Cleveland Cavaliers: Eastern Conference Finals Preview
By Joshua Howe
What (or Who) to Watch For
JH:
Kyrie Irving is the obvious answer here but I already wrote an article about that earlier this week. So instead I’ll say keep an eye on Mozgov.
He hasn’t had to deal with any bigs like Al Horford and Paul Millsap in these playoffs so far. He’s played the lackluster bigs of Boston and then a crippled Joakim Noah, stiffened Pau Gasol and defensively impaired Taj Gibson.
The Hawks’ big men are going to be a challenge for him. Fortunately for him, he’s got a size advantage and should use that to his advantage on the interior. It’s when the Atlanta players decide that they want to pull him away from the paint that could be an issue, as both Horford and Millsap are solid shooters.
Thankfully, so is Mozzy.
He’s not completely unused to moving a bit away from the basket to take open baseline jumpers and spot-ups from the top of the key. Hopefully that means he won’t get uncomfortable and out of rhythm when the Hawks try to pull him away from the block.
Mozgov has been under-appreciated to this point in the playoffs. He’s had a fantastic run and is putting his best effort forward. He played great against a Bulls front court that was touted as being one of the best in the league, so it’s time to find out if that was no fluke.
AM:
Kyle Korver is definitely the man to watch. The Hawks have advanced this far without their talismanic shooter ever really getting going, and it will be the likes of Smith and Shumpert who will be trying to keep that trend going.
If Atlanta can get Korver in a groove, it brings their offense to a different level, and very simply Cleveland won’t be able to cope.
When Korver starts making shots, the defense starts panicking and scrambling towards him, which creates so much space for the rest of his teammates.
The thing that catches almost every team by surprise when they face off with the Hawks is the fact that all five guys can carry the ball up the floor. All five guys are capable of creating a score for themselves, and when Korver helps to open the floor up with his shooting, Atlanta becomes a true offensive juggernaut.
Next: How the Cavs Can Win