The Cleveland Cavaliers got the wake-up call for their postseason hopes back in December. Now, they’ll come into tonight’s game with the Atlanta Hawks (7:30 PM Eastern, SportSouth, FoxSports Ohio) carrying a wet blanket, hoping to return the favor.

They’re not necessarily done dreaming of a four-day, all-expenses-paid trip to South Beach, either. At 31-45, the Cavs sit just two games behind the Hawks and Knicks in the race for the “What Are You Doing Here?” Invitational. They’re riding on a 6-1 surge thanks to the red-hot play of Dion Waiters.

Returned to Head Coach Mike Brown’s starting lineup for the first time since mid-November, after Kyrie Irving’s biceps injury and C.J. Miles’ ankle sprain a couple weeks ago, Waiters’ recent opponents were being served buckets (last 8 starts: 23.1 PPG, 52.7 2FG%). For the home stretch, Brown is going to try and greenlight Irving and Waiters as much as possible, hoping they’ll stay defensively focused and not ceding as many points to their opponents.

Irving poured 40 points in double-OT against the Hawks in Cleveland on December 26, but will vividly recall getting upstaged by Jeff Teague’s career-high 34 points, including the game-winning 20-foot buzzer-beater. Kyrie will be looking to avenge that loss tonight.

That was the first game where Cleveland figured out relying on Earl Clark to start at the 3-spot wasn’t going to cut it. Luol Deng’s final appearance in a Bulls jersey was against the Hawks (17 points and 11 rebounds) before getting swapped to his division rival in early January. The Man from Sudan has struggled to establish consistency (14.6 PPG and 42.3 FG% in Cleveland, down from 19.0 PPG and 49.0 FG% in Chicago; two double-doubles since the trade) with all the moving parts in Brown’s lineup. But the two-time All-Star does provide the defensive shutdown skills Brown desires at the wing. A strong performance down the stretch will help the 28-year-old boost his free agency value in this offseason.

Atlanta’s 127-125 win on December 26 was the game where it became clear that Cleveland’s gambit to acquire and nurture Andrew Bynum really wasn’t gonna work out. It was also the game where Atlanta’s contention hopes were crippled during the first OT period by Al Horford’s matching pec-tear at the claws of Anderson Varejao. Oft-injured himself, the Brazilian has been bothered by a shoulder sprain.

If Andy V's a last-minute scratch, that would leave the responsibilities in the middle to trade-deadline acquisition Spencer Hawes (4-for-7 on threes, 20 points in Wednesday’s win at Orlando) and short-leashed second-year pro Tyler Zeller. Cleveland’s ability to remain in contention for the final playoff spot will depend on Irving’s ability to master the pick-and-pop game with Hawes. The Hawks have to make it an imperative to keep Tristan Thompson (3.3 offensive RPG, 6th in NBA), Varejao, and Hawes boxed out. Cleveland's 12.1 offensive boards per game ranks 5th in the NBA.

Going down the home stretch, with the stakes of a postseason appearance on the line, the Cavs have Kyrie (7-for-8 FGs, 17 points and 8 assists at Orlando) back to make the big offensive plays needed to close out games. The Knicks, naturally, have Melo. Who is going to be That Guy for the Hawks at crunch time? Logic says it has to be All-Star Paul Millsap (25.0 PPG and 14.0 RPG, 53.1 FG% in past two games). But he’ll need Jeff Teague and the Hawks’ wings to spread the Cavs defense out, allowing him to go to town inside and draw trips to the free throw line against Hawes, Tristan Thompson and the Cavs’ bigs.

When Teague and the Hawks’ guards penetrate and the lane clogs (Cleveland: 23.9 opponent at-rim FGAs, fewest in NBA East), they’ll want to find Millsap (and Mike Scott) for quick finishes around the rim (62.9 opponent at-rim FG%, most in NBA East). These were the kinds of quick-finish plays in the paint tailor-made for Horford. But Elton Brand is not exactly quick, while Pero Antić (27.0 FG% last six games) has struggled to finish, so this might be the type of game to get rookie Mike Muscala going inside.

Based on SportVu stats, the Hawks score 10.7 PPG on Teague drives (6^th most in NBA). But he’ll need Shelvin Mack, Dennis Schröder, and Lou Williams to stick to the gameplan and collectively counter Irving (7.7 team PPG on drives), Waiters (7.2 team PPG on drives), and Jarrett Jack.

Go Hawks!

~lw3