The Cleveland Cavaliers welcome the Atlanta Hawks to Quicken Loans Arena for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Action begins at 8:30 pm ET on Sunday, May 24 and can be seen on TNT.
The Cavaliers enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Hawks 97-89 on Wednesday. J.R. Smith was a key piece with 28 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Jeff Teague led the team in scoring with 27 points.
The odds for Cleveland and Atlanta are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available. The Cavaliers have gone 53-29 Straight Up (SU) and 40-42 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a solid 7-3 SU record over their last 10 games, but have not fared as well ATS (3-7). The Cavaliers are one of the best in the NBA in terms of three-point field goals, making 10.1 shots per game from beyond the arc.
Over on the other bench, the Hawks have a record of 49-32-1 ATS and 60-22 SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Atlanta is 38-14 SU and 30-21-1 ATS. The Hawks convert their shots at a high percentage, ranking fourth in the league at .466. The Hawks are an unselfish team with an average of 25.7 assists per game, ranking second in the NBA. Atlanta is the fifth-best team in the league at scoring points off turnovers with 18.2 per game.
The Cavaliers’ win over Atlanta in their last game wasn’t enough for them to overtake the Hawks in the recent head-to-head series. Their record is now 3-7 SU over the most recent 10 meetings. With a 6-4 record, the Cavaliers have the advantage ATS. Over the last 10 matchups, Atlanta held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers four times. Cleveland performed this feat once.
Predictions: SU Winner – CLE, ATS Winner – CLE
Notes
Cleveland 4-0-1 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland’s last 7 games at home.
Cleveland is 23-2 SU in its last 25 games at home.
Cleveland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
Cleveland is 1-3-1 SU in its last 5 games, when playing Atlanta.
Cleveland is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Cleveland is 3-7 ATS in its last 10 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Both Atlanta and Cleveland rank zeroth in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Atlanta puts up 0.0 points per game, while Cleveland gives up 0.0.
Atlanta and Cleveland are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Atlanta scores an average of 0.0 points on the road, while Cleveland allows 0.0 points at home on average.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Atlanta Hawks are a superb 44-5. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a poor record of 11-24.
When the Atlanta Hawks allow at least 100 points they are 16-17, while the Cleveland Cavaliers are 42-5 when they reach the century mark.
The Cavaliers have a defensive rating of 103.4 (ranked 17th), while the Hawks rank sixth for their offensive rating of 106.3.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking eighth in the league with a FG% of 45.8%. When their opponents have a similar or higher FG%, the Atlanta Hawks are 12-15.
The Cleveland Cavaliers average 27.5 three point attempts per game, and the Atlanta Hawks attempt 26.2 per game. When going for at least 25 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Cleveland is 34-21 and Atlanta is 38-15.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 16th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.62. The Atlanta Hawks have a higher A/TO (1.91), ranking third.
The Atlanta Hawks are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league with just 40.6 per game. Ranked 18th, the Cleveland Cavaliers average 43.0 rebounds.
The Atlanta Hawks rank 30th in offensive rebounding, while the Cleveland Cavaliers rank 21st in defensive rebounding.
Atlanta is among the best in forcing turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.0% (ranked third). Cleveland has a 13-12 record SU when its TOV% reaches 16.0% or greater.
