Why Hawks Will Win (SI Article & My Thoughts)

[vdunkndunk]

SI just put out an article earlier today on why the Hawks may pull an upset, and I agree with a lot of what they say: http://www.si.com/nba/2015/05/20/hawks-rockets-james-harden-al-horford-kyle-korver-nba-playoffs-conference-finals

 

My thoughts on why we win:

 

(1) Hawks Offense v. Cavs Defense: Neither of the Cavs PGs can stay in front of our PGs (and that applies even when Kyrie Irving is healthy), and I see Teague and Schröder getting in the lane, collapsing the defense, and pushing the pace in ways they struggled to do at times against the Wizards. And if J.R. Smith ends up guarding Korver for significant portions of the game (and with out PGs getting in the lane more often), I'm thinking Kyle will be taking and hitting a lot more open shots this series. It also seemed to me that Mosgov had a lot of trouble with Horford pulling him away from the lane and hitting Js or blowing by him, and I think Millsap can do the same to Triston Thompson. So overall I see us getting our offense rolling this series.

 

(2) Hawks Defense v. Cavs Offense: DeMarre does about as good a job as you can ask him to do on LeBron, plus Horford and Millsap each posses an unusual combination of strength, athleticism, and mobility - so if LeBron gets in the lane, he's met by guys who are a bit bigger than he is, just as strong or stronger, and can actually hang with him athletically for the most part; and, now that the Cavs don't have Kevin Love stretching out our bigs on D, I think it will be much easier for us to clog the lane - plus LeBron hasn't been shooting all that well from the perimeter in the playoffs. Obviously, LeBron will put up numbers, but Love is out and Kyrie's injuries are making it tough for him to get to the basket the way he normally does.  So all in all, LeBron will have some great games - but I foresee us making it tougher on him and limiting the help he gets from his teammates. I think we need to stay out of foul trouble and make sure the Cavs' don't hurt us on the offensive boards, but, overall, I think we'll defend the Cavs at a higher level than they can defend us. 

 

(3) Home Court Advantage: I think home court advantage is a big factor that doesn't seem to get a lot of play in the media, but we've hardly lost in Atlanta this year and we've been great on the road, too. So basically, it's hard for me to see the Cavs stealing a game in Atlanta and winning all three games in Cleveland. That's a pretty tall order against a team that lost only 6 games at home all year and has the fifth best road record in the league (despite resting starters on the road a lot of nights down the stretch).

 

My prediction: Hawks take a hard-fought series in 6 games.

Edited May 20, 2015 by vdunkndunk

[QuantumZebra]

Good article. Even with non-homer goggles on this is the likely scenario if you're not riding LeBron's jock. 

Edited May 20, 2015 by QuantumZebra

[BrazilianHawk]

Hawks will win beacuese they DESERVE it. They play like no one is more important than the team.

 

If the refs let it, the Finals will come.

 

GO HAWKS!