PT: Hawks v.s. Cavaliers - ECF

[Hawk Eye]

Gentleman, it is my pleasure to present to you all the...

Eastern Conference Finals



-Schedule-

Game 1: Wednesday May 20th @ 8:30PM
Game 2: Friday May 22nd @ 8:30PM
Game 3: Sunday May 24th @ 8:30PM
Game 4: Tuesday May 26th @ 8:30PM
Game 5: Thursday May 28th @ 8:30PM
Game 6: Saturday May 30th @ 8:30PM
Game 7: Monday June 1st @ 8:30PM

Atlanta Hawks:



PG: Teague
SG: Korver
SF: Carroll
PF: Millsap
C: Horford



Cleveland Cavaliers:



PG: Irving
SG: Shumpert
SF: LeBron
PF: Thompson
C: Mozgov

All is well for folks throughout the city of Atlanta







Even though we've reached the ECF for the first time in history; we are hungry for more



Our guys have their eyes on the prize



Korver will look to bounce back this series and get back to his old self



Horford will be setting the best picks in the series as usual



Millsap's do-it-all versatility will be on point filling up the stat sheets



DeMarres true defensive juggernaut form will finally be revealed



Teagues penetration will be doubled and virtually unstoppable



Our men will be ready so let the games begin!

[MaceCase]

Probably the worst frontcourt the Hawks will see in these entire playoffs, sure they hit the boards but they offer very little on the offensive end and their defensive prowess is in the paint and not out to the perimeter. Lebron will play more 4 which will help give another defensive option to check him in Sap, that works to mitigate Thabo's loss had Bron been playing predominantly on the wing.

[jumpgo692003]

Cavs fan. I anticipate a great series. Would not surprise me if home team wins every time and that would support the importance of hca

Cavs obviously go into this series as underdogs and would have been even with love.

Losing love will hurt more in this series then the bulls. Bulls are better defensively but not nearly as offensively efficient, even had no injuries occurred to them

I do have the Cavs winning but partly because I'm a fan and partly because the role players have been playing at a high level. A lot hinges on Irving imo.

Atlanta won the season series convincingly but they split the series after the key trades so we'll see.

Good luck and hope no (more) injuries for either team

[HMFFL]

Our beloved Hawks are favored to win game one by one point.
GO HAWKS!!

[Goudelock]

Does anyone think that the refs will favor the Cavs significantly in this series? Because I can envision a Lebron/Kyrie parade to the FT line as Demarre Carroll and the ATL defenders barely breathe on CLE players, while Lebron and friends are just hacking away at the Hawks players.

[MaceCase]

Does anyone think that the refs will favor the Cavs significantly in this series? Because I can envision a Lebron/Kyrie parade to the FT line as Demarre Carroll and the ATL defenders barely breathe on CLE players, while Lebron and friends are just hacking away at the Hawks players.

It is something to watch out for and was the case in the last game that the Hawks played Cleveland. I guess what has been troubling is that the team led the league in not fouling its opponents yet somehow couldn't stop themselves against the Cavs. Also, in both the first two rounds, teams that were far worse in fouling their opponents all of a sudden improved to become less foul prone than the Hawks.

[Hawks champs]

Does anyone think that the refs will favor the Cavs significantly in this series? Because I can envision a Lebron/Kyrie parade to the FT line as Demarre Carroll and the ATL defenders barely breathe on CLE players, while Lebron and friends are just hacking away at the Hawks players.

I predict we have all players foul out before halftime if we've got a lead after the first quarter.

[Luciferswings]

I think a lot of people are sleeping on the Hawks here. The Cavs deserve to be the favourites, given the relative playoff form the 2 teams have shown, but there are a few things that should really help the Hawks in this series:
1) No pressure. Everyone expects Lebron to win, so the Hawks can play freer.
2) The Wizards and Nets are worse teams than the Cavs, but match up wise they are a bigger issue for the Hawks. The Hawks actually match up really well with the Cavs.
3) The Cavs look a bit banged up/tired.

I'm expecting a Cavs win, but will not be surprised by the Hawks winning in 6. People are sleeping on them a lot. Either way, the Hawks have had a successful season (their most successful ever in Atlanta).

[TheOUTLAW]

I can't see why the Cavs would be favored. Heck, they just limped past the overhyped Bulls. They still have some injury issues with Love and Kyrie. I think that the Cavs should be able to stick with the Hawks, but to be honest what the Hawks showed in the last was that even when they aren't playing all that well they can turn an 8 point deficit around in a very short period of time. That kind of firepower is scary.

[LeMasta]

Hawks offense should easily keep up with their defense. I have a good feeling Korver get back into rhythm and even more than just that. Really going to interesting seeing how they match up against Lebron, even without Thabo, I'm confident they can do some damage, after all, everyone's very smart, and well disciplined defensively.

The trust in Coach Bud and the Hawks is real. GETEM Hawks

[ATL Boy]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Buccigross/status/599542401422745600[/tweet]
This shouldn't be dismissed as "it was just the regular season." Whatever Demarre was doing against Lebron was working. It also means that we won't have to double Lebron if Carroll keeps up some of that defense. (Note: these stats are specifically when Carroll was on Lebron, not during the entire game obviously).

