After a day off for Thanksgiving, Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers hit the road to take on Dyson Daniels and the Atlanta Hawks for a matinee NBA Cup matchup. Last time out, the Cavs lost to the Hawks 135-124. This win snapped Atlanta’s four-game losing skid, while Cleveland suffered its first home loss and second overall loss this season.
This will be the second of three meetings between Cleveland and Atlanta this year. The series will then wrap up in late January in Cleveland. However, this one will carry the most weight of the three matchups between the Cavs and Hawks. There are serious ramifications for the Group Play portion of the NBA Cup on the line.
If Cleveland loses to Atlanta, it will eliminate Cleveland from the NBA Cup race. However, if the Hawks lose instead, even more intricate scenarios could unfold. Here’s what will make the difference so the Cavs can maintain control of the game from wire to wire and clip Atlanta’s wings to keep them from taking flight.
The NBA Cup scenarios for the Cavs and Hawks
Only a handful of games remain in Group C of the Eastern Conference in the race for the 2024 NBA Cup. However, things are tightly contested outside of the winless (in NBA Cup format) Washington Wizards. Today’s matchup between the Cavs and Hawks will seriously impact who punches their ticket to Las Vegas. But, before diving into those, here’s where things stand in Group C:
- Chicago Bulls: 2-1, +15
- Atlanta Hawks: 2-1, -1
- Boston Celtics: 2-1, +14
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 1-1, +15
- Washington Wizards: 0-3, -45
The Chicago Bulls, Hawks, and Boston Celtics all have 2-1 records in group play. If multiple teams in one group have the same record, the tiebreakers are (in order) head-to-head record and point differential. Since the Bulls beat the Hawks and have a better point differential (+15) than the Celtics (+14), they currently lead Group C. Boston is behind Atlanta because they beat the Celtics in their group play opener.
But for Cleveland to win Group C, they must defeat Atlanta on the road today. The Cavs also need the Bulls to beat the Celtics to remain in the thick of the Group C race. If Cleveland wins and Chicago loses, Boston clinches Group C. However, if the Cavs lose to the Hawks, they’re eliminated from the NBA Cup since a team that could finish 2-2 couldn’t even be a Wild Card.
It’s complicated, but Cleveland can remain in the thick of things. It all starts with a win in Atlanta, and it will roll from there.
Stopping Trae Young from dropping dimes
When the Hawks defeated the Cavs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, it wasn’t through just Trae Young’s scoring. Instead, it was Young’s passing that carved up Cleveland’s defense. The Hawks look like a legitimate playoff squad at full strength, especially in the weak Eastern Conference. Young only emboldens that legitimacy, who dropped a career-best 22 assists last game against the Cavs, showcasing that Atlanta is greater than the sum of its parts.
Cleveland will need to limit Young’s ability to find an offensive rhythm, whether from his scoring or passing, in this matchup. If they can contain Young, then everything else should quickly and easily fall into place for the Cavs.
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The Cavs are struggling to regain their defensive identity
In their red-hot start to the year, Cleveland’s offense has masked some of the defensive problems. It came to a head when they gave up 135 points to Atlanta, including 37 in the fourth quarter.
“That was a stinker,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game. “We kind of deserved what we got tonight.”
The Hawks connected on 20 of their 42 attempts from beyond the arc, burning the Cavs. This was the sixth time their opponent shot over 45% from three, and the fourth time their opponent made 20 or more threes against them in a game. This has all added up to the second-worst opponent three-point percentage in the league, killing the Cavs in tight games.
The Cavs’ inability to defend the three-point line is why they currently have the 11th-ranked defense with a 111.9 defensive rating. That ranking is trending in the wrong direction, as they’ve been 20th overall in defense since the beginning of November. Cleveland needs to regain its greatest strength. If not, more games will turn into track meets, forcing the Cavs to continually play on tired legs.
