Hawks vs. Cavaliers preview: Atlanta looks to get back on winning track against Cleveland

After a day off, the Atlanta Hawks will hit the road Sunday afternoon for a matinee game against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hawks have looked actually decent at times during their eight game losing streak but with the Cavaliers having their own struggles early in the season this game is going to be tough on Atlanta.

Lebron James, as usual, will be the main focal point of Mike Budenholzer’s defense and perhaps the Hawks can catch some breaks after James’ energy-expending, 59-point performance Friday night against the Washington Wizards. James also became the youngest to 29,000 career points but before this eruption from Lebron the Cavs were actually struggling with a four game losing streak. The Cavaliers can look old at times as they do have the oldest average roster age in the NBA and the Hawks will look to take advantage in transition on Sunday.

Dennis Schroder presents a pretty big mismatch for the Cavs as their guards have struggled on the defensive end to begin the season. The Hawks will also look to Dewayne Dedmon to match up with Kevin Love as the Cavs have embraced the small ball era the NBA is transitioning to. Once again the Hawks perimeter defense will be tested as Cleveland is a team that loves to shoot three pointers.

Injury-wise, the Hawks will be without Mike Muscala (in addition to DeAndre’ Bembry, Miles Plumlee, and Ersan Ilyasova) on Sunday, and most likely without Malcolm Delaney. Atlanta also lists Marco Belinelli, and Dennis Schroder on the injury report but they are expected to play.

Be on the lookout for Hawks young guns Isaiah Taylor and Tyler Dorsey to get some increased playing time with all the injuries the Hawks are facing. Expect Isaiah Taylor to dominate the Cavs backup point guard matchup

Stay tuned throughout the day for all the latest.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Sunday, November 5, 3:00 p.m. ET

Location: Quicken Loans Arena

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Go, NBA League Pass

Radio: V103 Atlanta