Cavaliers vs Hawks odds - Cleveland's star power vs Atlanta's depth
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The second-round sports betting lines for NBA, not surprisingly, include LeBron James and Kobe Bryant after their teams cruised through round one. Also not surprising: the series lines heavily favor Cleveland and Los Angeles to dominate round two. However, the Cavaliers vs Hawks odds pit LeBron’s dominance against what may be the deepest team in NBA betting right now, so this series could give Cleveland a scare.
Cavaliers vs Hawks odds: Can Josh Smith or anyone else guard LeBron?
- WHO: Cavaliers vs Hawks odds
- WHAT: Best-of-Seven Series
- WHEN: Game 1 is Tuesday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH
- KEY STAT: Cavaliers won season series 3-1
- THE PICK: Cavaliers in five
Sportsbook oddsmakers list the Cavs as -2400 favorites to win this series and it’s hard to argue against that NBA betting line. Led by LeBron’s MVP season, they won three of four against the Hawks in the regular season and, more importantly, went 39-2 at home. There’s almost no chance Atlanta can steal a game at Quicken Loans Arena, meaning they’re virtually guaranteed to open the Cavaliers vs Hawks line down 2-0.
We know LeBron is the engine driving the Cavs’ offense; we also know that his supporting cast works very well with him, with Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mo Williams and company providing secondary scoring. In the first round, though, Williams in particular sagged, averaging just 14.8 points per game and doing little to justify his last-minute All-Star selection this season. Could he represent a chink in Cleveland’s armor? If he doesn’t elevate his game, the Hawks can key on LeBron even more than they already will.
If there’s one advantage the Hawks odds have over the Cavs odds, it’s depth. The Hawks are revered in many sportsbook betting circles as the NBA’s deepest team. They had six players average double figures in the regular season, though that number fell to four in round one of NBA playoff betting and must recover for Atlanta to stand a chance. The big question in the Cavaliers vs Hawks odds: Who will guard LeBron? Josh Smith is likely the best equipped to do so as he has, arguably, the best combination of power, size and speed on the team.
CRAIG’S PICK: Forget about Atlanta’s NBA betting odds of stealing any games on the road; even home wins will be “steals” against the mighty Cavs, so it’s hard to imagine this series going more than five or six games. The Hawks will put Cleveland’s secondary scorers to the test, but they’ll be up to the task; the mentally broken Detroit Pistons didn’t push them to excel in the first round, but Atlanta will. The Cavs will respond and take it to the Hawks. Bet on Cleveland to beat a feisty yet inferior Atlanta team.
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Craig Parsons is an avid sports fan, but his true love has always been basketball. Too short to realize his dream of playing in the NBA, he did the next best thing: sports betting and covering basketball for a living. Thoughts or questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
