Together at Last: Eastern Conference Finals Preview

For the fifth time in franchise history, and first since 2009, the second-seed Cleveland Cavaliers have advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. There to greet them, as chalk may have it, is the top seed Atlanta Hawks, with little in the way of star power, but talons sharp and waiting.

Both clubs stand four victories away from representing the conference in the NBA Finals, fighting long and hard to get to their respective places. So what do fans need to know about this series? Just as we have for the previous two series, let’s take a look.

Hawks’ Playoff Run

Atlanta surprised much of the NBA world when they won 60 games this season. They dared to defy the widely held belief that a team requires a superstar (or two [or three]) to legitimately contend for a championship. In the first round, the Hawks collided with the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets, surprisingly, gave the Hawks a legitimate challenge and at one point even tied the series 2-2. Atlanta eventually vanquished Brooklyn in six games, but many national pundits raised eyebrows at ATL’s struggles. Next up Atlanta met the five seed Washington Wizards. The Wiz stole home court advantage by winning Game 1 in Georgia. Washington eventually led the series 2-1, but could not close out Games 4 or 5. Atlanta emerged victorious in Game 6 partly because Paul Pierce’s circus shot left his hand a blink too late. These series show that the Hawks are not steamrolling their opponents, but they fear neither the stage nor the odds.

Offensively, DeMarre Carroll leads Atlanta this postseason averaging 17.1 points per game. Carroll will likely get a workout in the Conference Finals as he is expected to primarily cover LeBron James on defense. Renowned sharpshooter Kyle Korver is hitting threes at a pedestrian 35% compared to his regular season clip of 49.2 percent. As a team the Hawks shoot a high volume of threes; the Cavs’ ability to close out on the perimeter will be tested in this series. Defensively Al Horford holds down the paint. Averaging 9.9 rebounds per game (2.9 offensive), Horford will quickly reacquaint himself with Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov down low. Sadly he will not meet Kevin Love.

Series History

The Cavaliers do not share the same storied playoff rivalry with the Hawks as their first two postseason opponents. Still, these clubs have clashed in the playoffs before.

2009: Cavaliers def. Hawks 4-0, Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
The 2009 Cavs imposed their will on the Hawks. The Wine and Gold went 66-16 en route to the top seed in the East.

Atlanta had no answer for LeBron who scored 135 total points in a four game sweep. The Hawks never posed a serious threat to the Cavs in this series as Cleveland won all four contests by 27, 20, 15, and 10 points.

Fan Psyche

Entering the Conference Semifinals Cavalier fans were justifiably apprehensive. The team had just lost Kevin Love for the year and would not see J.R. Smith until Game 3. However, role players like Iman Shumpert (15 points in Game 2) and Matthew Dellavedova (team high 19 points in Game 6) stepped up allowing Cleveland to defeat the Chicago Bulls in six games. The Cavs proved that even without Kevin Love they can put together a competent 48 minutes of basketball. Cleveland advances while riding high on their last series victory looking for their second ever Finals appearance.

Believe it or not, Atlanta fans have endured more than a few years of sports misery. Cleveland fans will not shed a tear for their plight, nor should they. After all, in 1995 the Atlanta Braves won the World Series over our beloved Indians. Since then, however, A-Town has suffered its share of heartbreak. The Braves won the NL Pennant in 1996 and 1999, but lost both World Series to the New York Yankees. In the 2012 NL Wild Card Game the Braves were on the wrong side of a controversial infield fly rule leading to their fans pelting the field with debris. In 2011 the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers left Georgia for hockey starved Winnipeg, Manitoba. The NFL’s Falcons made the Super Bowl in 1998, but lost to John Elway’s Denver Broncos. So Atlanta and Cleveland can at least commiserate over hating John Elway. In the 2012 NFC Championship Game the Falcons blew a 17 point lead at home to the San Francisco 49ers. Then there are the Hawks. After missing the playoffs eight straight seasons at the turn of the century, they returned to the postseason in 2008 and qualified every year since.

This year marks their first trip to the Conference Finals since 1970 when they were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers. The point of this paragraph is not to endear you to the Hawks, but rather to illustrate that both teams’ fans know the feeling of having their hopes crushed. One of them will again very soon.

Final Word

The best part of this series might be that the Cavaliers enjoy five days of rest before it begins. Assorted feet, knees, groins, backs, and shoulders all get almost a week to recover from their various ailments. While the Cavs might be spitting teeth after their physical series with Chicago, their mental toughness is no doubt at an all-time high. Atlanta also gets a few days off and seems up to the Cavaliers’ challenge. The series figures to be evenly matched which I feel works to the Cavs’ advantage. Late in games against the Wizards, Atlanta did not have a go-to guy for the final shot. One could argue that this benefits them by keeping the defense guessing. However, in a few key plays late against Washington it seemed no Hawk wanted to pull the trigger in crunch time.

Cleveland does not have that problem. As we saw in Game 4 against the Bulls, LeBron gets the last shot. Even when everyone in the building knows he will get the ball, he can still beat the buzzer. With his pedigree and role players stepping up in the bright lights I think it bodes well for Cleveland. Predictions are admittedly dumb, but I’m predicting the Cavs in 6 anyway.