The Cleveland Cavaliers are 11-2 SU and 7-6 ATS over their last 13 games, including a current four-game winning streak. Cleveland will try to make it five in a row on the road against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Philips Arena.
NBA playoff betting: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks Game 2 odds and stats
The Cleveland Cavaliers eye their fifth straight win and a commanding 2-0 series lead on Friday night in Atlanta against the Hawks.
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Cleveland opened as a 1.5-point road favorite for Friday's game at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com, but that line was then on the move. The Cavaliers are 4-0 SU in their last four games as a road favorite despite an 0-4 ATS record over that stretch.
LeBron James finished Game 1 with the team lead in points, picking up 31 points in Cleveland's 97-89 underdog win over Atlanta. However, King James wasn't the one under the spotlight. J.R. Smith came off the bench to score 28 points for the Cavs, hitting eight three-pointers to stun the Hawks and their fans.
With Kyrie Irving still playing at less than 100 percent, Cleveland needs its role players to step up and support James, and Smith did exactly that in Game 1. Cleveland is 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS on the road this postseason.
Atlanta led Game 1 by six points at the end of the first quarter, but could never pull away and eventually fell victim to Smith's hot night. The Hawks offense has been leaving much to be desired of late, after averaging 102.5 points in the regular season and 106.3 PPG over its previous six games, Atlanta has averaged just 88.3 PPG over its last three games.
The offense will likely need to find its rhythm to compete with LeBron and company. Atlanta is 5-2 SU at home this postseason but just 2-5 ATS.
The UNDER is 7-3 in Cleveland's last 10 games and 3-0 in Atlanta's last three games, according to the OddsShark NBA Database. Friday's total for the Cavaliers vs. Hawks betting matchup is set at 197 points at the sportsbooks.
This is the second straight series that the Hawks have kicked off with a home loss, and Atlanta is hoping that it can bounce back the same way it did against Washington. But against a team as good as Cleveland, falling down 0-2 in the series would be tough to overcome.
