5 Keys for Cleveland Cavaliers to Win Eastern Conference Finals
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks were the Eastern Conference's best teams during the regular season. Now set to face each other in the East Finals, we'll finally see which one truly deserves to be on top.
Atlanta earned the No. 1 seed, finishing at 60-22 overall. They went 3-1 against the Cavaliers and were one of just two teams to post a winning record over Cleveland. The Hawks took down both the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards in six games this postseason.
The Cavaliers ended the season on a better streak, however, finishing an NBA-best 34-9 over the final three months. After losing Kevin Love for the remainder of the postseason in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics, the Cavs responded emphatically by handling the Chicago Bulls rather easily in six games.
Cleveland is about to find out that Atlanta will be a much tougher test.
Short-handed and banged up, the Cavaliers can still take down the Hawks, but only by acing the five following tests.
Win the Rebounding Battle
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During the Cavaliers-Bulls series, one key stat remained consistent: Whoever finished with more rebounds won every single game.
Despite losing its regular-season leader in rebounds (Love), Cleveland has used his backup to provide that same dominance on the glass.
Tristan Thompson slid into the starting lineup in Game 2 against Chicago and was huge against the Bulls' impressive front line. Thompson averaged 10.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks as a starter. Led by Thompson, the Cavs grabbed 28 percent of all offensive boards, the best mark of any playoff team.
As Kyrie Irving told Matthew Florjancic of WKYC:
"What he does out there, rebounding, especially on the offensive end, gives us so many big possessions, especially when the game's getting tight. I feel like some of his hugest moments, people think they come in the first or second quarter and they're huge possessions for us. But in the third and fourth quarter, he's making even bigger possessions. He doesn't get tired. The guy doesn't get tired, so we really appreciate what he brings to our team.
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Although the Hawks' front line of Al Horford (9.9 rebounds) and Paul Millsap (9.0) have been great on the glass this postseason, Atlanta as a team has been consistently beaten. The Hawks are minus-0.3 in rebounding differential (ninth among postseason participants), while the Cavaliers are an impressive plus-4.1 (second overall).
For a team as good as the Hawks defensively, Cleveland will need all the offensive rebounds it can get. Thompson needs to continue his strong play as the team's new starting power forward.
Role Players Step Up
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It's no secret that the Cavaliers enter the Eastern Finals a bit short-handed.
Love is out until next season. Irving is dealing with foot and knee issues. Iman Shumpert (groin), Thompson (shoulder) and LeBron James (ankle) are banged up as well. Even the Bulls were a model of health and stability when compared to the Cavs.
Atlanta has some minor injuries with DeMarre Carroll (hip pointer) and Horford (finger), but nothing considered too serious.
With some of Cleveland's main guys out or not at 100 percent, this is prime time for role players to step up.
We've already witnessed what Thompson brings to the table with his rebounding and hustle. Much like the Eastern Semifinals, Cleveland will need its deep backcourt to shine through as well.
Shumpert and Smith have been huge additions since their trade from the New York Knicks. While Smith served as the Cavs' starter at shooting guard during the regular season, Shumpert has since taken over those duties now in the playoffs.
Both have been brilliant.
The duo is combining for 21.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.1 three-pointers and 2.6 steals. Cleveland is 18.5 points per 100 possessions better with Smith in the game and 7.1 points improved with Shumpert.
Deeper into the roster sit unlikely heroes like Matthew Dellavedova and James Jones. Both stepped up against Chicago, with Jones going for 17 points (5-of-9 from three) in a Game 2 win and Dellavedova leading the Cavs in scoring (19 points) during their series-clinching Game 6 victory.
While players like James and Irving will lead the charge, role players must continue their strong play for Cleveland to advance past the Hawks.
Punish Hawks Inside
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It was widely assumed that the Hawks would sweep their opening-round series against Brooklyn. Instead, the eighth-seeded Nets pushed Atlanta to six games thanks to their size inside.
