Summary:
The Cavaliers have a commanding lead over the top-seeded Hawks despite playing without Kyrie. Lebron may be playing at his all-time best when you consider his injuries. An NBA Finals appearance is in sight now. It’s GameTime!

 

Hosts: Mike Kresic (http://twitter.com/kresic), Tom Kresic (http://twitter.com/tkresic)

Running Time: 47:10

 

 
1Q: Cavs have withstood every Hawks challenge

* Took both games in Atlanta, despite no Irving and facing a hostile crowd and the #1 seed in their arena.
* Dominated the Hawks in game 2.
* With their backs against the wall, they withstood Atlanta’s best shot to get back in the series in Game 3 when the Cavs were not hitting their own shots.
* This shows how much better the Cavs are and that the regular season records and schedule (ATL beat us 3-1 in regular season) don’t mean anything.

 

2Q: An amazing performance from Lebron

* He’s got injuries to his knees, back, ankles, wrist and who knows what else. He played almost the entire game and wouldn’t even allow himself to come out when he was cramping late. And somehow he still put up the critical shots that propelled the Cavs to victory.
* He’s doing all this without his #2 and #3 guys.

 
3Q: Hawks Complaining

* Ridiculous to hear their whining about Delly. Horford PULLED him down!
* Regarding Korver’s injury, coaches around the league all saying the first thing you are coached on loose balls is to get down on the ground. Otherwise, you’re asking for an injury to your knees or ankles. Korver didn’t choose to get down like Delly did, and got his leg rolled up on.
* We’re seeing what the shortcoming of the Hawks was suspected to be. They are a team of guys that pass the ball, but without a clear go-to guy in crunch time. Too many guys look like they don’t want it and pass up open looks.

 
4Q: Peaking ahead to the NBA Finals

* If we sweep, we’ll have 10 days off before going to Oakland to face Golden State.
* Hopefully that’s enough time to get Kyrie back on the court and let Lebron heal up.
* To face Curry and company, we’ll need our best defense and plenty of speed. That probably means we’re in trouble if Delly has to guard him a lot.