Cavaliers Beating Hawks at Their Own Game Is a Good Sign for Cleveland

CLEVELAND — The Atlanta Hawks are well known for their commitment to defense and unselfish offensive play. If for one night only, the Cleveland Cavaliers out-Hawked the Hawks.

The Cavs beat Atlanta using the Hawks’ own weapons to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, 104-93, and by doing so, may have unlocked a pair of key factors to their championship run.

After putting up sky-high offensive rating numbers in Round 1 against the Detroit Pistons, the Cavs need to prove they can sustain elite efforts of play on both ends of the court.

For this, Atlanta serves as the perfect model to both learn from, and ultimately, defeat.

Where the Hawks Thrive

Atlanta ranked second in assists per game (25.6), assist percentage (66.3) and defensive rating (98.8) during the regular season, per NBA.com. For basketball purists, watching them play most nights was poetry.

This hasn’t been the case for the Cavaliers, of course. Most complaints surrounding their offense stem from poor ball movement and the sometimes irresistible desire to play hero ball. While the Hawks ranked near the top in these team stats, Cleveland finished just 10th in defense (102.3 rating) and 16th in assist percentage (58.7), per NBA.com.

If the Cavaliers could ever merge their star talent with these Hawks principles, they’d likely be approaching Golden State Warrior-level eliteness.

At the very least, Cleveland would improve on the putrid 107.4 defensive rating it posted against the Pistons, not a team known for offensive firepower.

For one night at least, the Cavs did just that.

Title-Worthy Defense

Led by center Tristan Thompson, Cleveland made Atlanta work for everything in the paint and was active in …

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