Many are calling the Eastern Conference Finals over with after the Cleveland Cavaliers (63-31 SU, 46-48 ATS) won the first two games on the road against the Atlanta Hawks (68-28 SU, 55-39-2 ATS). There's no doubt that a 3-0 series lead for the Cavs would be far too much for Atlanta to overcome, making Game 3 an absolute must win for the guests.
INJURY REPORT
Both of these teams are having a really tough time right now with injuries. It's way too early to tell if Kyrie Irving will give it a go in Game 3 or not, but if we were in David Blatt's shoes, we would be letting that injured knee get as much rest as possible before forcing the youngster back into action.
Atlanta has its own problems. Both Kyle Korver and Al Horford left the second half of Game 2 with injuries, and we aren't sure yet whether these men will or will not be able to be suit up come Game 3.
DeMarre Carroll did play in Game 2 after suffering a mild knee injury in Game 1, but he was visibly hurting and wasn’t nearly the same player, particularly defensively that he was in Game 1 before the injury.
BETTING TRENDS
- The Hawks are 6-0 ATS in their last seven games following a game in which they were beaten by double digits at home.
- The Cavaliers are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three games overall, winning those three games by an average of 13.7 points per game.
- The UNDER is 9-2 in Cleveland's last 11 home games against teams with winning records.
KEY STATS
40.0 percent: The shooting percentage for Jeff Teague in this series to date. Teague has taken some really wild shots and has had some terrible possessions offensively, and that's why Mike Budenholzer has had to try out both Dennis Schroeder and now Shelvin Mack at the point guard spot in this series.
41: The number of shots which the Cavaliers took in Game 2 that either came straight from LeBron James or were a result of James making the last pass before the shot. With Irving and Kevin Love out of the lineup and basically nothing but rim protectors (Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov) and outside shooters (Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert and James Jones) on the court around him, it's no wonder that James had to produce so much of the Cleveland offense.
Still, without him on the court in Game 2, that offense was terrible, including going the last 2:45 of the game without scoring a single point while he sat on the bench.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Boy, it's just all bad news right now for the Hawks, and we don't see any way back for them. James is playing terrible ball by his own standards at the moment, and there's still no way that Atlanta has a shot at contending against legitimately the best team in the Eastern Conference.
If Korver and Horford don't play, we would lay as many as 15 points in this game. We think this is going to be an ugly one even if they are out there; knowing Atlanta’s offense has simply been toyed with by Cleveland’s defense.
Cleveland 98, Atlanta 81
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