2024-25 Season | Game #20 | Cavs @ Hawks | Nov. 29, 2024

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Wham with the Right Hand

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After getting upset at home by the Hawks on Wednesday the Cavs get an opportunity for some immediate payback Friday in Atlanta. Game time is 2:30 and it will be televised nationally on NBA-TV. The game will count towards the NBA Cup where the Hawks are 2-0 in Group C while the Cavs are 1-1.

Dean Wade is out and Caris LeVert is a game time decision. LeVert reportedly practiced at full speed on Wednesday. The Hawks have no significant injuries.

The Hawks are 4-5 at home. With De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovich having recently returned from injury the Hawks are a lot deeper than they were previously. That showed up big time on Wednesday as Hunter and Boggy combined for 43 points off the bench on just 24 shots. They were 8-for-14 on 3’s.

The Hawks rank 28th in scoring defense, allowing 121 points per game. The Cavs scored 124 on Wednesday despite shooting just 15-for-48 on 3’s. Offense was not the problem.

The Cavs’ defense was a sieve. The Hawks came in averaging 115.6 ppg and torched the Cavs for 135, including 37 in the 4th quarter when the game was decided. The Hawks average just under 17 fast break points per game but had 28 against the Cavs, partly due to the Cavs’ 33 missed 3-point shots resulting in long rebounds and fast break opportunities.

However, the Hawks were also fast breaking after made baskets, grabbing the ball out of the net, leaping across the end line, and throwing baseball style passes to halfcourt to get the ball across the center line before the Cavs could fall back effectively. The Cavs should be better prepared for that the second time.

The bigger issue, however, was the 3-point shooting - for both teams. The Hawks average 12 made 3’s per game but made 20 against the Cavs, so those extra eight 3’s added 24 points. Meanwhile the Cavs average 19 made 3’s and made only 13 for deficit of 18 points. That’s a 42-point difference in favor of the Hawks on 3-point shots from what would be expected from these teams based on their averages. The Cavs lost by 11.

Obviously on Friday the Cavs need to play with more focus and intensity on defense. They tried to play a zone but the Hawks were ready and had no problem breaking it down by getting the ball to the free throw line for short jumpers in front of the rim or kickouts to the corners.

Trae Young set a career high in assists with 22 as he sliced and diced the Cavaliers at will. He also chipped in 20 points of his own.

The Hawks are 5th in points in the paint but 17th in points from 3’s. They reversed that against the Cavaliers, scoring 5 fewer points in the paint than normal but 27 more points on 3’s (if you include Boggy's three free throws when he was fouled on a 3). They also grabbed 14 offensive rebounds.

The Cavaliers will have a day to watch the film and make adjustments. Part of it was just great shooting by the Hawks; Hunter in particular was knocking down 3’s with a hand in his face. But the Cavs rank 29th in opponent 3-point percentage so this has been an area of extreme vulnerability and the Hawks exploited it.

This is the Cavaliers’ Achilles heel - their 3-point defense. In their only other loss this season the Celtics were 22-for-41 on 3’s. At their normal 3-point percentage of 37.5% the Celtics would have made 16, but those extra six made 3’s added 18 points over expected in a 3-point Cavs’ loss.

It appears the Cavs knew the Hawks rank last in defending 3’s; the Cavs kept firing away even though they were missing. The Cavs normally take 38 per game but Wednesday they put up 48. It will be interesting to see if the Cavs keep throwing up 3’s on Friday or if they decide to attack the rim more.

Mobley was very effective inside on Wednesday, going 7-for-15 and getting to the line 10 times. Jarrett Allen had 17 points on just 7 shots and got to the line 7 times. The Hawks are 5th best in defending the paint, but Mobley and Allen were efficient scoring inside. The Cavs might go inside more this time around.

Defensively the Cavs need a better solution for Young and Hunter, who burned the Cavs for 22 assists and 26 points, respectively. And Bogdanovich had 17 points on just 8 shots.

Better 3-point shooting will mean fewer fast break chances for the Hawks, but the Cavs still need to get back on defense better even after made baskets.

This is an NBA Cup game so there is money on the line if the Cavs can win and advance to the elimination round. But I’m sure the Cavs also want to make a point that the Hawks’ win in Cleveland was the result of a bad game by the Cavs and not something to be repeated.
 
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Anxious how KA adjust against the Hawks. Will cavs continue to give up open 3s and over help against drives?
 
