The Atlanta Hawks mission may be a little more difficult than anticipated

Mission one for the Atlanta Hawks was to host the Charlotte Hornets and then to beat them. It took a half to establish dominance but then De’Andre Hunter and Trae Young just took over the game and put the result beyond doubt.

The second mission for the Hawks prior to reaching the postseason is to travel to Ohio to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hawks won the season series against the eighth placed Cavs 1-3 which would have been of benefit had they finished the regular season on the same win/loss record.

Thanks to the Cavaliers taking the victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on the final day of the season they cruelled any chances of the Hawks taking the seventh seed. The best the Hawks can hope for is the beat the Cavs in the second play-in game for the honor of taking on the top-seeded Miami Heat in the first round series.

The Atlanta Hawks job may be a little bit harder.

The Cavaliers upgraded their starting center Jarrett Allen to questionable for the first time since he fractured a finger on his left hand back at the start of March. Since he went out injured the Cavaliers have fallen from near the top of the Eastern Conference, right down into the play-in.

This is the importance of Allen to this franchise. He is their defensive leader, and also helps them on the offensive end, finishing lobs and collecting offensive rebounds, This is why the Cavaliers were such a big surprise at the start of the season.

Their ability to start three 7-foot players makes them a very difficult team to match-up on. They used this to their advantage when all three can take the court. Not having John Collins could stretch the Hawks defense a long way. While he is only 6’9″ he can leap above the treeline which could have helped.

If the Hawks can harness the way they played against the Hornets in the third period, then they should have a really good chance of beating the Cavaliers, with our without Allen.