This is the first 2nd round match-up in the Eastern Conference between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavaliers reached this point by sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the opening round of the playoffs. Cleveland really didn’t have to lean on LeBron James like in the past because guys like Kyrie Irvin, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith throughout the series. Can Cleveland’s Big Three continue their dominance over the Atlanta Hawks and get back to the Eastern Conference finals? On the other hand, Atlanta disposed of the scrappy Boston Celtics in 6 games in the first round. The key to the success of the Hawks in the series against Boston had to be their defense and they’re hoping they can find a way to contain the explosive offense of the Cavaliers. Both of these teams come into this series fairly healthy, so who will win the series and advance to the Eastern Conference finals?
I think we all expected the Cavaliers to reach this point when the playoffs started, but let’s not take away from the Pistons as they played Cleveland tough and seems to be a team on a rise. Last year, Cleveland didn’t have Kevin Love for most of the playoffs because of a shoulder injury in the first round of the playoffs last year. This is actually a rematch of the Eastern Conference finals last year when the Hawks were the top seed in the East, but Cleveland swept them. Can Cleveland sweep Atlanta for the second consecutive year? Let’s take a look at the Atlanta Hawks, who’s been playing pretty good the last couple of months. They may didn’t win 60 games like they did last year, but this is a better team from a year ago. They still have Al Hordford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague, but they have Kent Bazemore playing great and they have Sefolosha playing this year, along with the likes of Kris Humphries, Tim Hardaway Jr and Mike Scott. This series should be better than last year, but I think the Cavaliers will still win the series in the end.
Cleveland Cavaliers Win Series 4-1
How do you see the series playing out? Do you see the Cavaliers sweeping the Hawks? Do you think this series will be competitive? Head to the comments section and give me some feedback about this series between Atlanta and Cleveland.
