Series in Review: Eastern Conference Finals (Cavs vs. Hawks)

With the conference finals finally behind us, and with about a week until the Finals start, we could probably pass time by revisiting the recent round of basketball in the NBA. We will start at the East, where the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Battle of the Wounded

 

Korver grimaces in pain after colliding with Matthew Dellavedova

 

It was like the Portland Trail Blazers against the Memphis Grizzlies all over again. Both teams were dealing with injuries, however, both came in different ways. The Cavs already had two of their star players down for the count, Kyrie Irving (who eventually returned during the Game 4 blowout), and Kevin Love (out for postseason), but the Hawks had it rough. They were already missing the services of defensive specialist Thabo Sefalosha in a gruesome case of police brutality, but then things went bad when DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap gained injuries that hampered their play. Worst of all, Kyle Korver sprained his ankle bad due to a controversial collision with Matthew Dellavedova, which ruled him out of the season.

Gift from the Big Apple

 

J.R Smith celebrates after hitting a triple

 

If there's anything that sparked the Cavs' sweep aside from LeBron's monstrous efforts, it's the break out of someone who was considered "trash" by one team: J.R Smith, who was tossed aside by the New York Knicks in their effort for a "rebuild". Smith has been particularly problematic at the Big Apple, dealing with shoelace-related problems and whatnot.

Smith found a home in northern Ohio after being trading, looking much more comfortable within this winning system. Even though he still chucks up threes at an incredulous rate, he didn't put up bad shots, taking shots within the Cavalier offense.
J.R Smith was phenomenal in the Conference Finals, scoring 18.0 points per game during the series (during which Kyrie Irving missed a chunk of the games), including a 28-point game during the first game, which saw him hit 8 of his 12 shots from deep. He shot an incredible 50 percent from the field, and 47.1% from three, despite having well over 50 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. He also collared 7.5 rebounds per game, and had two assists per game.

Inconsistency

The Hawks were heavy favorites during the regular season, owing to their Spurs-like basketball. Because of Mike Budenholzer's effective system, Atlanta soared towards a 60-win season. But even then, Coach Bud's squad showed flashes of something that was never seen in San Antonio.

It was inconsistency.

Sure, there were stretches of play that showcased the brand of basketball they were used to. But there were times that they looked like a totally different team, one without an identity. This was most evident during the later stages of the regular season, and continued all the way to the playoffs.

This was also the case for the Cavs series, which basically dictated the whole series. The Cavaliers were the epitome of consistency (not really, there were still times where they lacked the offensive firepower), while the Hawks, well, they were just hurting. Coupled with key injuries, Atlanta just didn't look like the team that won 60 games. Cleveland, on the other hand, looked like a totally different team. Led by the resurgence of LeBron James, the Cavs manhandled the Hawks offensively AND defensively, the latter of which came as a big surprise. After allowing opponents to score 104.0 points per 100 possessions during the season, Cleveland's defense suffocated the Hawks, allowing only a shade under 98 points per 100 possessions. For the postseason, the Cavs had a DefRtg of 98.5. (GAAS)