Cleveland at Atlanta

Cleveland is allowing 92.5 points per game in the postseason, much better than in the regular season and #2 in the playoffs. Cleveland forward LeBron James is still the best player in the game, averaging 26.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.9 assists in the postseason. Teamed with Kyrie Irving they have been a deadly duo, though the Cavs actually have a deep roster with the additions of Shumpert, Mosgov and JR Smith in midseason. And Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson keeps getting better, with three double-doubles in the past four games. Cleveland will bring that strong defense on the road for game one, and the Cavaliers are 5-1 UNDER the total their last six road games. Atlanta can play defense too, at #5 in the NBA in points allowed during the regular season and #6 in field goal shooting defense. Both Atlanta and Cleveland are 5-2 UNDER the total after a victory. But this Atlanta team peaked in January and February and hasn't played as well since, going six games against Washington and Brooklyn in the postseason. The Hawks are 2-5 ATS at home and 2-5-1 ATS following a win. The Cavs are 52-38 UNDER this season including 20-10 UNDER after a game in which they made 12+ three-pointers. In toss-up games like this (line of -1.5 to +1.5, the Hawks are 15-5 to the first-half UNDER. They are also 28-16 UNDER in the first-half to a total in this range (95.5 to 100.5). Dating back to last year, Atlanta is now 25-11 UNDER in the first-half when facing good teams (.600 or better). This is a tougher matchup for Atlanta, so grab the visitors in a defensive battle. Take Cleveland, the first-half and game total UNDERs.