Collective team talent vs. LeBron
NBA: Hawks have what it takes to handle King James and his Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference final
ATLANTA — Three of the four teams in the NBA conference finals have legitimate superstars.
Out west, you have Stephen Curry and James Harden with Golden State and Houston, respectively.
In the East, LeBron James looms as large as ever as he leads the No. 2 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers into Atlanta.
It is in Atlanta where no true superstar or even MVP candidate resides.
But what the Hawks lack in bona fide star power, they more than make up for in quantity of quality.
With power forward Kevin Love out for the duration of the playoffs and Kyrie Irving already on the limp, the Eastern Conference Final could be the perfect battleground for individual talent vs. collective team talent.
The Hawks sent four of their starting five to the all-star game this year, not to mention their head coach — and they were all deserving.
But none of them individually holds a candle to James, this generation’s Michael Jordan and unquestionably the best overall player in the game today.
But where James plans to surround himself with similar, if somewhat lesser-skilled players in Cleveland as he joined Irving and helped orchestrate the deal for Love, the plan hit a bit of a snag.
Love is done after dislocating his shoulder in an awkward arm lock with Boston Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk of Kamloops in the first round.
Irving will play in the opener, but was noticeably limping in the second-round win over Chicago.
What it means is James is the lone member of Cleveland’s Big Three, to steal a phrase from his former residence in South Beach, still operating at something close to full capacity.
What that sets up is a battle of the one versus the five, and that sets up pretty nicely for the Hawks.
All season, the Hawks have used that quantity over quality equation to their benefit.
This is not meant to belittle the obvious talents of that five that is made up of Jeff Teague, Kyle Korver, DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Al Horford.
As mentioned, four of that five — Carroll stayed home — were deserving participants in the all-star game in February.
They each contribute a distinctive skill to the overall success of that starting five and have shown a willingness to sacrifice whatever individual accolades they might accumulate for the advancement of the team. This really is a team, in every sense of the word.
But despite their 60-win season and the top seed, the Hawks come into this Eastern Conference Final as underdogs.
Chalk it up to society’s fascination with star power.
There’s no question LeBron trumps all in that department.
The question, though, is whether he has enough around him to get it done.
Even with Irving limping and Love out, there are still formidable pieces in that Cavs lineup, including Tristan Thompson of Brampton, Ont., whose energy and talent for providing the Cavs with extra possessions is getting a lot of notice.
So we’ll buck the trend and go with the Hawks in this one in six games.