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Cavaliers face Hawks in Game 3 on Friday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 5/6/2016  at  12:16:00 PM
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CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (63-25)

at ATLANTA HAWKS (52-38)

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference – Round 2
Tip-off: Friday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -2.5, Total: 198.5

The Cavaliers will be looking to take a 3-0 series lead when they face the Hawks in Atlanta on Friday.

The Hawks were rolling coming into this series, but they are now really struggling and are facing a Cavaliers team that is as hot as a team could possibly be. Cleveland knocked down 25 outside shots in Game 2 of this series, setting the record for most threes made by a team in a single postseason game. The Cavaliers will now be hoping to win their seventh straight game. They have also covered in four of their past five contests. One trend that really works in Cleveland’s favor is that the Hawks are 7-23 ATS in the second round of the playoffs since 1996. The Hawks are, however, an impressive 11-2 ATS in home games after failing to cover four of five of their last six against the spread this season. Atlanta is also 8-1 ATS in home games after having lost four or five of its past six on the year. C Tiago Splitter (Calf) remains out for the season for the Hawks, but he’s the only player that is likely to miss this game on Friday.

The Cavaliers are playing their best basketball of the year and are currently unbeaten in the postseason. SF LeBron James (23.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 6.8 APG, 2.5 SPG in playoffs) has been playing extremely well for Cleveland and had 27 points on 9-for-15 shooting in Game 2 of this series. James’ jumper was the talk of the playoffs coming into this matchup with Atlanta, as people thought that he could no longer shoot from the outside. James has responded by going 6-for-10 from three in this series and his shooting has been contagious for his team. If he can continue to knock down the outside shot then there will be a ton of open space for him and his teammates to attack the basket. PG Kyrie Irving (25.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.2 SPG in playoffs) has taken a ton of pressure off of James in this postseason. He is 7-for-10 from three over the past two games and has been able to get buckets whenever the Cavaliers need him to. If he can continue to outplay Jeff Teague then Cleveland should have no trouble finishing off Atlanta.

The Hawks have not been able to compete with the Cavaliers in this series and that is not going to change until C Al Horford (11.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.5 BPG in playoffs) gets his act together. Over the past five postseason games, Horford is averaging just 9.2 PPG on 36.7% shooting from the floor. This is a guy that is considered one of the most reliable players in basketball and he’ll need to start knocking down some shots soon. He’s doing a good job on the defensive end, but Atlanta desperately needs him to start making an impact offensively. PG Jeff Teague (15.1 PPG, 5.8 APG in playoffs) also needs to be a lot better for Atlanta in this series. He’s shooting just 5-for-19 from the floor through two games and must start to knock down some shots for the Hawks. The only way Atlanta can stick around in this series is if Teague holds his own against Irving. He has not yet done that and will need to on Friday. PF Paul Millsap (16.4 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 1.3 SPG in playoffs) has been Atlanta’s best player all year long. He’s averaging 16.5 PPG and 12.0 RPG in this series, but he may have to take his game to another level. The Hawks need him to be a lot more aggressive, as they are struggling to score and he is somebody that is capable of putting up 30. Millsap will need to put the team on his back on Friday.


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