Atlanta's problem is the one Cleveland is built to exploit. Henri Veesaar is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Mouhamed Gueye is out after surgery on a fractured left foot. Houston beat the Hawks twice by pounding them on the glass, and coverage after that pair of losses said Atlanta needs to add size. Then Miami did the same thing: Bam Adebayo scored 22 and Giannis Antetokounmpo grabbed 16 rebounds in Atlanta. Next up is a frontcourt with Mobley in it.
In fairness to the Hawks, the start wasn't a mirage. They opened with a 132-125 win at Orlando and then beat Charlotte 128-81, a 47-point margin. This team can score, and it ran 2 opponents off the floor before anyone made it play big. The Miami loss was more about a 69-56 halftime deficit Atlanta never cut into than about a collapse late. They have now lost 3 straight as of Wednesday, and 2 of those 3 were at home.
The Cavaliers have their own warning sign: they keep falling behind early. Washington put up 42 in the 1st quarter, Minnesota took them to overtime, and Brooklyn lost by just 4. Cleveland gives up a lot of points and has needed second-half pushes to bail it out, which is harder to pull off on tired legs in someone else's building. Tipoff is 8:00 PM ET. Watch the first 6 minutes. If Atlanta's shooters get loose before the second night catches up with anyone, the Hawks can make this the track meet they want. If Mobley owns the paint early, it looks like the last 3 Atlanta games.