Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks: Game 2 Grades And Analysis
With Kyrie Irving out of the lineup for Game 2, Friday presented the perfect chance for the Atlanta Hawks to even up the series on their home floor. Already with a game in hand, though, LeBron James led his Cleveland Cavaliers to a second straight dominating victory on the road, 94-82.
James took on the bulk of the offensive load for Cleveland, scoring a game-high 30 to go along with 11 assists and nine rebounds. The Cavs shot 40 percent from three-point range, benefitting from several LeBron kickouts.
DeMarre Carroll surprised many by suiting up and starting in Game 2, but he was extremely limited and ended with just six points. Kyle Korver was forced out of the game with a sprained ankle in the second half, and Al Horford suffered a knee injury that sent him to the locker room also—though he eventually returned.
| Matthew Dellavedova | B- |
| Iman Shumpert | B |
| LeBron James | A+ |
| Tristan Thompson | B+ |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
| Jeff Teague | C+ |
| Kyle Korver | C |
| DeMarre Carroll | C+ |
| Paul Millsap | D+ |
| Al Horford | C+ |
| Rest of Team | C- |
Cleveland Cavaliers
Matthew Dellavedova: B-
Called on in a pinch to start Game 2 with Kyrie Irving ailing on the sideline, Matthew Dellavedova stayed within his skill set to help Cleveland on Friday. He's a limited player to say the least, but while knocking down some jumpers and occasionally finding teammates rolling to the rim, the second-year pro is capable of some productive minutes.
He got into foul trouble early on, getting benched after three fouls in the first half. He struggled from the field, missing three of his first four shots, but helped out otherwise, finishing with four assists and six rebounds and also making a few nice passes to teammates that didn't result in baskets. He scored 11 on the evening, which doubles his season average.
Iman Shumpert: B
Two days after struggling mightily from the field in Game 1, Iman Shumpert stepped up in a big way on Friday. He missed his first jump-shot attempt, but made his next three shots, ending as the Cavs' second-leading scorer with 16 points on four made threes.
He was responsible for a few key passes to push the offense forward, but he had trouble keeping up with Kyle Korver, running directly into several screens.
LeBron James: A+
Asked to carry almost all of the offensive load for Cleveland in Game 2, LeBron James gave the Cavs everything they needed on Friday. Leading the team in points and assists, James' night had to be exactly what Atlanta feared from the former MVP.
Working primarily out of the post, his first seven assists were kickouts that led directly to made three-pointers. He finished with 11 dimes on the night, a game high, while also leading all scorers with 30 points and falling one rebound shy of a triple-double. For a stretch over the second and third quarters, James accounted for 33 of 49 consecutive Cavaliers points. Coach David Blatt commented on LeBron's performance, courtesy of ESPN True Hoop writer Bo Churney and the Cavaliers' official Twitter account:
The night was filled with LeBron highlight-reel plays, including spin moves to the rim and textbook post execution. Against a hobbled DeMarre Carroll for most of the game, James' mentality was clear from the beginning. He attacked from the very beginning, and Cleveland needed it.
Tristan Thompson: B+
As he's done through most of these playoffs, Tristan Thompson dominated on the glass. He led all players with nine boards before the halftime buzzer, finishing up with 16 rebounds, scoring seven on the night.
It was a rough night offensively for Thompson early on, blowing a few point-blank looks, particularly off lobs from Dellavedova. He missed his first five free throws and shot two-of six from the floor. Thompson rose up for a monster block on Kent Bazemore in the third quarter, but was questionably called for a foul on the play.
Rest of Team: B+
Timofey Mozgov made the most of his 25 minutes, going for 10 points and seven rebounds, and managed to sink a pretty rainbow jumper over Al Horford along the perimeter.
J.R. Smith, after a 28-point performance in Game 1, saw much more pedestrian results on Friday. He shot 3-of-8 for nine points. James Jones stepped in and benefitted from a number of LeBron James kickouts, making three of five attempts from three-point range for nine points.
Atlanta Hawks
Jeff Teague: C+
Jeff Teague did plenty of attacking and getting to the rim, but had trouble getting his shots to fall. He scored 12 and had six assists in Game 2, but shot just 5-of-16 from the field.
He helped the Hawks' ball movement for a while, through the first three quarters, while the game was close, making the extra pass on a few occasions to find the open Atlanta player. With Mozgov and Thompson standing tall at the rim more often than not, however, Teague's impact was minimal in this blowout.
Kyle Korver: C
All season long, when Kyle Korver struggles, it essentially shut down the Atlanta offensive attack. It was especially true on Friday, with Korver shooting 4-of-11 and just 2-of-6 from three-point range. Over his 32 minutes, he finished with 14 points.
He left the game in the third quarter and was later diagnosed with a right ankle sprain. With the injury bug hampering Atlanta mightily already in this series, Korver's status will be important to monitor in the coming days.
DeMarre Carroll: C+
Considering the frightening nature of his Game 1 knee injury, and his ensuing game-time-decision status on Friday, DeMarre Carroll's mere presence was an accomplishment. Still, the forward was clearly hobbled all night, and constantly lining up opposite LeBron James wasn't an easy task.
He was visibly favoring his injured knee on several occasions and was limited to just six shot attempts, going for six points and three rebounds. Carroll discussed playing through injury (via the Hawks' official Twitter account), and how, in the case of an injured player, he would have played the same way LeBron played against him (via Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group):
With Korver and Al Horford also falling victim to injury, Carroll's status moving forward now becomes even more important.
Paul Millsap: D+
On a night where the Hawks needed their four other starters to step up, with Carroll playing through injury, Paul Millsap was a non-factor. Over 27 minutes in Game 2, he shot just 2-of-8, going for only four points. Coach Mike Budenholzer noted that Atlanta's primary goal was to "play better" in the next game (via the team's official Twitter account):
He grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists on the evening, but committed three fouls and turned it over once. Two of his eight shot attempts were blocked, which is telling of how stingy Cleveland's interior defense was all night.
Al Horford: C+
As Atlanta's primary force inside, the team needed much more from Al Horford in Game 2. The center played 30 minutes, scoring 12 points and shooting 5-of-8 from the field. He totaled just six rebounds, as Atlanta was outrebounded 47-39.
He made a handful of productive plays, working hard in the post over Cleveland defenders for a couple of made baskets and nailing down a jumper. But it wasn't nearly enough to have the Hawks competing. Per Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick, Horford pointed out that he was "hit in the quad, but he was OK":
Rest of Team: B-
The Hawks saw Kent Bazemore make some positive contributions over his 12 minutes, including three made shots over a quick span in the first half. Dennis Schroder attempted 11 shots over his 12 minutes, going for 13 points. Mike Scott saw some early minutes and scored six points to go along with seven boards. Pero Antic scored just one point in his 11 minutes. Despite the lost, Bazemore remained firm in his belief that the Hawks are the "better team" (via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore):
Next Up
Trailing in the series now two games to none, the Atlanta Hawks have reason for concern. Not only do they trail in the series but three of their five starters have also been hit with injuries—Korver and Horford both had to exit Game 2 in the second half, though Horford eventually returned.
The series now moves to Cleveland, where the Cavaliers have lost just once since April 10.
