Cleveland Cavaliers Face First True Test of Their 2016 NBA Playoffs

The Detroit Pistons put up a respectable fight in the first round, but the Cleveland Cavaliers’ postseason effectively begins now.

The Cavs and Atlanta Hawks are set to meet in Round 2 of the playoffs, a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.

Cleveland has waited over a week after sweeping Detroit in the opening round, while the Hawks needed six games to dispose of the Boston Celtics. The Cavaliers should be considered heavy favorites yet again but need to be cognizant of Atlanta’s elite defense, chemistry and experience, all of which Detroit lacked.

It took a spirited effort from all members of Cleveland’s Big Three to defeat the Pistons. Taking down Atlanta will prove more challenging.

Why Atlanta Will Be a Formidable Opponent….

This isn’t quite the 60-win version we saw a year ago, but these Hawks are still very, very good.

Atlanta finished fourth in the East at 48-34, ranking second in defensive rating (98.8) and assist ratio (19.1) among all NBA teams, according to Basketball-Reference.com. This commitment to defense and moving the ball has helped them become a regular participant in the postseason, even without a true superstar.

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“They’re a balanced team,” Jefferson said, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com: 

The biggest challenge against them is their balance. It’s been well-documented, it’s been talked about how many guys they play, the system in which they play in.

Kyle Korver obviously is huge for them, Jeff Teague and their versatile bigs. They’ve got two Tristans on their team. Guys that can guard 1-5, that can switch out, that guard on the perimeter and guard on the post. Those are valuable assets. I think as a team and as an organization, they’ve done a really, really good job of producing some high level basketball.

As with Detroit’s offense, shots are spread around to the open hand. Six different Hawks scored over nine points per game, led by Paul Millsap’s 17.1. Cleveland can’t rely on stoppers like LeBron James or Iman Shumpert to zero in on one or two players, as Atlanta will just find the next guy waiting.

Millsap and Al Horford are probably still the most underrated frontcourt duo in the league. Both can score, rebound, pass and play …

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