INDEPENDENCE: The grand prize the Atlanta Hawks received for advancing to the conference semifinals is at least four more doses of LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
They haven’t had much success in figuring James out when it matters most.
The Cavs have won the last seven games against the Hawks, including a sweep of last season’s conference finals and all three games this season. The Cavs beat the Hawks by an average of 13.3 points in last season’s playoffs — figures that were skewed by a 30-point blowout in the finale — but then beat them by an average of 9.7 points in three regular-season games this year.
“It don’t matter if you can win 100 straight games against somebody,” James said. “If you lose four in a row, then you’re out of the playoffs. All the things that happened in the past does not matter to our focus this week.”
James dominated the Hawks in the playoffs last year. With Kevin Love out and Kyrie Irving already hobbling, James averaged 30.3 points, 11 rebounds and 9.3 assists. The Cavs minimized Kyle Korver’s effectiveness before Korver was injured late in Game 2
Just as the Cavs transformed from an offensive threat during the regular season to a defensive force in last year’s playoffs, the Hawks believe they’re making a similar transition. The Hawks held the offensively challenged Celtics to 93.8 points per game, 38 percent shooting and less than 28 percent from 3-point range.
“I think we are a better team than last year. I really do,” Korver told reporters after the Hawks eliminated the Celtics. “Our identity is more on the defensive end than the offensive end this year.”
The Hawks won 12 fewer games this season than last year’s 60-win version, but the Hawks felt they peaked closer to the end of the season this year as opposed to last year. Regardless, they haven’t had much postseason success against the Cavs, who also swept them out of the second round in 2009.
“The last half of the season, they’ve been playing great,” Cavs coach Ty Lue said of the Hawks. “I think they kind of figured out the team that they had and kind of made some adjustments and they’ve been great ever since.
“I don’t see anything too much different from this team now and last year. They’re still playing at a high level.”
James rips ref reports
James dismissed the importance of the league’s Last 2 Minutes report initiative and made it clear Friday he doesn’t see a use for them in the NBA.
“It changes absolutely nothing,” he said.
In an effort to improve transparency, the league last season began releasing reports critiquing the calls that officials make and do not make in games within five points with two minutes left.
“I think it sends a bad message to our fans of thinking the game is only won in the last two minutes,” James said. “A play in the first quarter is just as important as a play in the last four seconds. That’s how playoff basketball is played, that’s how the game of basketball should be played.”
James believes focusing only on the last two minutes sends the wrong message to kids.
“I don’t think they should hear that ‘Oh, it’s OK to talk about the last two minutes calls missed.’ We should talk about the whole game, if that’s the case because the whole game matters. You miss an assignment in the first quarter, it can hurt you in the fourth quarter. So I’m not fond of it all.”
James’ comments follow those of his good friend Dwyane Wade, who also dismissed the reports after a controversial noncall on him in the Miami Heat’s Game 5 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The league reviewed the play and determined Wade indeed was not fouled and the officials got the call right.
“What does it do? Or maybe I don’t get the definition of what it’s really doing,” Wade said. “What are the consequences? What is it doing?”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.