A look at the matchups in the Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series between the No. 1 Cavaliers and the No. 4 Hawks:
POINT GUARD
The Hawks will need a consistent Jeff Teague to run the show — like the point guard who averaged 20.7 points and 7.3 assists against the Cavaliers during the regular season. The points average is the most against any Eastern Conference team. Kyrie Irving is going to score. The question is how many shots will he take? Irving averaged 27.5 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds in two games against the Hawks — one of nine teams he averaged more than 27 points against. The backup point guard battle will be similar. Dennis Schroder needs to be consistent, use his speed to get to the basket and be prudent in his outside shot selection for the Hawks. The Cavaliers will counter with edgy Matthew Dellavedova and perhaps Mo Williams. The Hawks can’t afford to let Dellavedova get under their skin. The Hawks don’t have to win the matchup of point guards, but they need to play close.
Edge: Cavaliers
SHOOTING GUARD
Kyle Korver is closer to his shooting form from a year ago — that is until Dellavedova knocked him out of the conference finals last season. It took a while. Korver averaged 9.2 points per game and shot 39.8 percent from 3-point range during the regular season. However, he is shooting 53.4 percent from long range since the All-Star break. Korver made 8 of 16 3-pointers against the Cavaliers this season. He will be a focus of their defense. J.R. Smith can be dangerous if the Hawks let him get going from 3-point range. He averaged 9.7 points against the Hawks this season. The bench may be key here, with Tim Hardaway Jr. needing to give valuable minutes on offense and defense. If he does, it will help the Hawks.
Edge: Hawks
SMALL FORWARD
LeBron James can decide this series. He will be the best player on the court by far. The defensive matchup will be a tough one for the Hawks, with Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha and even Paul Millsap and Al Horford being used to give James as many different looks as possible. James averaged 27.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists in three games against the Hawks this season. Look at his 34-point game — in only three quarters, in the final regular-season meeting. Bazemore averaged 15 points and nine rebounds in two games against the Cavaliers this season. If he can duplicate those numbers it will help. Defense will be critical for Sefolosha, but he’ll need to knock down open shots, something he struggled to do in the first round against the Celtics.
Edge: Cavaliers
POWER FORWARD
This will be one of the more interesting matchups of the series with the Hawks’ Millsap and the Cavaliers’ Kevin Love. Millsap led the Hawks in scoring and rebounding during the regular season, at 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds. He averaged slightly better against the Cavaliers, at 17.3 and 10.3. Love averaged 16.7 points and 10.3 rebounds against the Hawks. Millsap will need to use his strength advantage over Love inside. The power forward matchup will also be interesting in how each team chooses to substitute and the position. The Hawks can go small with Mike Scott or big with Mike Muscala. The Cavaliers have some bigs on the bench with Channing Frye and even Timofey Mozgov available to add a height advantage.
Edge: Even
CENTER
The series may well be determined at the center position. Tristan Thompson outplayed the Hawks in the conference finals last season. That was the difference. Horford is more of an outside threat this season with the improved added dimension of a 3-point shot. He’ll need to pull Thompson and Mozgov away from the basket. Horford will have to be better on offense against the Cavaliers than he was against the Celtics. He averaged 14.7 points and 10.0 rebounds against the Cavaliers this season. Thompson averaged 9.0 points, but 13.3 rebounds. Rebounding will be key, which means the Hawks might turn back to Kris Humphries for some muscle after he watched most of the series against the Celtics.
Edge: Even
BENCH
The Hawks will count on their bench for some valuable — but limited — minutes. Schroder, Hardaway, Sefolosha and Scott did to produce because they are an edge over the Cavaliers reserves.
Edge: Hawks
COACH
Mike Budenholzer has led the Hawks to the postseason in all three of his seasons in Atlanta, including last year’s conference finals against the Cavaliers. He will not, however, face the same coach. The Cavaliers fired David Blatt early in the season in favor of Tyronn Lue. The Cavaliers were 30-11 at the time of Blatt’s dismissal. Lue went 27-14 the rest of the season.
Edge: Hawks
PREDICTION
The Hawks’ defense is better than last season, but the offense has been inconsistent. LeBron James won’t be contained, but the other Cavaliers can be held in check. The series will come down to whether Paul Millsap and Al Horford can match Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. The Hawks will play the Cavaliers close, but will fall in six games, 4-2.
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