Cleveland returns home after pulling off a dramatic 19-point 4th quarter comeback in a win over the Boston Celtics last night, giving the Cavs a three-game winning streak.
Atlanta has won four games in a row coming into tonight, including a 114-103 win over the Miami Heat last night.
Projected Starting Lineups
Cleveland Cavaliers (4-3)
G Kyrie Irving – 22.7 ppg, 5.0 apg
G Shawn Marion – 4.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F LeBron James – 27.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 6.7 apg
F Kevin Love – 17.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg
C Anderson Varejao – 11.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Atlanta Hawks (5-3)
G Jeff Teague – 16.3 ppg, 8.0 apg
G Kyle Korver – 16.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg
F Thabo Sefolosha – 5.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg
F Paul Millsap - 16.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg
C Al Horford - 13.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg
What to watch for:
Cleveland's defensive rotations
Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer is a Gregg Popovich disciple, and he's brought many of the Spurs' offensive principles with him to Atlanta. One of those is a lot of ball movement - giving up good shots to get great shots.
One of Cleveland's weakness' so far this year has been their defensive effort and slow rotations, which the Hawks will try to exploit throughout tonight's game. If the Cavs play with a high level of intensity on that end of the floor, they'll limit Atlanta's offense and have an easier time winning this game.
Who will step up for Atlanta?
Cleveland has had huge 4th quarters in each of their last two games, which proved to be the difference in each of those games. LeBron James or Kyrie Irving have taken over during crunch time, but the Hawks don't have a guy they can rely on to create points for themselves when the team needs it. They're going to need to have someone step up because this game will be fairly close down the stretch.
Prediction: Cavs win 114-105
Cleveland naturally plays with more intensity at home, which should help their defense. The Cavs have gone on a big run in every game they've played so far, and that will create an avalanche of momentum in Quicken Loans Arena. I don't think Atlanta has enough firepower to withstand that, which will give the Cavaliers the win.
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