The Eastern Conference is now down to just two teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks. The two squads meet each other on Wednesday for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, a platform LeBron James has reached for the fifth-straight time this year. Will Cleveland steal a win on the road in Game 1? Or will Atlanta upend James and the rest of the Cavs? You can also click here to see what the experts are saying about this series.
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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks Predictions Game 1 Preview
Series Scores & Schedule
Game 1 – May 20, 8:30 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers (pk) at Atlanta Hawks (pk); total: 197.0—view all NBA lines
Game 2 – May 22, 8:30 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
Game 3 – May 24, 8:30 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 4 – May 26, 8:30 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 5* – May 28, 8:30 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
Game 6 *– May 30, 8:30 PM ET – Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 7* – June 1, 8:30 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks
*If necessary
Betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James is simply the single biggest factor in why the Cavs are going to play in the conference final. Thus far this postseason, James is averaging team-leading averages of 26.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game. James is left to shoulder most of the burden for the Cavs, with Kevin Love done for the postseason and Kyrie Irving struggling to stay 100 percent healthy these playoffs.
[sc:NBA240banner ]James, however, can’t do it alone moving forward. He needs help from other Cavs outside of the Big Three—the same help he got from Tristan Thompson and Matthew Dellavedova in Cleveland’s series-clinching 94-73 win over the Bulls on Thursday.
Thompson has definitely elevated his play to mitigate Love’s absence. Thompson doesn’t score as much as Love, but he makes up for his limited offensive skills by providing the Cavs some excellent rebounding and solid rim protection. In the conference semifinal, Thompson did just that, as he led Cleveland in rebounding with 11.2 boards a game to go along with his average of 9.3 points in six games.
Dellavedova, who scored 19 points in 34 minutes in Game 6 against the Bulls, might see his role increase if Irving’s ailing knee continues to bug the All-Star point guard. Dellavedova averaged 8.3 points on 53.1 percent field goal shooting and 3.7 assists per game in the Bulls series.
Cleveland is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in its last five road games.
After beating the Washington Wizards 94-91 on Friday, Atlanta is now preparing for what should be a tough series against the Cavaliers.
The Hawks’ snipers remain just as deadly these playoffs as they were in the regular season. Thus far this postseason, Atlanta is second among all 16 playoff teams in three-points made with 9.9 per game. Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll are the Hawks’ top two outside gunners, as they average 2.9 and 1.7 three-pointers this postseason, respectively. Carroll is arguably the Hawks’ best player these postseason, as the braided wingman is pacing the team with 17.1 points on 52.4 percent field goal shooting.
Cleveland has solid perimeter defenders that limited its opponents to just 6.5 threes per game this postseason. But the Cavs have yet to face a team like the Hawks, whose crisp ball movement has regularly caused opposing defenses to breakdown.In fact, the Hawks lead the playoffs in assists (25.4 APG) and points off assists (61.9 PPG). That spells trouble for Cleveland, which was unable to bottle up Atlanta’s offense in past meetings. In the four meetings with Cleveland in the regular season, the Hawks averaged 109.3 points on 58.8 2 field goal shooting, 8.8 three-pointers, and 28.0 assists.
Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder combine for 11.7 APG these playoffs. Paul Millsap, meanwhile, was the biggest thorn in the side of Cleveland in the regular season, as the Hawks’ forward put up 18.0 points and grabbed 8.0 rebounds per game against the Cavs in four meetings.
Atlanta is 9-1 SU and 6-4 ATS in its last 10 home games against Cleveland.
Writer’s Prediction
Atlanta (pk) wins Game 1, 99-97. Cleveland, however, wins the series in seven games.
