The Cleveland Cavaliers are all but locked into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with the New York Knicks win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday evening. For the Cavs to move up, they’d have to win both of their last two games, while New York would have to lose their final two games. As it stands, it seems like the Cavs will be in the fourth seed, which would likely give them an easier path through the Eastern Conference.
Because they’re basically locked into their preferred spot, there’s little downside in trying to keep momentum going with what they hope is another positive showing against the Atlanta Hawks — a possible first-round opponent.
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This game means something for the Hawks. They’ve fallen to the sixth spot in the standings and could drop further if they were to lose this one as well.
The Cavs deployed several matchup-specific schemes against the Hawks on Wednesday. This included aggressively cheating off of Atlanta’s average to below-average three-point shooters and using James Harden to guard their opposing center. It’ll be interesting to see how both teams adjust to Wednesday’s game.
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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (51-29) vs. Atlanta Hawks (45-35)
Where: State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA
When: Fri. April 10 at 7 PM
TV: Prime Video
Point spread: Not yet set
Cavs injury report: Donovan Mitchell – OUT (ankle), Jarrett Allen – OUT (knee), Sam Merrill – OUT (hamstring), Jaylon Tyson – QUESTIONABLE (toe), Thomas Bryant – OUT (calf)
Hawks injury report: RayJ Dennis – QUESTIONABLE (G League), Keshon Gilbert – QUESTIONABLE (G League), Jock Landale – OUT (ankle)
Cavs expected starting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Hawks expected starting lineup: CJ McCollum, Nikeil Alexander-Walker, Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu
Previous matchup: The Cavs defeated the Hawks on Wednesday 122-116
Here’s a look at both teams’ impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.
Offensive Rating
Defensive Rating
Net Rating
Cavs
119.1 (7th)
114.8 (14th)
+4.3 (9th)
Hawks
116.2 (15th)
113.7 (8th)
+2.5 (13th)
