Live Thread: Cavs @ Hawks (#OnTheFly)
2017-03-03The Cavs wing their way to Atlanta tonight on the second stop in their three game flight down the Eastern seaboard. The trip began with a bit of turbulence on Wednesday night in Boston, as the wine & gold took a close loss to the crumb-snatching Celtics, who clipped the Cavs’ conference lead down to three games. However, the outcome was mere inches away from being a very different story, as Deron Williams’ last second, wide open three attempt just missed giving Cleveland the lead and potential victory.
To be fair, Williams had played almost the entire fourth quarter (24 minutes in total) of his very first game as a Cav, despite only expecting to play 10-12 minutes off the bench. It was his first game action in almost two weeks, and only his fourth game back since being sidelined with injury as a Maverick back on January 25th. But, that’s life these days as a new Cavalier… you don’t get much of a chance to acclimate and adjust. Coach Lue just throws you into the mix to see if you can catch up on the fly…
“They really don’t practice here, and they told me that coming in.” — Deron Williams
Another relatively new addition, Kyle Korver, will receive a homecoming of sorts to his old roost, as this will be his first visit back to the team he played for the past 4.5 seasons. The Hawks reportedly have plans to honor Korver before tonight’s game. After a scorching month of February for the sharpshooter, he had some trouble getting open looks against Boston. Hopefully, La Flama Blanca can recapture some of his hot shooting touch against his former team (make sure you check out Mitch’s terrific analysis of what Kyle brings to the team if you haven’t already).
Though the Cavs completed their deal to pick up Andrew Bogut, the Aussie big man won’t be in uniform until Monday night’s game back at the Q against the Heat. The Hawks also won’t have their newest addition, Jose Calderon, available until tomorrow night, but they will have Ersan Illyasova, who has been heating up in his first few games with the Hawks since joining them at the trade deadline.
This is only the second meeting of these two teams this year, and the Cavs owe Atlanta one for handing them the first loss of the season back on Election Night, November 8th in Cleveland. The Hawks are hovering at fifth in the EC (1.5 games behind Toronto), and are at the front end of a six game homestand. I’m sure they’re hoping to avoid the 4-5 spot and a potential third sweep at the hands of the King and all his men. Speaking of LeBron, he notched his seventh triple-double of the season on Wednesday, and was named the EC Player of the Month for February yesterday (his sixth straight year of winning the award for the month of February).
Probable starters:
Cavs
F LeBron James
F Channing Frye
C Tristan Thompson
G Iman Shumpert
G Kyrie Irving
(Coach Ty Lue is sick and missed shootaround, but is reportedly going to still be on the sidelines for tonight’s game)
Hawks
F Thabo Sefolosha
F Paul Millsap
C Dwight Howard
G Kent Bazemore
G Dennis Schroder
Prediction: The Cavs ruffle some feathers and fly past the Hawks, 115-107.
Catch all the action on ESPN starting at 7pm EST… and follow along here at C:tB.
Really hate those KI possessions where it’s obvious he’s thinking ‘I’m gonna shoot, don’t care if I have to go one on five four different times to do so!’…tiresome…
He’s the best one on one player in the league. Not every attempt is gonna work. But it works more often than it doesn’t, and that paid off in the finals.
Funny thing is we all know exactly when it’s happening. You just see his mannerism change into a “me” setting.
Up 20, it’s a showcase… doubt he’ll be back out there again tonight…
May well be the case tonight, but too many times this year plays like that has turned ‘up 20’ in the 3rd to a dogfight in the 4th…
RJ was open in the corner, too.
Williams is like a utility in fielder who can hit.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_goQe-rOZo04/TQapSDp0-_I/AAAAAAAABZ8/bNK3UqStMKQ/s1600/enchilada-virtual-tour.jpg
Makes it 20!!
Ky and LBJ each with 30 now… KI’s shot is SILKY
Channing makes it 19…
Where D Will(s) at?
First one is out there… both will likely play a lot of the fourth…
Hardaway having himself a game…
PhantomCam for JoeyB…
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/837841360988344321
Ok, there’s one clear carry and two or three possibles.
Not sure what you want me to say. 9 seconds. It’s a carry. I mean crazy move, no doubt and he does have the best handles in the modern era so…I am not complaining, just pointing out you can’t do things like that or spin moves without dribbling without your hand going under the horizontal plane of the ball.
Welp. So much for resting guys in the fourth.
Same old same old…
You guys might have spoken too soon…
Objectively, can’t blame Bud for that.
Bud getting hot now… might have a case…
Millsap with one of the better defensive sequences on Kyrie…
Cavs at 18 threes… just 7 more to tie their own record…
Didn’t Kent Bazemore once think he could stop LeBron?
