Atlanta Hawks Game Preview: April 9th vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Atlanta Hawks play the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in three days. Can they come away with another win?

The Atlanta Hawks have clinched a spot in the NBA Playoffs. All they have to worry about moving forward is their seeding. Currently they have a 0.5 game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Their first-round opponent doesn’t really matter. Being matched up with the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, or Washington Wizards won’t scare Atlanta. Sure, each of those teams would be favored, but the Hawks are capable of winning four out of seven games against any of them.

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After back-to-back playoff sweeps at the hands of the Cavs, Cleveland is the only team the Hawks will desperately want to avoid. It’s impossible for Atlanta to guarantee where they will be seeded unless they win out.

They could still finish fifth, sixth, or seventh. Until they know where Cleveland will finish, it makes no sense to attempt to avoid them by losing intentionally.

Uncertainty or not, they still have to play their remaining games. Today, Atlanta welcomes Cleveland to Philips Arena for a Sunday afternoon showdown. It will the second time they have played in the last three days. They’ll be sick of each other by the time this game ends.

The Hawks have won two of three meetings with Cleveland this season. Atlanta won when they played in November. Cleveland won when they met in early March. The Hawks took round three on Friday night in surprising fashion. It came as a shock to fans and pundits alike.

The Hawks entered Friday’s game with a beaten down roster. Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha, Paul Millsap, and Dwight Howard all missed the game due to injury or rest. Losing seemed like a certainty. How could Atlanta’s collection of role players and bench warmers compete with the defending champs?

Atlanta won with their offense, something that has been a rarity this season. The Hawks shot 50.6 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from three-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting. Hardaway’s scoring and playmaking helped spark the 18-5 fourth quarter run that would secure the win for Atlanta.

After the game, Hardaway spoke about the win meaning very little if they don’t follow it up with another victory on Sunday. The quote comes from the AP’s recap on ESPN.com.

"“It doesn’t mean anything,” Hardaway said. “We’ve got to see them again. We know they’re a great basketball team and they’re the defending champs. We’ve got to come back on Sunday with the same intensity and the same mindset because they’re going to come after it.”"

Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s “revenge game” was a success. Dunleavy scored 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting against his former team. Atlanta’s makeshift bench comprised of Malcolm Delaney, DeAndre’ Bembry, Ryan Kelly, Mike Muscala, and Kris Humphries combined to score 55 points.

Bembry was particularly impressive. He spent time guarding LeBron James and did so fearlessly. It was reminiscent of his defensive performance against James Harden earlier in the season. Bembry ended the game with eight points, five rebounds, and three assists on 4-for-5 shooting.

The Cavaliers looked out of sorts on offense. LeBron James had 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists on 12-for-15 shooting, but no other player stood out. It was a surprisingly listless performance from a team that is supposed to be gearing up for their playoff run.

Kyrie Irving had a quiet 18 points. Kevin Love added 15 points. Cleveland’s bench scored just 21 points. The last time these teams played Cleveland made an NBA record 25 three-pointers. Friday they made just nine. Atlanta’s 114-100 win once again gives critics ammo to use when picking apart Cleveland’s contender status. Would a real title contender lose to a team with that many key players missing?

It looks like the Hawks will be at almost full strength today. That’s good news. It might be physically impossible for them to repeat Friday’s herculean effort. It was a once in a lifetime type of win for those players.

Thabo Sefolosha only Hawks player ruled out a day ahead of game with Cavs Sunday.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) April 8, 2017

I still think the Cavaliers will win this game. They remain the better team. The Hawks have clinched their spot in the postseason, so there is no longer a sense of desperation hanging over every game. They can relax a bit. It will be close, but the Cavaliers will win.

Next: Hawks/Cavs: Matchup To Watch

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (51-28) @ Atlanta Hawks (41-38)

When: 3:30 PM EST, Sunday, April 9th, 2017

Where: Philips Arena

How: Fox Sports Southeast/NBA TV

Prediction: Cavaliers 102 Hawks 95

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