The Cavaliers rolled to a Game 1 victory Tuesday night, 99-72 against the Atlanta Hawks, but I will caution once again that tonight’s game will be a tougher contest. After shooting very well in the first half, the wine and gold defense tightened up, and stifled the Atlanta attack. The result was another double-digit playoff win, Cleveland’s fifth in a row this post-season.
After the almost inevitable slow start due to having not played a game in nine days, the Cavs got it going in the second quarter, building a lead of between 8-12 points before settling for a five point advantage at halftime. The new MVP, LeBron James made sure the wine and gold shook off the cobwebs early, scoring 22 points, even though TNT’s Charles Barkley said he wasn’t playing well.
By the way, is there any group of guys bitterer than the three ex-players on the TNT set? Barkley was a great player and a colorful analyst, but doesn’t he realize the Hawks best chance of winning is to make it a running game, and the Cavaliers want to make it a more structured contest? Also, the Cavaliers are a pretty good defensive team, and that’s what they hang their hat on, not fast break points.
LeBron James has more knowledge about winning in his pinkie than Chris Webber has in his entire body, and Kenny Smith continues to talk about how great he was (he wasn’t) during his playing career. Dudes, the Cavaliers are a darn good NBA team! They won 66 games this year! Mike Brown has won 50 or more games in three of his four years as a head coach. You would think he doesn’t have a club about the game listening to these guys.
In the second half, Brown told reminded his team that Josh Smith wants to go to the basket, and they must make him shoot jumpers. The players followed the instructions and the Hawks chief offensive player in the first half was nullified. Joe Johnson didn’t play well as he is capable either, Delonte West’s defense was a factor here, and the game turned into a blowout from the middle of the third quarter on, with James starting it by scoring nine straight points.
Tonight, you have to figure the Hawks will not continue their ridiculous plan to play #23 one on one. They will start trapping and doubling James, and so as usual, his teammates must step up. Mo Williams and West played well on Tuesday, but out of the big men, only Ben Wallace played real well. Therefore, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varajao, and Joe Smith must play better than they did in Game 1.
Also, tonight’s game will likely be a little more physical, and I would also expect Johnson to play much better for Atlanta. Thus, I would not expect another 27-point blowout in Game 2. However, another victory would give Cleveland a commanding 2-0 lead, and would force the Hawks to win four out of five against the Cavs to win the series. It is a very important game.
The Cavs know this as well. They have shaken off the rust and will get off to a better start than they did in the first game. My guess is Atlanta goes home this evening with their backs firmly against the wall.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 