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)

Best position around the league?

Ah, how time flies in basketball.

Just last decade, the NBA was dominated by the big men, like Shaquille o'Neal and Tim Duncan. Play was slow, highly dependent on the guys under the paint. Today, however, is a different story. Most teams play uptempo basketball, trying to run the floor every time they can.

But what has happened to the center position, or all the other positions in basketball? Surely, the meta, or the traditional line-up, as called in MOBA games, has changed around the league. After all, large men like Shaq can't run for 36-40 minutes per game.

Evidently, the strongest position in the league today is at the point guard position. Bannered by MVP frontrunner Stephen Curry, the 1 is easily the hardest position to guard in the league. Every championship contender must have an elite point guard to win (an exception might be the LBJ-led Miami Heat, who was without an All-Star caliber PG. Sorry, Mario Chalmers). Golden State obviously houses Curry, while the defending champs, the Spurs, have All-Star Tony Parker. In the East, the top 3 teams today, the Hawks, the Raps, and the Wizards, have star-talent floor generals in Jeff Teague, Kyle Lowry, and John Wall, in that order.

Checking the statistics, however, we see that most floor generals do not show off in the statistical aspect of the league, particularly in the Player Efficiency Rating of the NBA. Of the top 20 players in the league in terms of PER, only three point guards enter the list:  Oklahoma City's electric PG Russell Westbrook , Curry and Los Angeles Clipper Chris Paul. A lot of other point guards missed this list, such as Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose, amongst others.

The other guard position, the shooting guard, isn't much better, with only one player reaching the top 20: Houston Rockets guard James Harden (#4). Not even Golden State sharpshooter Klay Thompson, or emerging Chicago Bull Jimmy Butler made the list.

However, while not as stacked as the previous position, the 2 is still quite strong, aside from the men mentioned above. Current Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic was an NBA Third Team member, while perennial Sixth Man contender Jamal Crawford (a.k.a J. Crossover) has been a steady source of output for the fluctuating Clippers. And let's not forget the greatest SG to play in this era, Kobe Bryant, who's standing at #3 in the all-time scoring list, surpassing Michael Jordan this season.

To the frontcourt we go! The small forward position might as well be the most famous around the league, and its a no-brainer why. The three houses the elite players of the league in LeBron James of Cleveland, and Kevin Durant of Oklahoma. However, these two, including another elite in Carmelo Anthony, are the only ones who have crashed the top 20 in PER ratings. That is because despite the presence of top-tier players in this position, the small forward is not really stacked. The other notables around this position are Utah Jazz star Gordon Hayward, and Spurs defensive ace Kawhi Leonard.

The power forward position might be the the most efficient position in the league today, and with good reason. Most of these big men take high-percentage shots (an exception might be Portland big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who relies on an nasty outside jumpshot to get points. How he does it, I don't know), which lead to higher field goal percentages and high PER ratings. Seven of the top 20 in PER all play the 4 spot usually. Leading the power forwards, and practically everyone in the league today, is New Orleans star Anthony Davis. Other members are Aldridge, high-flyer Blake Griffin, Pau Gasol, Utah Jazz stalwart Derrick Favors, DPOY candidate Tim Duncan, and Brandan Wright.

A lot of people tend to say that the center position is currently the weakest in the NBA. Without a bunch of All-Star centers in the league today, the 5 has obviously declined from its former glory. However, a resurgence of centers has emerged today, with Miami Heat stalwart Hassan Whiteside leading the way for these big men. Other centers who emerged at the top 20 are Nikola Vuvecic of the Orlando Magic, emerging big man DeMarcus Cousins of Sacramento, Memphis big man Marc Gasol, Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks, and another emerging star in Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.

To be fair, every position has its own stars. However, some positions just tend to be deeper (i.e point guard spot), while others just have a bevy of All-Stars at the top, but are really shallow (small forwards, say hi!). --GS--