CLE Cavaliers vs ATL Hawks

Earlier in the regular season, back in December, the Cleveland Cavaliers (now 1st seeded in the East) had an impressive streak where they won 11 games in a row by double digits, before they were stopped and defeated by the Atlanta Hawks (4th seeded in the East). Cleveland has opened this postseason with another streak of blowout wins, they had four in a row against Detroit, and then made the Hawks their latest victim, with a convincing 99-72 rout on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers are the first team to open playoffs with five straight double digit wins since Detroit Pistons' championship run in 2004, and they are doing it thanks to a very tough defense that allows just 76.8 points per game, almost 15 points less than during the regular season.

LeBron James is the league MVP and he deserves it

Cleveland’s superstar won his first Most Valuable Player award earlier this weak, enjoyed in his well deserved ceremony before the Game 1, picked up the trophy, and then came out to destroy Atlanta with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals. That was another huge performance for LeBron, who is averaging 32.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists in the playoffs, and seems to be virtually unstoppable. Cleveland started the game slow, though, and they looked a bit rusty after having a nine days rest since the quick end of their first round series against Detroit. The Hawks were able to hang in there early in the game, and were only 5 points down at halftime. However, Cleveland tightened up their defense in the second half, and allowed the Hawks to score just 28 points after the break. Mo Williams finished the game with 21 points, including 4 threes, while Delonte West had 13 points and 9 assists.

Even at full strength the Hawks are hardly a match for the Cavs

Atlanta has a rather short bench, with just three reserve players as part of their usual rotation, and to make things worse, two of their starters are struggling with injuries. Small forward Marvin Williams missed the last month of regular season with back problems, and is still out of shape, and now demoted to a backup role. And center Al Horford hurt his ankle in a series against Miami, and managed to score just 4 points with 8 rebounds in Game 1 against Cleveland. Add to the fact that Atlanta needed seven games to eliminate the Heat in the first round, and it is quite obvious why the Hawks melted down in the second half on Tuesday. Veteran Mike Bibby continues his solid play in the postseason, as he led his team with 19 points and 8 assists, while All Star Joe Johnson had a sub par game with 11 points and 5 turnovers.

Betting verdict

No chance for the Hawks in this series, especially not on the road in Cleveland, where the Cavs are now 42-2 this season.


The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the closest thing to a sure thing, straight-up and against the oddsmakers, all season long. The playoffs have been no different, as they are now 5-0 SU and ATS, heading into tonight’s Game 2 against the Atlanta Hawks.


The Cavaliers are on further pointspread hot streaks of 9-0 overall, 14-4 laying points in the postseason and 36-16 at home. Plus, in their rivalry with the Hawks, the favorite is on a 17-8 ATS spree.

Atlanta, on the other hand, is on a 1-7 ATS dive from the underdog role and is 0-6 in its last six outings as a double-digit pup.

That’s where this whole thing gets a little tricky. The Cavs are so hot, and pummeled the Hawks so badly in Game 1, that the spread tonight is now hovering around 13 points. And despite Atlanta’s negative ATS trend as a double-digit ‘dog, 13 points is an awful lot of points. Particularly when you figure in that prior to Tuesday’s 99-72 beatdown, the Hawks had cashed in three in a row against the Cavs and were on a 5-2 ATS roll in Cleveland.