The third-ranked offense of the Cleveland Cavaliers (62-25) welcomes the second-ranked defense of the Atlanta Hawks (52-37) in Game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, May 4 and can be seen on TNT and C+D.
The Cavaliers defeated the Hawks 104-93 on Monday. LeBron James led all scorers on the team with 25 points on 11-for-21 shooting.
The game should be a battle of strength against strength, as the productive offense of Cleveland (third in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 109.3) takes on the stingy defense of Atlanta (second in the league with a defensive efficiency of 99.1).
The Cavaliers come into this game 62-25 Straight Up (SU) and 40-45-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 62-25 SU and 40-45-2 ATS versus the Eastern Conference. Few teams in the league have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Cleveland, which ranks fifth at 1.80.
As for their opponent, Atlanta has a SU record of 52-37 and an ATS record of 44-43-2. In Eastern Conference games, Atlanta has gone 52-37 SU and 44-43-2 ATS. A large part of Atlanta’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 18.2 points per game off turnovers, which ranks fourth in the league.
Cleveland won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bringing its SU record to 8-2 over the Hawks in the last 10 games. The Cavaliers also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 8-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle
Notes
“Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games “.
“Cleveland is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home”.
“Cleveland is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home”.
“Cleveland is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta”.
“Cleveland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta”.
“The total has gone OVER in 15 of Cleveland’s last 22 games when playing Atlanta”.
“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”.
“Atlanta is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland”.
Cleveland puts up an average of 104.3 points per game (ranked seventh), while Atlanta allows 98.9 points per game (ranked sixth).
Atlanta has allowed an average of 101.0 points per away game this season. Cleveland averages 106.6 points per home game, placing the team fifth in scoring.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 36-9 on the season. When the Hawks score fewer than 100, they are a poor 10-27.
The Cavaliers have a 26-16 record when they allow at least 100 points. The Hawks have also performed well when they reach the century mark with a record of 42-10 in such games.
The Hawks have a defensive rating of 99.1, second-best in the NBA. The Cavaliers also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 109.3 (ranked third).
The Atlanta Hawks average 99.6 possessions per game and 1.030 points per possession. The Cleveland Cavaliers earn fewer possessions with 95.4, but they score more points with 1.093.
Atlanta has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.3%, ranked sixth in the league. Cleveland is a winning 23-12 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Cleveland Cavaliers attempt 29.0 three point field goals per game and the Atlanta Hawks attempt 28.0 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Cleveland has a solid 47-20 record, while Atlanta is 33-31.
Cleveland ranks near the top of the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.80 (ranked fifth). Atlanta is ranked ninth, with an A/TO of 1.76.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rebound 44.3 times per game and are ranked 11th. Ranked 23rd, the Atlanta Hawks rebound 42.5 times per game.
Cleveland is ranked 10th in defensive rebounds, while Atlanta ranks 30th in offensive rebounds.
Though Atlanta is one of the best in the league in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TOV% of 15.3% (ranked first), Cleveland has a solid 18-9 record SU when it has a TOV% of 15.3% or greater.
