Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavs: Game 2 Odds
Written May 7, 2009 by Steve Janus
The Cavs look to stay perfect at home in the postseason after moving to 5-0 with their Game 1 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Cleveland. NBA odds makers definitely favor the Cavaliers coming away with their 6th home playoff win as Cleveland is listed as a 13 point favorite over the Hawks. Tonight’s game gets started at 8 PM EST, let’s take a look at some key factors from Game 1 and look forward to Game 2.
Recently crowned NBA MVP, Lebron James came out in Game 1 and did not disappoint. He racked up 34 points and 10 rebounds as the Cavs coasted to a 99-72 victory. But the Cavs didn’t need to rely only on The King as Mo Williams chipped in with 21 points, including four three-pointers. The scary part is that James scored 22 in the first half, and they didn’t need him much in the second since the Hawks could not find a way to solve the Cleveland defense.
Josh Smith led the Hawks with 22 points, including some highlight-reel moments, and Mike Bibby shot well from beyond the arc and ended up with 19 points. The problem was that nobody else showed up for Atlanta. Joe Johnson scored 11 points, but was the only other player in double-digits for the Hawks, who only got 10 points out of their bench, compared to 20 from the Cavs’ back ups. The Hawks shot fairly well from the floor, but struggled from the free throw line, hitting only 9-18 attempts, compared to 17-24 for Cleveland in yet another facet of the game that they out-played Atlanta.
Simply put, the Cavs are the best team in the East right now and nobody, especially not the Atlanta Hawks, wants to play them on their home court. Cleveland lost just two games on their home court all season (only one where their starters played) and all indications are that they will continue their winning ways throughout the playoffs. The Cavs average game at home is a 102-87 victory, while the Hawks average road game this season has been a 95-99 loss. Atlanta posted just a 17-28 record on the road this season, yet another reason to expect the Cavaliers to improve to 2-0 in this series. The Cavs should almost certainly win this game, the only question is by how many points. With the spread at 13 points, this isn’t an easy decision. I would be surprised if Atlanta did not come out and play with a lot more intensity for Game 2, but I think it’s pretty clear that they are out-gunned in this match up. For a prediction on this game, I would lean toward the Cavs -13 and the OVER 178 points, but don’t be surprised to see a more motivated Hawks team on the floor tonight.
If you are going to bet on the NBA Playoffs this year, you owe it to yourself to check out some of the expert NBA picks our cappers have going throughout the NBA postseason.
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