The Hawks got great news on DeMarre Carroll and the knee injury he sustained in the fourth quarter of Game 1. An X-ray was negative, and an MRI revealed a left knee sprain. His status for Game 2 is listed as questionable. Here are five keys for the Hawks as they prepare for Game 2 Friday:
1) Getting defensive rebounds to finish stops
Tristan Thompson had five offensive rebounds Game 1, and Timofey Mozgov added four. The double-whammy for Atlanta is that they haven't been able to counter in transition to deter the Cavaliers, who usually leave LeBron behind as the ultimate fast break goalie.
2) Get Kyle Korver shots
Bust open the playbook, find him in transition, do whatever it takes to get Korver more than five shots. If Korver simply doesn't have the room in the halfcourt offense to get off shots, then the Cavs' defense is probably set up in such a way that the Jeff Teague-Al Horford pick and roll has space to operate.
3) Varied defensive looks.
The Hawks tried a few tactics to keep the Cavs' offense off balance in Game 1. In the first half, they used switches in their pick-and-roll defense, and in the second half, they applied full court ball pressure when LeBron James brought it up. Expect a few new wrinkles in Game 2, especially with regard to trapping and getting the ball out of LeBron's hands.
3) Stay within themselves to defend LeBron
If DeMarre Carroll (left knee sprain, questionable) does not play, the Hawks have some minutes to replace. How the Hawks defend LeBron will largely depend on which position James plays. When he is the small forward, expect Kent Bazemore. If the Cavs go small and move him to power forward, expect Paul Millsap, who did an excellent job in the fourth quarter.
4) Keeping players in their normal roles will help ensure continuity on offense and defense
Head coach Mike Budenholzer didn't say whether or not Mike Scott would play, but he did note he likely rule him out as a replacement for Carroll.
"The way we play, our 4s and 5s can kind of play either position," Budenholzer said. "Our 1s, 2s, and 3s can play either position. Mike is primarily a 4 man."
5) Win the battle of dribble penetration
One area where the Hawks had success was getting into the paint. Teague and Dennis Schröder were able to drive to the rim with more frequency than they did against Washington. If the Hawks can maintain that production while keeping limiting LeBron's drives, they should be able to get the Philips Arena crowd fired up in Game 2.
Story by KL ChouinardTwitter: @AnaheimAmigos