The competition towards the 2016 NBA Finals can’t get any more intense than it is right now as teams fight it out on the court to get through the playoffs. Tonight, fans will be treated to another battle as the Cavs try to jump to a two-game lead over the Hawks. Keep reading for the game preview and prediction.
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Cleveland Cavaliers vs Atlanta Hawks
- Time: Wednesday, May 04, 2016 8:00 PM ET
- Place: Quicken Loans Arena
- Betting Odds: Cavaliers -7.5
- Total: 197
Bet on the Cleveland Cavaliers
Lebron James took care of things in game 1 on Monday night, leading his team to victory. James finished the game with 25 points, 7 boars and 9 assists and saved the day for Cleveland. James came through for the Cavs after trailing for a spell in the last period and it was up to him to close the game with a victory.
Cleveland also received solid contributions from Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who finished the game with a combined 38 points. If they’re to win tonight, the Cavs will need them to have a similar performance because even if James is firing on all cylinders, the Hawks will be doing everything they can to slow him down.
Though the Cavaliers have an eight-game series win streak over the Hawks, it’s no time for them to rest on their laurels and they should set the pace of the game tonight, getting off to a good start and attempting to break away early to avoid having to rely on James to come back from behind.
Bet on the Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks kept themselves in the game fairly well. In fact, through the first three and a half periods they were toe-to-toe with the Cavaliers and led at one point during the fourth and final period.
They even forced Lebron to have to pick things up for the Cavs. However, this is exactly when things went South, because when James came alive he went on a scoring rampage to which the Hawks could not answer back.
This is to say that in order for Atlanta to win, they’ll have to figure out a way of getting in the way of Lebron and pester him enough to slow things down. Of course, they’ll never be able to fully stop him, however this will force Cleveland to have to adjust and give the Hawks a better shot at winning game 2.
Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague will have to kick it up a notch or two, which isn’t to say they didn’t have a good first game. However, against the Cavs, and specifically against James, you have to put up as many points as you can.
Defense will be the key that could win the Hawks this second game. If they can control James by not allowing him to get the ball too much time, they’ll have a shot. However, they’ll also need to keep Love and Irving in check and make sure to keep them off-track.
Betting Trends
- Atlanta is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
- Atlanta is 16-8 SU in its last 24 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Atlanta's last 9 games
- Cleveland is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta
- Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Cleveland's last 8 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Game Predictions: The Hawks will do a good job at slowing Lebron down. We predict the Hawks coming away with an upset.