Injuries have played a major role in the Eastern Conference finals and the Cleveland Cavaliers have proven the ability to overcome them while the Atlanta Hawks have not. Optimism is not high with the East's No. 1 seed as the Hawks have officially lost Kyle Korver for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury. As the series shifts back to Cleveland, the Cavaliers are ready to wrap this up in the next two games.
The Hawks are officially without their best shooter as Korver suffered a severely sprained ankle in Game 2 and is expected to undergo surgery for the issue. That injury is paired with the loss of Thabo Sefolosha and the injured DeMarre Carroll which means the Hawks are no longer in control of these playoffs. The Hawks have simply struggled to do much of anything as LeBron James and the Cavaliers run wild over the team.
Cleveland could easily wrap this series up in the next two games and await the NBA Finals. The loss of Kyrie Irving for Game 2 did nothing to slow the team down as James came within on rebound of a triple-double. Irving is expected back for Game 3 which could make Atlanta's chance at redemption that much harder. Irving has been dealing with knee tendinitis and has been given a new knee brace that could make his status much more guaranteed on Sunday night.
The Cavaliers might not need Irving as they clearly do not need Kevin Love who is out for the rest of the postseason. James is averaging 30.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the series against the Hawks. No defensive plan seems to be able to stop the veteran as the Hawks are now in desperation mode and might lack the personnel to get the job done.
Atlanta will be forced to start Kent Bazemore while players like Mike Scott and Mike Muscala will get a lot more playing time in Game 3 with Korver out. Carroll appeared to be fine after a knee injury in Game 1. However, he is the main defender against James and not taking care of business. Paul Millsap who was a machine in the regular season and the center piece of many wins has disappeared against the Cavaliers. If Atlanta has any hope of not getting swept they must start finding ways to contain James and score.
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