He's on fire! J.R. Smith leads Cavaliers to Game one win over Atlanta!

J.R.Smith nailed eight three pointers on his way to a 28 point night to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 97-89 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the first game of the Eastern Conference finals in Atlanta.
LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 31 points on the evening,but this night belonged to the mercurial Smith and his lazer-like shooting from beyond the three point arc....
Cleveland will remain in Atlanta for game two Friday night....

Swashbucklings

1) J.R.Smith looked like the second coming of one of my all-time favorites in World B.Free in this one.
Smith was raining threes and they weren't uncontested jumpers either!
Smith had defenders on him and he was still drilling them!
It reminded me of the old NBA Jam video game,where a hot shooter would literally fire up a flame filled basketball from anywhere on the floor and nail the shot with the frenetic announcer screaming HE"S ON FIRE!.
It's a lot to ask to have Smith do that again,but if the Cavaliers can get anything approaching that play...

2) Just your typical LeBron James game (31 pts 8 boards and 6 assists),but the standout to me was that the Hawks were more often than not trying to guard him with Paul Millsap not DeMarre Carroll as expected.
Carroll would get injured in the second half,but if this series comes down to Millsap trying to guard LeBron James-the Cavaliers are headed to the finals....

3) Tristan Thompson is headed for a big payday this off-season,if not from Cleveland from someone else.
Thompson put up a 14 and 10 night and continues the maturation process.
Thompson can be kept if the Cavaliers wish,but keeping him would have been much less costly under the cap had the Cavaliers not foolishly signed the hustling but perpetually injured Anderson Varejao to a long term deal.
It is that deal that will be most harmful to the Cavaliers cap future...

4) Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov rotated at center,with Thompson playing power forward when the two was on the floor.
Cleveland didn't put Kendrick Perkins on the floor at all-a problem?
No.Perkins is more of a bruiser and the Hawks strike me as much more of a finesse' team.
I look for Cleveland to play seven or eight men tops in each game and I think Atlanta will do the same...

5) Kyrie Irving aggravated his bad knee on a third quarter drive and did not return.
Irving finished with ten points and clearly isn't himself,but the often-dinged up Irving is fighting through the pain and one has to give him credit for that.

6) I intended a preview of the series that I didn't have time to do,but Cavaliers in six.
I like the Hawks being a well balanced team patterned after the Spurs,but the Hawks don't have Tony Parker,let alone a Tim Duncan and as long as the Cavaliers can avoid foul issues or  heaven forbid another injury,despite the Hawks better record,Cleveland is the more talented team...