Anxious how KA adjust against the Hawks. Will cavs continue to give up open 3s and over help against drives?
That's a problem against every opponent, not just the Hawks. I would say that is the Cavs #1 weakness right now. They rank 29th out of 30 in opponents' 3-point shooting percentage. That has to improve, especially since Boston leads the NBA in made 3's per game and it's not even close. The Celtics made 22-of-41 when they beat us by 3 points in Boston. Three-point shooting won them that game and unless we get better at defending 3's we won't beat the Celtics in a playoff series.

The two games the Cavs lost this year were against opponents who were 20-for-42 or 22-for-41 on 3's. If the Cavs could significantly improve their ability to contest 3's they might be darn near unbeatable. This should be Kenny's #1 goal and there's really nothing that is #2 at the moment. Getting LeVert and Wade back could help. I would consider playing Okoro more and Niang and Merrill less in the meantime. Isaac is shooting 54.7% from the field and 48.7% on 3's in November.
 
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Interesting game today because this is the first time this season the Cavs are playing a team that beat them. The next time will be Sunday against Boston. This will be a really interesting weekend for the Cavs as we get two opportunities to see how Kenny adjusts in the second game after losing the first.

The Hawks won on Wednesday because they made 20 three-point shots when they average just over 12. They got 3 more points when Bogdanovich got fouled on a 3-point shot and made all three free throws, so they actually exceeded their normal 3-point output by 27 points. That was the difference in an 11-point Hawks' win.

This is a Hawks team that came in ranked 21st in 3-point accuracy, yet they torched the Cavs from deep. What is Kenny going to do about that?
 
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Anxious how KA adjust against the Hawks. Will cavs continue to give up open 3s and over help against drives?
Based on his presser last night, this is the plan.
 
Interesting game today because this is the first time this season the Cavs are playing a team that beat them. The next time will be Sunday against Boston. This will be a really interesting weekend for the Cavs as we get two opportunities to see how Kenny adjusts in the second game after losing the first.

The Hawks won on Wednesday because they made 20 three-point shots when they average just over 12. They got 3 more points when Bogdanovich got fouled on a 3-point shot and made all three free throws, so they actually exceeded their normal 3-point output by 27 points. That was the difference in an 11-point Hawks' win.

This is a Hawks team that came in ranked 21st in 3-point accuracy, yet they torched the Cavs from deep. What is Kenny going to do about that?
In last night’s presser he said “he wouldn’t change a thing about the Hawks game.”

Thought that was a little odd.
 
Okay, I'm just going to recycle my prediction for the last game, only this time we play defense. We can play good 3 point defense--we just don't.

We also have to defend at the point of attack, which we've done in the past, but not in the first game.

I expect Caris back and better defense. Cavs 135, Hawks 119.
 
In last night’s presser he said “he wouldn’t change a thing about the Hawks game.”

Thought that was a little odd.
Was it before or after he said "see if we can make some adjustments and play better."? Or maybe it was before "the 2014/2015 Hawks were one of the greatest teams of all time and would have beaten us worse tonight." ? ;)


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Atkinson did mention they had good shot selection (despite missed clean looks) in the first half and that they will continue to use the zone at times (claiming that it won a few games this year). When asked about the overhelping and the cutting breakdowns, he said something about how over aggression can lead to back cuts and the Hawks took advantage there.

I think they should adjust some concepts and executions of them.

The team could be waiting to implement additional schematic adjustments until there's more than a few days off in a row and they can get more substantial practices in.
 
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Was it before or after he said "see if we can make some adjustments and play better."? Or maybe it was before "the 2014/2015 Hawks were one of the greatest teams of all time and would have beaten us worse tonight." ? ;)


----

Atkinson did mention they had good shot selection (despite missed clean looks) in the first half and that they will continue to use the zone at times (claiming that it won a few games this year). When asked about the overhelping and the cutting breakdowns, he said something about how over aggression can lead to back cuts and the Hawks took advantage there.

I think they should adjust some concepts and executions of them.

The team could be waiting to implement additional schematic adjustments until there's more than a few days off in a row and they can get more substantial practices in.

I thought our defensive scheme was quite bad. We showed on Trae which is a mistake as he can find openings and cutters quite easily when you play him like that. You should trap or hard hedge him. You can't have him have so much daylight to just play quarterback. Really weird.. I hope they do something differently tonight.
 
Comeback mentioned this earlier - that’s why the ref
I understood and was referring to the fact that Fedor is more credible and objective than the President of the Dean Wade Fan Club
 

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