The Hawks need the win to avoid going to Cleveland down 0-2.
The Hawks will host the Cavaliers in an early must-win game in the East finals. After losing the opening matchup at home, another loss would put Atlanta in the precarious situation of being down two games when the series moves to Cleveland. The Hawks have gone 3-3 on the road in the playoffs, so they can't afford to let themselves fall into that hole. The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have little pressure after stealing home court advantage in Game 1, but will need to be focused to prevent the Hawks from getting back in the series.
Atlanta could be without DeMarre Carroll, who suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter of Game 1. At first it was feared that he would miss serious time, but an MRI showed no structural damage and he's listed as day-to-day. The Hawks will need him to come back soon because they have no other wing defender who can match up with LeBron James and he has been their most consistent shooter during Kyle Korver's slump. If he can't go, Kent Bazemore will likely start in his stead and Paul Millsap could see some time matching up with James on defense.
The Cavaliers have injury woes of their own. Kyrie Irving has been suffering from knee tendinitis since the conference semifinals. He's listed as questionable for Game 2 and his absence could be hard to mask for Cleveland. If Irving rests, coach David Blatt will have to decide between moving Iman Shumpert to point guard and starting J.R. Smith, who's been thriving off the bench, or inserting backup point guard Matthew Dellavedova in the starting unit. Neither option seems ideal but as long as James plays at a high level, the Cavaliers should be able to compete even without Irving.
At full strength, these teams were evenly matched in the regular season. Now that both have health issues, the one that can adapt better could be the one that advances to the NBA Finals.
How to watchPlace: Philips Arena
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Online: WatchTNT
Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/5/22/8645619/hawks-cavaliers-2015-live-stream-time-tv-schedule-nba-playoffs
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