“What’s our play been looking like, lately? Depends.”
Does momentum matter? The Atlanta Hawks have been playing like it does, indeed, winners of their past three and closing strong in the face of a daunting second-half schedule. Their hosts tonight and the last team to beat them, the Cleveland Cavaliers (7:00 PM Eastern, Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Ohio), could sorely borrow some of that momentum.
There are just two regular season games remaining, and defending Eastern Conference champ Cleveland (56-24) still hasn’t clinched the top seed. The team breathing down their necks, Toronto (54-26), has only white-flag-waving Philadelphia and Brooklyn left on their slate, and the Raptors hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. That means the Cavs likely have to clinch the #1 seed either tonight, or on Wednesday against Detroit, their possible opening-round opponents.
Cleveland has swung-and-missed in their last two attempts to lock that #1-seed down. Head coach Tyronn Lue rested LeBron James on Wednesday in playoff-hungry Indiana, and the tandem of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love could do little to hold back Paul George and company. In what may ring familiar to Hawks fans, the Pacers (another possible Cavs first-round opponent) rang up 70 first-half points (61.9 FG%, 53.8 3FG%) on The James-less Gang. By night’s end, Indiana outscored the Cavs 46-32 in the paint and got 50 of their whopping 123 points from their bench players.
After a couple days rest, LeBron was back. This time, they were presented a chance to eliminate another Central Division rival, a Chicago Bulls team that has been largely left for dead. Instead, what should have been an improved bench unit was quadrupled in scoring by Chicago’s reserves (44-11) in a 105-102 primetime loss. Despite James’ 33 points (13-for-17 FGs, 4-for-5 3FGs) and the perimeter shooting of Love and J.R. Smith (combined 11-for-23 3FGs), the Cavs stumbled in the final quarter, three critical turnovers from Irving amid a 15-4 run helping the Bulls turn the tables and momentarily salvage their season.
“I was just really (kinda rhymes with “pretty,” but kinda means the opposite) with the basketball,” Irving acknowledged to the Plain Dealer after the game. “I’ve just got to do a better job of leading that second unit, especially with LeBron and Kevin on the bench.” Irving understands that, for Cleveland, jacking up long-distance shots (29.8 team 3FG attempts per game, 3rd in NBA) will prove futile on many nights if there aren’t enough accompanying defensive stops.
While Golden State at least has an NBA record worth chasing, it has to be unnerving that the East’s leaders aren’t yet able to rest their stars ahead of the postseason. While last year’s top-seed, Atlanta, wrapped things up well before April Fool’s Day despite some late-season struggles, the Cavaliers may have to do it this year while scrambling to finish their 1040s. To get it done tonight, or Wednesday, it’s going to take a comprehensive effort by Cleveland’s first unit, as their reserve options were thinned even more today.
The Cavs will have to catch The Big Mo without the little Mo around to help. Maurice Williams is taking a trip to Dr. James Andrews’ Pensacola office, to see what can be done about his lingering knee issue before the playoffs begin. Also sitting out the final two games is starting two-guard Iman Shumpert, who had his knee drained and will rest to alleviate inflammation and soreness.
Discounting little-used center Sasha Kaun and swingman Jordan McRae (both soon headed to a D-League Playoff assignment), that should leave the Cavs 10-deep going into tonight’s game at Quicken Loans Arena. Tristan Thompson (five O-Rebs, 1-for-6 FTs @ ATL on Apr. 1) replaced Shumpert in the lineup against Chicago, leaving Matthew Dellavedova, Richard Jefferson, James Jones, Channing Frye and Timofey Mozgov to go against the Hawks. Lue intends to start Thompson primarily at the five going forward, creating mostly big matchups that keep James on the hunt for mismatches at the wing.
On paper, the Cavs’ backcourt struggles should translate into more good news for Dennis Schröder, who reinvigorated his offense during a thrilling 118-107 win at the Highlight Factory on Saturday night. Schröder and the Atlanta bench (incl. Thabo Sefolosha, Kris Humphries, Junior Hardaway, and Mike Scott) contributed just 16 cumulative points on 5-for-19 shooting, plus one steal, 3 assists and 8 turnovers during Cleveland’s visit to Philips Arena on April 1, and they must make amends tonight.
Jeff Teague will be counted upon to bring the same intensity to his matchup tonight that he brought to the table against Irving (5-for-23 FGs @ ATL on Apr. 1), Kyle Lowry (6-for-15 FGs @ ATL on Apr. 7), and Isaiah Thomas (6-for-19 FGs @ ATL on Apr. 9). Teague’s last six games include averages of 23.2 PPG, 5.5 APG, and just 2.2 TOs/game, while shooting 50.0 FG% (47.8 3FG%) and sinking 28 of 30 free throws.
The Hawks’ defense will want to keep Irving off the free throw line, after Kyrie made 8 of 10 freebies (including the decisive five points in the final 20 seconds of overtime) in Atlanta to pad his scoring tally. But Teague and Schröder will also want to force enough contact on drives inside to put pressure on Lue’s frontcourt rotations.
Atlanta’s point guards keeping Delly and Kyrie occupied on defense all night would be a big help to the Hawks’ frontline, especially Eastern Conference Player of the Week Paul Millsap (last 3 games: 19.0 PPG, 15.7 RPG, 4.3 APG, 4.3 BPG, 48.8 FG%, 46.2 3FG%), who was at once a human dynamo and a human piñata against Boston on Saturday. Sap’s performance against the Cavs on April 1 (29 points, 12 rebounds, in a 110-108 OT loss) suggests he may finally be shedding the hex that Cavalier defenders Tristan Thompson and James have had on him.
Shumpert’s absence should also create more daylight for Kyle Korver, who was mostly absent from the scoreboard on Saturday but drew enough attention in the second half to keep the Hawks offense flowing. Korver hit 4 of 5 three-point attempts in the second half on April 1, helping the Hawks salt away a 14-point halftime deficit.
Defensive rebounding parity should remain of paramount importance for Al Horford, Millsap, and Humphries, as Love, Thompson and James seek to attack the glass after every missed shot. Sefolosha struggled off the bench trying to help contain James (29 points, 1-for-5 3FGs) and close out along the perimeter in their last meeting.
Tonight, Sefolosha can help Kent Bazemore (11 D-Rebs and 6 assists vs. CLE on Apr. 1) share box-out duties with the Hawks’ big men. With their boundless activity, both players can also help keep James from piling up fouls and points in transition. Love and Channing Frye will try returning the favor against Atlanta’s floor-spreading offense by taking lots of three-pointers, so the Hawks’ wing players must assist Millsap in securing boards tonight.
To put a cherry atop the sundae that is Atlanta’s most successful two-season stretch of basketball (108 wins) in franchise history, a win tonight will secure homecourt advantage for the Hawks (48-32) in the first round. There’s no need to wait for Wednesday in Washington to get that done. The Hawks’ ability to nab a victory in the final meeting between these two teams would also leave the clinch-starved folks at The Q rightfully restless about what lies ahead.
Let’s Go Hawks!
~lw3
