Cleveland Cavaliers: 5 reasons they will win the East
By Robby Sabo
3. Do you really trust the Hawks?
There’s no question the Hawks are a phenomenal squad.
Under Budenholzer they’ve created an atmosphere that preaches the open man always acting as the superstar. Their play in transition and on the defensive end is chalk-full of basketball awareness.
Is it any wonder only a guy who came from the life-long teachings of Greg Popovich can pull something like this off?
That’s where LeBron will meet his true test, as dealing with Popovich coached teams has haunted him.
Two of the three NBA Finals losses The King has suffered has come at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs (2007 and 2014). While LeBron has always played the team game (while also molding his team to the team level he wants), he’s come up short and struggled mightily against the ultimate team-game genius coached by Popovich.
Where it gets tricky for Cleveland in these playoffs is the fact that Budenholzer is a Popovich clone, serving 19 seasons on the San Antonio bench.
The trust issues come into play when realizing the Hawks have no go to guy during the last moments of a critical game. It presents a major hurdle for Budenholzer’s crew.
San Antonio has been able to get past it at certain points, but when Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan are on the squad all bets are off.
Where will Budenholzer go in a one point game with three seconds to play?
Next: The King has not been dethroned