in particular Dennis Schroder, who finished with 27 points, were able to cut into the teeth of the Cavaliers’ defense, and create open looks from there.

Furthermore, the Cavs seemed to settle into cruise control on offense. The ball was still moving, but not with the necessary vigor and purpose. Passes were being made, but good shots were not being created, which led to a bunch of misses and some uncharacteristic turnovers sprinkled in.

This sour patch of play was something that defined the Cavaliers regular season. For reasons only known to themselves, Cleveland would lose focus during certain stages and this seemed to be the case in Game 1.

Now, the Hawks do deserve credit. They picked it up on both ends and started knocking down shots. However, the Cavaliers shouldn’t have allowed this to happen. They took the foot off the gas and paid for it.

“Whenever you get a team to 15 points, they are almost dead,” Richard Jefferson said, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “When you get it to 18, all you’ve got to do is lift the shovel up and pour dirt on ’em, especially if you want to be a high-level team. We didn’t do that tonight and it almost cost us.”

Then, in a game of extended runs, the Cavs best showed up again, at the most important time.

Over the final four minutes, the Cavaliers didn’t allow the Hawks to score a field goal, bar a three-pointer with 18 seconds left from Lamar Patterson, with the decision already decided. Additionally, the Cavs offense heated up again, finishing the game on a 17-5 run to create a final score that indicates a reasonably comfortable victory for Cleveland, when it was the opposite.

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“We want to learn from our mistakes that we made tonight,” James said, via cavs.com. “The best thing about our team is that we will make adjustments going into Game 2. We played an okay game. I don’t think we played to our standard.”

In a game full of positives and negatives, the former shined in the biggest moments for Cleveland. From a string of defensive stops, to a Kyrie Irving/James two-man game to run the offense and four offensive rebounds in the final period, the Cavaliers put all the elements together to finish the game.

Cleveland deserves a ton of credit for the way they started and finished Game 1. However, they must also be weary of not falling back into the trap that allowed Atlanta to get back into the game so easily, and quickly.