Prosperity and Cleveland are not two words often joined in the same sentence.
But here today are the Cleveland Cavs, up 2-0 in their Eastern Conference final against the Hawks, going back home to the sweet embrace of their long-downtrodden public, against an opponent that is quickly running out of viable limbs.
They have the solar system’s best player, and it so happens that LeBron James never has lost a playoff series in which his team had a 2-0 lead (he’s 14-0 in that scenario). The Eastern Conference today is clearly divided into two camps — the Cavs and Cav-nots.
Their only remaining challenge would seem to an overconfidence of Aesopian, tortoise v. hare, proportions.
The evidence of Friday’s Game Two would not seem to favor any sort of let-down, or show of tender mercies.
For instance, James faced a wounded DeMarre Carroll Friday, and he approached that with a pawnbroker’s callousness. It normally requires two sound legs, and, honestly, a hatchet, to play any kind of really effective defense against James. And here was Carroll — just 48 hours from being towed off the floor — back in the lineup, showing just a little limp.
James was understandably eager. Sensing weakness, he scored seven of the Cavs first nine points and half of their 26 points in the first quarter. He attacked and attacked, which later opened the floor for the rest of his friends.
Turning into a point guard, James had 11 assists Friday, nearly twice the number of the rest of the Cavs combined. The vast majority of those were kick-outs to shooters who made 12 3-pointers.
“LeBron made a very serious effort to spread the ball and give us good looks,” said wing man James Jones. “When he starts rolling, we start rolling. He came out aggressive early, and got into the paint and made them feel the pressure. We were lucky enough to receive those shots and make them.”
No Kyrie Irving, no problem. He looked quite satisfied dressed in long pants, with a very good courtside seat. And as the Cavs coped so ably with the loss of their second-leading scorer, the Hawks witnessed both Kyle Korver and Al Horford come up a little lame. Now, even the injury pendulum, so long swinging counter to the Cavs, was favoring them.
And after these first two games, the Hawks must be asking themselves: Are there any other former New York Knicks Cleveland can aim at their heart?
In Game One of the Eastern Conference finals, it was J.R. Smith dismantling the Hawks with their own tool, the 3-pointer. A franchise record eight of them on the way to 28 points.
And Friday, it was the other piece of a transformative January trade with the Knicks — former Georgia Tech guard Iman Shumpert — who was the Cavs designated soul-taker. He chipped in 16 points atop James’ 30, and made 4-of-6 of his 3-pointers.
Shumpert will be the first to testify that playing with James is more rewarding than playing against him.
“Him snapping the ball at you, there’s energy in that ball when you get it,” Shumpert said. “You’ve just got to knock them down because you know if he keeps driving it, he causes everybody to come in there and make all that traffic. Then just get your feet set and knock it down.”
“We’re doing just a terrific job, playing as a team and making the whole greater than the sum of its parts,” Cavs coach David Blatt said.
The Cavs have built themselves quite a pronounced home-court advantage, especially of late. They are 4-1 at home in the postseason, 13-2 at home since the first of March.
They nonetheless are hiding any overconfidence behind a serious face.
“We’re going home and they’re going to have the same mindset we had coming here — they are going to lay it on the line to try to get that first game on the road,” Jones said. “So we’ll be ready, knowing we’re going to get a very well-rounded game from them.
“We’re locked in. We understand what’s in front of us.”
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