The Cleveland Cavaliers and their third-ranked offense welcome the Atlanta Hawks and their second-ranked defense in Game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, May 10 and can be seen on TNT.
The Cavaliers enter this game hoping for similar success after barely hanging on to beat the Hawks 100-99 on Sunday. Kevin Love was a key piece, recording his 43rd double-double of the season with 27 points and 13 rebounds.
This showdown pits one of the league’s top offenses against one of its elite defenses, as Cleveland currently ranks third in the NBA in offensive efficiency and Atlanta is second in defensive efficiency.
Notes
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 38-9 on the season. When the Hawks score fewer than 100, they are a poor 10-29.
The Cavaliers have a 27-16 record when they allow at least 100 points. The Hawks have also performed well when they reach the century mark with a record of 42-11 in such games.
The Hawks have a defensive rating of 99.8, second-best in the NBA. The Cavaliers also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 109.7 (ranked third).
Cleveland averages fewer possessions per game than Atlanta, with 95.4 compared to 99.4. However, the Cavaliers score an average of 1.097 points per possession, more than the 1.032 that the Hawks score.
Atlanta has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.4%, ranked sixth in the league. Cleveland is a winning 24-12 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Cleveland Cavaliers attempt 30.0 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 50-20 record, while Atlanta is 33-34.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are among the best in the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.81 (ranked fifth). Ranking ninth, the Atlanta Hawks have an A/TO of 1.75.
The Cavaliers rank ninth in rebounds per game with 44.4, while the Hawks rank 25th with 42.3 per game.
The Atlanta Hawks rank 30th in offensive rebounding, while the Cleveland Cavaliers rank 11th in defensive rebounding.
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 21-9 record SU when it has a TOV% of 15.3% or greater.
