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The Cavaliers make the late night trek to Atlanta to take on the surging Hawks, who have won 8 of their last 11 games. The Hawks are 39-37 overall and 24-14 at home. The Hawks also played last night, beating the hapless Thunder in Oklahoma City 136-118.
The Hawks have been scorching the nets lately, scoring 121, 132, and 136 in their last three games, albeit against inferior competition. They’ve also been giving up a lot; 110 points to Golden State without Steph Curry, 123 to Indiana, and 118 to OKC. By the way, the Warriors have lost 7 of 8.
For the season the Hawks rank 6th in scoring at 113.5 ppg and 23rd in scoring defense, so we could see a lot of net movement on both ends of the floor tonight.
The Hawks lead the season series 2-1. They won the most recent game in mid-February by a score of 124-116 with Trae Young going off for 41 points and 9 assists.
Obviously the Cavs won’t have Allen, Mobley, or Wade tonight. Those three combined for 44 points and 24 rebounds the last time these teams played. But we won’t have Rondo, either, who was a -16 in 19 minutes and failed to score. We lost by 8. Addition by subtraction.
So this could be a shootout, but with both teams flying in late last night they will be tired. It didn’t stop Dallas from getting 120 points last night, though.
Young averages 28.1 points and 9.6 assists, so Okoro will have lots of fun trying to keep him from taking over the game like Doncic did last night. Young is averaging 33.3 points per game in three games against the Cavs this year along with 9 assists, so he hasn’t been all that impressed with Mr. Okoro. Young is averaging 10 free throws per game against the Cavs and is an expert at drawing fouls against defenders who are trying to get away from him but are too slow.
John Collins is their second-leading scorer at 16.2 ppg. He missed last night’s game so I’m not sure what his status is. It was a “game time decision” so I assume he’ll play tonight. The Hawks are in 10th place, one game behind the Nets for the 8th spot, so they need this game.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, and Kevin Huerter average 15.0, 13.5, and 11.9 ppg, so it’s not all Trae all the time. Dino Gallinari averages 11.4 and Clint Capela 10.8 so they have seven players who average double figures. Capela is a load on the offensive glass. With no Allen or Mobley he could have a field day. He is averaging over 14 rebounds per game against the Cavs this year with a high of 23, including 11 offensive rebounds, in a game the Hawks won by 3 points.
Gallinari was also down last night so if he and Collins are both out it will help, but the Hawks have plenty of other weapons.
I’m expecting this to be the Trae Young Show much like last night was the Luka Doncic Show. Young has four games this month over 40 points and three more over 30. Maybe JBB will try LeVert on him tonight. Young is listed at 164 pounds; Okoro at 225. No way Okoro can stay in front of him.
Everybody in the Hawks rotation hits between 36-38% of their 3’s. As a team they’re making 37.1%, second best in the NBA, so the Cavs need to play great perimeter defense to keep it competitive.
The Hawks are poor defensively, ranking 23rd in scoring defense, 26th in effective field goal percentage, and 27th in opponents’ 3-point percentage. The only area they are strong defensively is they don’t give up a lot of free throws (6th fewest). They’re below average in blocks and steals. I could see LeVert having another big game. Garland had 30 in the last game against them.
For the Cavs to keep up with these guys they’ll need Love and Markkanen to light it up from deep while Garland and LeVert get consistent dribble penetration leading to scores. Last night Love and Marky combined to go 3-for-13 on 3's. Can't have that tonight.
This is the final game in March. The Cavs are 6-9 so far. I think the Hawks have to be heavily favored based on their very good home record and their excellent play of late, plus they are the healthier team even if Collins and Gallinari are out. The Cavs beat them in October but the Hawks won the last two.
The Hawks have been scorching the nets lately, scoring 121, 132, and 136 in their last three games, albeit against inferior competition. They’ve also been giving up a lot; 110 points to Golden State without Steph Curry, 123 to Indiana, and 118 to OKC. By the way, the Warriors have lost 7 of 8.
For the season the Hawks rank 6th in scoring at 113.5 ppg and 23rd in scoring defense, so we could see a lot of net movement on both ends of the floor tonight.
The Hawks lead the season series 2-1. They won the most recent game in mid-February by a score of 124-116 with Trae Young going off for 41 points and 9 assists.
Obviously the Cavs won’t have Allen, Mobley, or Wade tonight. Those three combined for 44 points and 24 rebounds the last time these teams played. But we won’t have Rondo, either, who was a -16 in 19 minutes and failed to score. We lost by 8. Addition by subtraction.
So this could be a shootout, but with both teams flying in late last night they will be tired. It didn’t stop Dallas from getting 120 points last night, though.
Young averages 28.1 points and 9.6 assists, so Okoro will have lots of fun trying to keep him from taking over the game like Doncic did last night. Young is averaging 33.3 points per game in three games against the Cavs this year along with 9 assists, so he hasn’t been all that impressed with Mr. Okoro. Young is averaging 10 free throws per game against the Cavs and is an expert at drawing fouls against defenders who are trying to get away from him but are too slow.
John Collins is their second-leading scorer at 16.2 ppg. He missed last night’s game so I’m not sure what his status is. It was a “game time decision” so I assume he’ll play tonight. The Hawks are in 10th place, one game behind the Nets for the 8th spot, so they need this game.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, and Kevin Huerter average 15.0, 13.5, and 11.9 ppg, so it’s not all Trae all the time. Dino Gallinari averages 11.4 and Clint Capela 10.8 so they have seven players who average double figures. Capela is a load on the offensive glass. With no Allen or Mobley he could have a field day. He is averaging over 14 rebounds per game against the Cavs this year with a high of 23, including 11 offensive rebounds, in a game the Hawks won by 3 points.
Gallinari was also down last night so if he and Collins are both out it will help, but the Hawks have plenty of other weapons.
I’m expecting this to be the Trae Young Show much like last night was the Luka Doncic Show. Young has four games this month over 40 points and three more over 30. Maybe JBB will try LeVert on him tonight. Young is listed at 164 pounds; Okoro at 225. No way Okoro can stay in front of him.
Everybody in the Hawks rotation hits between 36-38% of their 3’s. As a team they’re making 37.1%, second best in the NBA, so the Cavs need to play great perimeter defense to keep it competitive.
The Hawks are poor defensively, ranking 23rd in scoring defense, 26th in effective field goal percentage, and 27th in opponents’ 3-point percentage. The only area they are strong defensively is they don’t give up a lot of free throws (6th fewest). They’re below average in blocks and steals. I could see LeVert having another big game. Garland had 30 in the last game against them.
For the Cavs to keep up with these guys they’ll need Love and Markkanen to light it up from deep while Garland and LeVert get consistent dribble penetration leading to scores. Last night Love and Marky combined to go 3-for-13 on 3's. Can't have that tonight.
This is the final game in March. The Cavs are 6-9 so far. I think the Hawks have to be heavily favored based on their very good home record and their excellent play of late, plus they are the healthier team even if Collins and Gallinari are out. The Cavs beat them in October but the Hawks won the last two.
