The Cleveland Cavaliers will travel to Philips Arena to face the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Action begins at 8:30 pm ET on Wednesday, May 20 and can be seen on TNT.
The Hawks enter this game hoping for similar success after edging the Wizards 94-91 in their last matchup. DeMarre Carroll was a key piece, recording his third double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Tristan Thompson claimed his 14th double-double of the season with 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Atlanta is a slim one-point favorite at home against Cleveland. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of 197 points. The Hawks come into this game 60-22 Straight Up (SU) and 49-32-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 38-14 SU and 30-21-1 ATS against the Eastern Conference. The Hawks are one of the best in the NBA in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting an impressive .466 from the field. Atlanta is one of the best passing teams in the league with an average of 25.7 assists per game. Atlanta is one of the league’s top scoring teams off turnovers with an average of 18.2 points per game.
In the other locker room, the Cavaliers have a record of 40-42 ATS and 53-29 SU. Cleveland has a good SU record over the last 10 games (7-3), but have a 3-7 record ATS. The Cavaliers rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking fourth in the league with 826 made (10.1 per game).
In their previous meeting this season, Atlanta beat Cleveland, bumping its SU record to 8-2 over the Cavaliers in their last 10 meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record. 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, O/U – Over
Notes
Cleveland’s offense and Atlanta’s defense are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Cleveland puts up an average of 0.0 points per game, while Atlanta allows 0.0 points per game.
Cleveland and Atlanta are well matched, ranking zeroth in points per away game and points allowed at home respectively. Cleveland scores an average of 0.0 points on the road, while Atlanta allows 0.0 points at home on average.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Hawks are 44-5 on the season. When the Cavaliers score fewer than 100, they are a poor 11-24.
When the Atlanta Hawks allow at least 100 points they are 16-17, while the Cleveland Cavaliers are 42-5 when they register triple digits.
The Cavaliers have a defensive rating of 103.4 (ranked 17th). The Hawks rank sixth for their offensive rating of 106.3.
Atlanta averages 96.5 possessions per game, scoring 1.063 points on each possession. While Cleveland averages fewer possessions per game with 95.4, the team scores more points per possession with 1.081.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking fourth in the league with an EFF% of 52.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Atlanta Hawks have a losing 9-14 record.
Atlanta ranks near the top of the league in assists at second (25.7 assists per game). Cleveland is ranked 10th, with 22.1 assists per game.
Atlanta makes an average of 4.6 blocks per game (ranked 15th), while Cleveland makes 4.1 blocks per game (ranked 25th).
Atlanta is ranked 30th when it comes to offensive rebounding. Cleveland ranks 21st in defensive rebounds.
The Hawks record 9.1 steals per game on average (ranked fifth). The Cavaliers are 16-17 when allowing at least 9 steals.