Brook Lopez, Brooklyn's 7-foot center, averaged 19.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. Horford, although supremely talented, has always played undersized as a 6'10" starting center. As good as the Hawks are in other areas, they simply had little answer to combat the Nets' size.
Against Washington in Round 2, the Wizards continued to bully the Hawks inside. Marcin Gortat, Nene and Kevin Seraphin all had standout games over the course of the series. Even without John Wall for three contests, the Wizards managed to push the Hawks to six games.
The Cavaliers can capitalize in much of the same way.
This is where Timofey Mozgov comes into play. The 7'1" big man has transformed Cleveland's defense and been a reliable offensive option since his trade from the Denver Nuggets. Mozgov has been the NBA's best defensive center this postseason, allowing a minuscule 34.7 percent shooting at the rim.
He not only has the size and strength (250 lbs) to bully Horford (6'10", 250 lbs) inside, but he is also mobile enough to step out and defend the mid-range area.
The Cavaliers allow 17 fewer points per 100 possessions with Mozgov on the floor, and opponents' effective field-goal percentage drops from 49.5 percent to 40.6.
Cleveland must capitalize on its size advantage with Mozgov on both ends of the floor against the Hawks.
Kyrie Irving at Least 75 Percent
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Irving initially hurt his right foot against the Celtics in Round 1, and he has since developed tendinitis in his left knee from overcompensation.
After reaggravating his knee in Game 6 against Chicago, Irving has been slow in his preparation for Atlanta. As coach David Blatt told Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal:
"He’s going through a lot of treatment and we’re monitoring and just hoping that he progresses from here until game time. We determined that he’s going to rest and going forward, (he is) day-to-day. We’ll see how he’s feeling and what we can do with it. We’re very much on top of this obviously and Ky is doing everything he possibly can to get well.
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Irving was the Cavaliers' second-most impactful offensive player while at full strength during the regular season. Cleveland was 10.3 points per 100 possessions better with Irving on the floor, second only to James' 12.3-point improvement.
Now, Irving doesn't need to drop 20 to 25 points every game for the Cavaliers to win. He doesn't have to be an explosive ball-handler who gets to the rim on a consistent basis. Instead, Irving just has to be around 75 percent of his normal self. That means being able to guard his opponent effectively, knocking down three-pointers and serving as a floor-spacer for James.
While Dellavedova stepped up big in Irving's absence during Game 6, the Cavs can't expect him to completely fill the three-time All-Star's shoes. Irving still needs to give Cleveland 15-20 points while providing adequate effort on D.
An Aggressive LeBron James
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On the surface, James appears to be enjoying a dominant postseason.
Through 10 games, he's averaging 26.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks. While most would only dream of putting up a similar stat line, this is far from James' best performance.
In fact, from an efficiency standpoint, James has been rather lousy by his standards. His 42.4 percent shooting from the field is James' lowest since the 2008 playoffs. His 14.6 percent mark from three is nearly twice as low as anything James has averaged during his 10 postseason appearances.
The good news?
James is still getting to the basket more than anyone. His 13.9 drives per game are first among all playoff participants. On these drives, James' field-goal percentage spikes to 66.2 percent.
For a player who's been happy deferring to teammates and picking his spots in the past, James knew his approach had to change without Love and following a Game 1 loss to the Bulls. After scoring 33 points in a Game 2 win, James had this to say, via Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:
"For me, I had to change my approach tonight knowing how shorthanded we are and be ultra-aggressive. Kyrie (Irving) wanted me to be ultra-aggressive, which I'm not accustomed to doing, especially taking that many shots. I've never been a high-volume shooter. But I have to respond to my teammates. What my teammates want me to do, I try to succeed at doing it. This is a change of mindset for myself, and I have to do it if that's what my guys want me to do.
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No matter how good Irving, Mozgov, Thompson and others can play, the Cavaliers won't beat Atlanta without an aggressive and efficient James.
Cleveland's title chances rest firmly on the shoulders of James, still the best player in the league.
Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. All stats provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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