While we thought they had finally started their season, the Hawks remained on five losses in seven games before the reception of the Cavaliers, their last home game before the All-Star Break.
But Trae Young had no intention of letting his fans get a bad impression before the cut. The All-Star thus started very strong, without really falling off afterwards, facing a Darius Garland who was also inspired. But the Hawks managed a full performance, and if they got a (tiny) scare at the end, when Cleveland came back to four points (113-109) in the last five minutes, they managed the 3- points to kill the match.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Two very tight first quarters. With 14 lead changes and 9 draws during the first half, there were two first quarters where the two teams went blow for blow.
– The (indirect) duel Trae Young – Darius Garland. They barely defended each other, but Trae Young and Darius Garland showed why they were both All-Stars. The first finished with 41 points at 13/22 shooting, plus 9 assists while the second finished with 30 points at 12/22 and 8 assists. Two real conductors, who manipulate the defenses in similar and at the same time quite different styles.
– The important 3-pointers of the Hawks. Atlanta’s game is very (too?) dependent on his skill from afar. This may explain the strong fluctuations of the team but, tonight, the address was there (14/33 from a distance) and the decisive shots of De’Andre Hunter, Kevin Huerter and Trae Young made the difference.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Trae Young. When he’s this confident with his shot, the point guard can choose his defenders and dissect coverage at will. His final line of stats (41 points, 9 assists) illustrates his iNFLuence.
✅ Darius Garland. With 30 points and 8 assists, the Cleveland point guard also showed why he was an All-Star this season.
⛔ The Cavaliers Defense. While Cleveland has posted the 4th best defense since the start of the season, JB Bickerstaff’s team seems to have had a real downturn on this side of the field lately. It is certainly difficult to defend on Trae Young but the Atlanta shooters had a lot of open positions, and that translated into a 54% overall success, and 42% from 3-pointers. The All-Star Break break is going to feel good.
THE FOLLOWING
Atlanta (27-30): last game before the cut in Orlando, tonight
Cleveland (35-23): the Cavaliers are on vacation and will play again on February 24 in Detroit
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