Getty Images
Atlanta Hawks vs.Cleveland Cavaliers – Game 4 (Cavaliers lead series 3-0)
Game Time, TV: Tuesday, May 26 – 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Projected Starting Lineups:
Hawks: PG: Jeff Teague, SG: Kent Bazemore, SF: DeMarre Carroll, PF: Paul Millsap, C: Al Horford
Cavaliers: PG: Matthew Dellavedova, SG: Iman Shumpert, SF: LeBron James, PF: Tristan Thompson, C: Timofey Mozgov
Game 3 was an absolute thriller featuring an incredible performance by LeBron James, and Game 4 between the Hawks and Cavaliers will hopefully be just as intense as the Hawks try to keep their season alive on Tuesday night.
By all accounts, this series is already over, but it will be interesting to see if the Hawks can at least force a Game 5. They were dealt a rough card when Al Horford was wrongly ejected right before halftime after Matthew Dellavedova took his leg out from under him. The Hawks still played very well, and even looked like they were going to steal this game, but King James and co. proved to be too much as they took a 3-0 stranglehold on the series.
The Cavaliers are in great shape to close this series out and make their first NBA Finals appearance since 2007. James has been exciting to watch, considering how he has willed this beat-up team full of role players to the brink of the Eastern Conference title.
The key matchup for this game will be James vs. DeMarre Carroll. Carroll must make James take a lot of outside jump shots and keep him out of the lane as much as possible. On the other side, Carroll must knock down some outside jumpers if he hopes to keep Atlanta’s season alive.
If this game were being played in Atlanta, I would probably take the Hawks. But it isn’t, and I think the home crowd will make the difference as the Cavaliers will move on to the NBA Finals.
Prediction: Cavaliers 111, Hawks 106
Dan Schultz is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.
