How Cavs ‘sent a message’ to Hawks ahead of possible playoff matchup

While nothing is set in stone, it is quite possible that the Cleveland Cavaliers will face off with the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA playoffs. Coincidentally, they met at Rocket Arena on Wednesday and will do so again on Friday in a home-and-home series. The Cavs took the first matchup by a final score of 122-116, a closely contested affair that may have shown both teams what they could see if they wind up as opponents in the Eastern Conference’s first round.

“It’s kind of like a test a little bit,” Evan Mobley said postgame. “We might see them in the postseason real soon, so trying to feel them out, see what their tendencies are, see how they play, and they’re probably not showing the full hand, but we aren’t either.”

“I mean, we played them really early,” Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson added pregame. “It’s kind of two different teams, so it’d be good to get some feedback on where the two teams are, how they match up. So it’d be good to get some film on this game. I mean, I think prioritizing winning obviously first, and then player health, too, is important, making sure we’re whole and healthy going into the playoffs.”

Was there anything extra, though, to the Cavs getting the upper hand in the first go-round?

“I’m just looking to stack wins,” Donovan Mitchell said. “Understand that they’re a really talented team, well coached. I love Quin [Snyder]. Quin’s one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever played for. I think the odds are us seeing them, right? So, yeah, understand that both teams are trying to send a message. I think you could feel it in the arena. I think Friday is going to be the same thing.

“That’s what you want. You want the competitiveness from both sides. That’s what we do this for, and let the chips fall where they may. And then, get ready for next week.”

Based on what we saw in that ballgame, the Cavs are going to reward their bigs early and often because the Hawks lack size on the interior. Conversely, Atlanta has quick, shifty perimeter players, jumbo swingmen, and a proven ability to shoot the basketball and get up and down the floor.

As Mobley said, it didn’t paint the entire picture, but a fresh-faced Cleveland got a glimpse of the new-and-improved Hawks.

Score one for the Wine and Gold first.

“That was kind of the goal tonight: send a message, and I think we did that,” Mobley said. “We played a good game, and we’ve got to be ready to do it again and again in the playoffs.”

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