Cavaliers VS Hawks (Game 1)

Cavaliers Lead Series 1-0

The Cavs played good overall, but this was not what the Hawks can do. They had a very poor performance. I really was surprised on just how poorly the Hawks played.

The Hawks shot just 37.9% from the field. Not something that they are known for at all. Some people might argue that the Cavs defense was great, but I have to disagree. The Hawks shot more uncontested shots than contested shots. The problem was, they weren't hitting their open shots. In fact, they hit just 37.5 of their uncontested shots. They shot 48 of them! It seemed like Horford and Millsap just couldn't hit a post shot. They did a great job; they just couldn't get the shots to fall.

Dennis Schroder kept the Hawks in the game. He finished with 27 points in the game, leading points for both teams. They could really use another good performance from him in game 2. The Hawks need their starters to produce more though. Teague finished with just 8 points. Korver had 3 points in 37 minutes. Horford had 10. The Hawks just need to hit more shots.

The Cavs were very tough to defend in the game. Everyone was hitting 3's with really spaced the floor. J.R. Smith, Kyrie, Richard Jefferson, and Kevin Love were all hitting 3's. This really opened up the paint for LeBron. It really helped that LeBron was hitting outside shots as well. This forced the defense to guard him at the 3-point line which enabled him to get into the paint easily.

The Hawks really just need to hit shots. They didn't in this game. I expect them to heat up and the Cavs to cool down. If this happens, we will have some close games that might make this the series we've been waiting for.