The Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers will meet on Friday night in a battle that has gone poorly for the Hawks over the past several seasons.
The Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers have both injected life into their teams with statement wins over the Boston Celtics.
Cleveland has won four games in a row and is beginning to look like the bonafide title contender that they are expected to be. The Hawks moved back up to fifth-place in the Eastern Conference after a win over Boston that was one of their best performances in several weeks.
And now, both will look to build off of those decisive wins to obtain a maximum amount of momentum for the stretch run.
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For the Hawks, a road win in Cleveland will only come with a spectacular team performance. Their talent cannot matchup man-to-man with that of the defending champs but that does not make this game unwinnable. LeBron James is going to put up numbers but to beat the Cavs, one needs to try and contain those around him.
That is why Paul Millsap must win his power forward battle with Kevin Love.
This is as high-class a matchup that one will find at the power forward position. Love is a double-double machine that can score down low or on the perimeter. And Millsap is a complete two-way player with no real holes in his game.
Love’s value to the Cavaliers is that he has a skill set that is unique to his team. James and Kyrie Irving mesh well in that they can both handle, create for others, and score at will. But Love gives them that inside scoring presence that forces the defense to respect three high-level scorers.
Love has had his best season in Cleveland so far, averaging 19.1 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 38.0 percent from three-point range, the second-best mark of his career.
But Millsap has the skill set to give Love fits.
On the defensive end, Millsap is as sharp as they come. He can guard in the post and out to the perimeter, making him very capable of keeping Love under control.
Offensively, Millsap can test Love and force him to work all game long. Love is not a great defender and Millsap’s crafty offensive style can allow him to put up points on Love. Also, if Millsap can get going on offense, he can wear Love down on that end to hamper his own offensive abilities. Millsap was back to looking like himself against the Celtics with 26 points and 12 rebounds. If that Millsap shows up, Love will have a long night.
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This matchup is one that will be very fun to watch. Love is an x-factor of sorts for the Cavs, giving them that third All-Star caliber player. Millsap is the Hawks’ best player that must perform in order for the team to get big wins. Something has to give in this game. And the Hawks need Millsap to control Love and make LeBron beat them on his own.