No matter the record, the Cleveland Cavaliers will always be considering the team to beat in the Eastern Conference during this season. The Cavaliers might be 10 ½ games back from the Hawks for the lead in the conference, Atlanta does not feel safe as long as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving keep thriving on the court, something they have really done since the second half of the season began. Now the two teams face off as the Hawks still feel they have something to prove in the NBA.
The Hawks may have locked in to the playoffs with just under two months left to play in the season while also having a double-digit lead in first place, but they are well aware that nothing is safe in the league as they have had their share of bad games since the All-Star break ended. The team has been the surprise of the season after getting over looked by everyone prior to the year beginning. After offseason drama with the front office, the Hawks started 7-6 before winning 41 of their last 48 games. That included a 19-game win streak while Pual Millsap, Jeff Teague, Al Horford and Kyle Korver got All-Star nominations. However, in the second half of the season, the team has fallen to top teams while losing their first back-to-back games. They need to get back to that underdog, aggressive play if they are going to beat the Cavaliers on Friday.
Cleveland is looking like a powerhouse in the last few weeks after struggling at the start of the year. They have won eight of their last 11 games including a Wednesday win over the Toronto Raptors. Cleveland has made plenty of roster adjustments during the season including JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Timofey Mozgov and Kendrick Perkins. All of that is proving to really be working for the Cavaliers at this point in the season.
The Cavaliers are responsible for Atlanta's worst loss of the season when they fell 127-94 back in November. Atlanta then got revenge with a 127-98 win along with another win back in December. This is their final meeting of the season which could be a preview to the playoffs.
