Atlanta Hawks Present Entirely New Challenge for LeBron James' Cleveland Cavs
The Atlanta Hawks are a deep, experienced, cohesive group that maximizes the full potential of what it has.
In other words, they're a dramatically different test than the ones LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have passed so far this postseason.
The Boston Celtics had great chemistry and an enjoyable bellicosity, but they lacked the top-level talent needed to threaten the Cavs. The Chicago Bulls weren't short on intriguing individual pieces, but not all of them were healthy and their whole never looked as good as the sum of those parts, anyway.
Cleveland hasn't coasted through the playoffs, but its 8-2 postseason record shows how often it's been tested. Atlanta has the combination of ability and ambition needed to change that.
And the Cavs know it.
"They're a great team. They've been a great team all year," James said of the Hawks, via Northeast Ohio Media Group's Chris Haynes. "They've been the No. 1 seed in our conference all year for a reason and it's going to be highly competitive."
If the NBA is truly a superstar's league, James and the Cavs should have their key to the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history. For all of the championship criteria the Hawks have—depth, discipline, good coaching, two-way balance—their lack of an elite star has concerned outside observers all season.
But it didn't keep this club from establishing itself as one of the regular season's greatest powers.
| Wins | 60 | Second |
| Point Differential | Plus-5.4 | Fourth |
| Offensive Rating | 106.2 | T-Sixth |
| Defensive Rating | 100.7 | Seventh |
| Net Rating | Plus-5.6 | Fourth |
The Hawks aren't merely a good team; they're a great one.
And they've always viewed their supposed biggest weakness as perhaps their essential strength.
"Give me four or five really good players compared to just one superstar," Paul Millsap said in late January, via Paul Newberry of the Associated Press. "I'll take that any day."
The Hawks have fashioned themselves as the San Antonio Spurs of the East. And like their role models from the Alamo City, the Hawks have staked their greatness on an unwavering commitment to selflessness.
It's apparent in everything they do.
They had the regular season's highest assist percentage (67.6) and ranked fifth overall with 322.9 passes per game. Their entire starting lineup shared the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award in January. Four of those players—Millsap, Jeff Teague, Al Horford and Kyle Korver—were selected for the All-Star Game.
"We're about playing our style of basketball, whether it's preseason, regular season, postseason," Millsap said, per Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico. "We're going to continue to play our style. We know who we are. We're not going to let everybody else tell us what we're not."
Atlanta's style, overseen by head coach and former Gregg Popovich disciple Mike Budenholzer, almost seems like a different sport than what Cleveland is playing. Atlanta trusts its system; Cleveland depends on its stars.
The Cavs rely on James and (when he's healthy) Kyrie Irving to create most of their offense. Both had a usage percentage north of 26 during the regular season (James at 32.3, Irving at 26.2). Teague led Atlanta's starters with 25.3.
Cleveland went to the isolation game more than any other team in the league during the regular season. Atlanta avoids ball-stopping possessions at all costs.
"The Spurs Lite approach installed by Budenholzer these past two seasons is all about ball movement and spacing," noted NBA.com's Steve Aschburner.
Teague and reserve point guard Dennis Schroder set Atlanta's offense in motion with dribble penetration. Stopping those attacks is only the first part of the battle for opposing defenses. This Atlanta roster was built in a way that ensures every player who sees the floor is a scoring threat, and almost all of them can light the lamp from anywhere on the court.
Sleep for one second, and the Hawks can burn you with both player and ball movement.
Atlanta has all the pieces to give Cleveland's defense some problems.
Cavs center Timofey Mozgov can't sit back and patrol the paint, since Millsap, Horford, Mike Scott, Mike Muscala and Pero Antic can all make plays away from the basket. James can't leave his assignment to roam, and there's nowhere to hide the banged-up Irving.
Though it is worth noting the Hawks offense hasn't been flying nearly as high as it did during the regular season.
The Hawks are scoring 4.2 points per 100 possessions fewer now than they did then. Shooting percentages have plummeted throughout this rotation. Korver has dropped to 35 percent three-point shooting after hitting 49.2 percent in the regular season; Teague's field-goal percentage has slipped from 46 to 39.9.
But none of this has shaken the players' trust in their approach. This hasn't been the prettiest playoff ride, but it still delivered Atlanta its first ever Eastern Conference Finals berth.
There's no reason to try reinventing the wheel.
"We have to win being ourselves," Millsap said, via ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz. "We're not going to win being someone else or being a different team. We're not going to change overnight. We've got to stick to who we are, stick to our basics, stick to our principles."
Maybe the Hawks won't have enough.
It's quite possible their lack of a full-fledged star could be a fatal flaw when they run into the league's biggest and brightest. And if Irving can somehow put his left knee and right foot problems behind him, the Cavs could have the two best players in this series.
That won't be easy for Atlanta to overcome.
But the Hawks present their own problems.
James knows firsthand how dangerous a free-flowing, selfless squad can be. Last season, San Antonio used the same style to dethrone King James and the Miami Heat.
The Hawks don't have the same Hall of Fame talent as the Spurs, but clearly, the blueprint has already assisted Atlanta. And it's far from the only advantage this club will have in the series, as the battles of both the benches and the coaches could be won decisively by the Hawks.
Despite having the higher seed and the home-court advantage that comes along with it, the Hawks won't enter this series as the favorites. James' presence alone guarantees that.
But that status won't matter when these two teams step between the lines and the Cavs square off with their most dangerous adversary to date.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
