Size. Rebounding. Reliance on the jumper. Lack of a defensive stopper on the perimeter. Inability to consistently get to the line. No take over the game player for crunch time moments. Playoff experience.
They are a very good team, I just don't think it's going to translate to the playoffs nearly as well as it has to the regular season.
These guys don't have a championship level Tony Parker or a Kawhi style two way threat. Not to mention a player with the creativity of Manu.
I don't know. I think you're exaggerating their weaknesses a little. This is after all a team that has 49 wins with a month and a half left in the season, so they've got to be doing something right.
Size: The Hawks have good size from 1-3 but I'll give you that they're a little undersized down low. However in my opinion length and reach are much more important for bigs and Al Horford and Paul Millsap are both long, each with 7'1+ wingspans that make up a little for their lack of height.
Rebounding: True they're not particularly strong in this area, but we only average 2 more rebounds a game more than them and they're actually ok in defensive rebounds. The area where they're low is offensive rebounds but honestly this is largely because they take and make such high percentage shots (3rd in FG% in the league), so there aren't many offensive rebounds available.
Reliance on the jumper: We only average 1 more ppg more than them in the paint. They really don't rely too much on the jumper. They have a pretty good inside-out game with guys like Teague and Shroeder who can slash very well, Mike Scott and Demarre Carroll who are pretty good at getting in the paint, and a very good post up big in Al Horford, plus Millsap who's alright in the post.
Lack of a Defensive Stopper on the Perimeter: Not true. His name is Demarre Carroll and he's a very good perimeter defender. It's actually his calling card.
Inability to Get to the Line Consistently: They do average 2 less free throws per game than us, however they are a very good free throw shooting team, so they average only 1 less free throw make a game. Not a noticeable difference.
No Take Over the Game in Crunch Time Guy: This is true. But they don't need one guy. They have a lot of guys who can score so who cares if they don't have a guy who can completely take over. They move the ball well so they'll be able to get open shots. And Teague is very clutch (pretty sure he hit that one bullshit game winner in OT against us last year actually lol), and Paul Millsap has had plenty of game winners himself, so I don't think it's too big of a a concern.
Playoff Experience: They don't have championship experience like we do in Lebron, but I'm pretty sure every guy on their entire roster has played in the playoffs before and lots of them have played past the first round/well past the first round (Horford, Millsap, Teague, Sefolosha, Brand...). This is more of a concern for us, seeing that 2 of our main 3 players have absolutely 0 playoff experience.
Overall, I think people are really sleeping on the Hawks. I believe in this Cavs team and I really think this is our year, but the Hawks are no joke, and no matter who wins, that series will probably go 7 games and should be tough for both teams.