Like a cat toying with a mouse and then getting bored and letting the mouse escape.
Use probably waited two possessions too long for a TO. Cavs were smelling themselves a bit too much.
Did coach Lue forget he has a bench he can use on the 3rd quarter?
He is sick… although that doesn’t usually matter anyway…
You can’t spell Shump without S-M-H…
Well this has gotten sloppy on both teams.
Let’s not turn this rape into a murder
http://Www.waytoruinitshump.com
Cool moment!
https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/837838018861920257
Dwight loosing his cool…
The Umlaut just got erased…
Like he bounced off a brick wall
ESPN was questioning LBJ’s MVP pedigree, I guess he took it to heart.
Someone post the let corner trey so I can show the Mrs.
https://twitter.com/NBAcom/status/837839007526629376
That one three from the corner was like a end of quarter time running out shot that he took and made like one of his crossing the paint fadeaway js.
Perfect description….
https://twitter.com/randyjcruz/status/837838037811871745
Cripes. A Cavs are fusion hot.
LeBron is still the MEP: most entertaining player
Heat check to a chase down. Wow again
Lebron is SUPERMAN TONIGHT!!
Lbj on fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y_cl3WIO6A
Stop it King…
How far over 100 will they be by the end of the quarter?
That LeBron flying 3 would have been ridiculous even for JR.
Goodnight sweet prince! That was INSANE Bron!
LeBron would be blushing if he could hear all the love from Doris tonight.
Is she saying he should be MVP?
Gushing over LeBron’s work habits, saying he pays a price to be great. After saying in the first half that he should have a lot more than four MVP awards. And I’ve only seen about half the game, so there might have been more that I missed!
Thx
Defensive intensity rising…
Literally only flaw in Bron’s game right now is FTs…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HktV2yGtLv8
Lebron wanted to bait Howard like that. LOL
I mean… this is incredible… will they break the record they set last postseason against the Hawks?
The Cavs’ goal tonight is to make as many passes as they can before the shot clock expires.
Now let’s go out there on the 3rd and put the knee to the back of their necks. Don’t let them get back into it. We need the new guys to play the whole 4th ;)
Extra pass… wide open trey for Channing…
They have 19 assists, but that one below should probably count for two…
Even Cols has to appreciate this…
https://twitter.com/cavs/status/837830544108863489
https://twitter.com/mcten/status/837831775619530753
Good to hear ;)
Quite a different story from Ty Lue’s 2 weeks still.
Brave new League: Four games at the half, lowest score for any team is 53.
Atl shooting 56% and 46% from three, and losing by 17.
If we could defend, this game might be over next quarter.
They can defend. It’s not worth the extra bumps and scratches during the regular season. Not when you can blow the doors off the place like they are right now.
I am aware of that view. Defend for a quarter or really half a quarter and sit for the rest of the game. Just as likely to get injured on offense as on d if you have the ball and are driving.
I wish I could hear DB call a game. Local blackout again from the Fox Ohio affiliate
She’s been terrific
Wow. What a half! Ky and Bron smoking. I can’t remember Ky being this on fire/effiecient in a half since maybe the 57 point spurs game. A lot of great ball movement predicated by guys driving after being closed out on and kicking out after the defense has already been stretched to the breaking point in addition to quick hit transition threes.
Game 5 of the finals dude
True and I thought about that prior to posting, but he wasn’t going 10 of 12 in either half was he?
When will Bogut join the team. Frye can’t handle big centers like Howard down low.
So the real question is …What are we trading Shump for this offseason?
Offensive carnage (quoting one of the announcers)
Atlanta has nightmares about the Cavs. I think if they draw us again in the playoffs they may just forfeit.
Remember when the Cavs under Mike Brown would win games 79 to 70? Yeah, me neither.
Jeez. Cavs pitting up ASG numbers.
Dwight Howard is no match for the young Jedi.
A lot of TOs again today. More offensive fouls. We should have a 20+ pt lead with the way we’ve shot it. RJ!
Raspberries for that foul call on RJ
Can we leave Shump in Atlanta? He lives there…
He’s hit a couple 3’s hasn’t he?
Yes for sure… but his D has been lackluster and he’s been late to a couple of passes… The threes have looked better tonight though…
Great sequence by Kyrie! Steal and a trey! 21 in first half…
17 assists already…
Korver may be the best addition to this team besides JR and obviously Love after LBJ came here. Love the ball movement in transition tonight.
He’s a weapon that’s for sure…
He’s one of the few guys with a gravitational effect on the entire D with his shooting & movement (Curry). Plus, he’s an underrated passer & defender.
Cavs at 63%… 57% from three…
“Passing is boring.”
– Cols
What a sequence ends in a Kyrie 3!