By Zac Jackson
Fox Sports Ohio
November 2, 2010
Previewing tonight's Cavaliers-Hawks game:
THE SKINNY: Hawks (3-0) at Cavaliers (1-1), 7 p.m., Quicken Loans Arena. FSOhio has the broadcast with Fred McLeod and Austin Carr.
THE STARTERS: The Hawks will start Marvin Williams and Josh Smith at forward, Al Horford at center, and Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby at guard. The Cavaliers will go with Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson up front, Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker on the wings and either Ramon Sessions or Mo Williams at point. Williams will make his season debut, but Byron Scott hasn't yet decided if he'll start. Antawn Jamison (knee) is questionable for tonight's game.
THE SCOOP: The Hawks are 3-0 for new coach Larry Drew after winning three games most thought they would. Johnson, who got a max contract to remain in Atlanta this summer, is off to a hot start and is averaging 23 points per game. Horford, who also just re-upped, is emerging in his fourth seasons and adding polish to his post game. Jamal Crawford is the reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year and is the Hawks' second-leading scorer at 15.7 per game.
The Cavaliers are hoping to be at full strength for just the second time since the preseason started, and Scott is hoping they'll be much better at the defensive end than they were in losing two games last weekend. That was the focus of Monday's practice, and Scott said he's not pressing the panic button. He's still learning his players, his players are still learning his schemes and getting Williams back and getting Jamison back to health will be key in getting things turned around. After tonight the Cavaliers don't play an '09-`10 playoff team for three weeks, so there's plenty of time to get things rolling.
THE SERIES: The Cavaliers won three of four from Atlanta last year and have won six straight over the Hawks in Cleveland.
WHAT'S AHEAD: A two-game weekend road trip for the Cavaliers, at Philadelphia Friday and at Washington Saturday. Both games are on FSOhio.