[KidHawk2020]

Does anyone think that the refs will favor the Cavs significantly in this series? Because I can envision a Lebron/Kyrie parade to the FT line as Demarre Carroll and the ATL defenders barely breathe on CLE players, while Lebron and friends are just hacking away at the Hawks players.

Well seeing as I've been watching ESPN and have not once heard a story about my Atlanta Hawks, lol. Even though they are the #1 Seed and the first game is in the ATL. These fools just talk about Cleveland and all their injuries, and of course what Lebron had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, haha. It's ok Atlanta people still doubt us, but we have put in the work all season. Have beat the top teams in the league, and if we play this series at our optimal level we will win this series.

Let's go Hawks!!!

[Goudelock]

Does anyone think that the refs will favor the Cavs significantly in this series? Because I can envision a Lebron/Kyrie parade to the FT line as Demarre Carroll and the ATL defenders barely breathe on CLE players, while Lebron and friends are just hacking away at the Hawks players.

Well seeing as I've been watching ESPN and have not once heard a story about my Atlanta Hawks, lol. Even though they are the #1 Seed and the first game is in the ATL. These fools just talk about Cleveland and all their injuries, and of course what Lebron had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, haha. It's ok Atlanta people still doubt us, but we have put in the work all season. Have beat the top teams in the league, and if we play this series at our optimal level we will win this series.

Let's go Hawks!!!

This meme sums up ESPN pretty well:

[KidHawk2020]

I know we don't have Thabo, and i'm just looking at the size match up. Yeah I know we'll use Carrol on Lebron, but that could tire Carrol out having to guard Lebron so much. So what about Mike Scott on Lebron? He's 6'8 and about 240, He's got long arms and even at Virginia was known for his defense if i'm not mistaken? I'm thinking we will see some Mike Scott on Lebron, how is mike guarding guys on the perimeter? I've not really paid attention to his defense. I do know Mike Scott is long and rangy, but does he have the lateral quickness to stay with Lebron? Any thoughts on this situation?

[ATL Boy]

I know we don't have Thabo, and i'm just looking at the size match up. Yeah I know we'll use Carrol on Lebron, but that could tire Carrol out having to guard Lebron so much. So what about Mike Scott on Lebron? He's 6'8 and about 240, He's got long arms and even at Virginia was known for his defense if i'm not mistaken? I'm thinking we will see some Mike Scott on Lebron, how is mike guarding guys on the perimeter? I've not really paid attention to his defense. I do know Mike Scott is long and rangy, but does he have the lateral quickness to stay with Lebron? Any thoughts on this situation?

While it's an interesting idea, I don't think Scott has the foot speed to match Lebron on the defensive end.


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[BadNFluenz]

lets go hawks man i am so excited

[Luciferswings]

Hawks fans need to embrace the idea the idea that they we playing with house money, and not be upset however the series turns out. For this year, the ECF was enough, it and 60 wins is the best season in Atlanta Hawk history. Anything more is gravy.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Hawks fans need to embrace the idea the idea that they we playing with house money, and not be upset however the series turns out. For this year, the ECF was enough, it and 60 wins is the best season in Atlanta Hawk history. Anything more is gravy.

I have to disagree. We will never get a better chance at advancing to the Finals than this one. Kyrie is banged up and Love is out. There is no reason why we shouldn't win this series. Teague take advantage of his great matchup and make our open 3's at a good clip and we will be in the Finals.

[PandaKidd]

Its not house money. This team won 60 games, I consider us making it to the ECF a success. However, there is a RED CARPET rolled out to make it to the finals. YOu never know what next year brings. Other teams will get stronger, we could lose people in FA, injuries etc etc etc.

I expect this to go 7 games. Lebron is LEBRON. I never pick against him, he is just so good at what he does. He makes people like Delladova who is a cast off be the game changer in a close out game. They have some BRUTES they could throw in the middle (perkins) and they have a Rim protector in Mozgov. Shumpert should guard Korver I assume, Carroll on LBJ, Teague and KI will be interesting.

Hawks in 7.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Its not house money. This team won 60 games, I consider us making it to the ECF a success. However, there is a RED CARPET rolled out to make it to the finals. YOu never know what next year brings. Other teams will get stronger, we could lose people in FA, injuries etc etc etc.

I expect this to go 7 games. Lebron is LEBRON. I never pick against him, he is just so good at what he does. He makes people like Delladova who is a cast off be the game changer in a close out game. They have some BRUTES they could throw in the middle (perkins) and they have a Rim protector in Mozgov. Shumpert should guard Korver I assume, Carroll on LBJ, Teague and KI will be interesting.

Hawks in 7.

Mozgov is a rim protector but a liability around the FT line and that's where he will be forced to play vs Horford. I think we see Mozgov play limited minutes (20 or less per game) in favor of Lebron at PF with Thompson at C. Kyrie and Della cannot stay in front of Teague/Dennis and they should feast if Mozgov is not on the court.

Hawks in 5/6 if we shoot well from 3. Cavs in 7 if they shoot well from 3 while Korver continues to struggle and we shoot it below average as a team.