Daily Archives: March 14, 2021

Cavaliers look for season sweep of Hawks Sunday

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to sweep the season series with the Atlanta Hawks in their third and final game Sunday.

It was a 96-91 win for the Cavaliers back in January which saw Cleveland win game one of three against the Hawks. Game two featured a game-winning dunk from Lamar Stevens which gave the Cavs a 112-11 victory to snap a double-digit losing streak. Sunday will be their third and final matchup of the season with Cleveland having a chance to sweep the Hawks.

Atlanta has won four-straight games, including wins over Toronto and Miami. The Hawks are obviously trending in a good direction while the Cavaliers are losers of two straight. Cleveland could benefit with the possible return of Darius Garland this evening while Atlanta does not have any injured players listed.

What it will come down to is the same thing it always comes down to when facing the Hawks, slowing down Trae Young. Stopping Young is simply not an option, so the next best thing is slowing him down. Young is averaging 26.7 points per game on 43.3% from the field with 9.3 assists per game as well. The third-year guard can do a lot of damage from three-point range as he averages 2.6 makes on 38% from deep. Young is more than capable of going off from deep and the Cavaliers must be wary of that.

Can the Cavs complete the sweep? It’s possible, but it is not like Cleveland is firing on all cylinders right now. Even with the return of some players, the team still has not played a ton of minutes together. The chemistry that this team needs simply isn’t there at times and that is quite apparent. It is also possible that the Hawks salvage a win and avoid a sweep Sunday.

Darius Garland probable, Taurean Prince out for Cavs

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The Cavs may have one key player available to them Sunday, but will be without another in Atlanta Sunday.

Darius Garland and Taurean Prince were not available for the Cavs last time out in their loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, but there could one change Sunday against the Hawks. Garland is listed as probable while Prince will miss another game.

Cleveland really missed both players in Friday, but the absence of Darius Garland hurt more. Garland is able to make the Cavs starters work together even though they are not the best fits with one another. As the Cavs assist leader, Garland is able to get everyone involved when on the floor. While Collin Setoxn has improved in this area, he is not at the level of Garland.

Taurean Prince was also missed, but not to the level of Darius Garland. Garland is a starter while Prince comes off the bench. While being a quality bench player is valuable, it is just not the same as a night-in night-out starter.