5 REASONS

– The Cavaliers will beat the Hawks

1. LeBron James

James was sensational in averaging 32.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists in a first-round sweep of Detroit, and he`s still all business as the Eastern Conference semifinals begin. As athletic as the Hawks are, they really don`t match up well with the 6-foot-8, 250-pounder. James is too quick for Marvin Williams, who missed part of Atlanta`s first-round series with a wrist injury, and too big and too strong for Maurice Evans and Joe Johnson.

2. Home-court advantage

The Cavaliers are 41-2 this season at Quicken Loans Arena, while the Hawks went 16-25 on the road in the regular season. Atlanta is a team that likes to get out and run, but that will be difficult at The Q, where the crowd`s intensity has a way of keeping Mike Brown`s group focused. In two games at The Q during the regular season, Cleveland jumped to leads of 28-12 and 27-13 at the end of the first period. It went on to lead by 28 in the first game and 24 in the second.

3. Zydrunas Ilgauskas

The 7-3 center is now basically a catch-and-shoot role player for the Cavaliers at the offensive end, but in three games against the Hawks – he missed Cleveland`s lone loss to Atlanta with a sprained ankle – Ilgauskas averaged 16.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting .625 from the field (20-of-32). The Hawks don`t match up well with James or Mo Williams, who is much quicker than Mike Bibby, so Big Z could get a lot of open looks in this series.

4. Mental toughness

The Cavaliers are extremely focused, so don`t look for the long layoff between series to hurt them. This group is all business and rarely took a game off during the regular season. In games where Cleveland is cooking, it has the potential to blow out Atlanta, which it showed in the regular season. On nights when the Cavaliers are struggling offensively, their defense will still be good enough to give them a chance down the stretch.

5. Delonte West

The left-handed shooting guard is the most underrated player on Cleveland`s roster. He did a phenomenal job on Detroit`s Richard Hamilton in the first round, holding him to .356 shooting from the field, and he`ll make Johnson work for everything he gets in this series. If West also gets it going at the offensive end, the Hawks could be in really big trouble.

– The Hawks will beat the Cavaliers

1. Athleticism

The Hawks aren`t an overly big or physical team, but in Josh Smith, Al Horford, Flip Murray, Evans, Johnson, Williams and Bibby, they have players who excel in the open court. Big men Smith and Horford are particularly dangerous in this area, because if they get a few easy buckets in transition, they gain a lot of confidence and suddenly start draining 17-foot jumpers as well.

2. Quick big men

This is a lot like the first reason, but Smith, Horford and even Zaza Pachulia are athletic big men who run the court well. In half-court sets, Smith and Horford can explode and get to the hoop in a hurry, so the Hawks will look to expose the slow-footed Ilgauskas in one-on-one situations. Cleveland is a great defensive team, but if the Hawks pass out of double-teams and move the ball, they could get quite a few open 3-pointers.

3. Balance

Johnson is a very, very good player, Bibby was the No. 2 pick in the 1998 NBA Draft and Smith has awesome leaping ability, but the Hawks don`t really have a true superstar and thus don`t rely on any one player to carry them. Even if one or two guys struggle, Atlanta has a lot of players who have shown they can step up and produce a big game.

4. ‘Flip` the switch

Murray, a former Cavalier, is an undersized shooting guard who doesn`t really understand the team concept, but he`s a great one-on-one player who can score points in bunches. That can take on added importance in slow, grind-it-out playoff games where both teams have the other`s plays memorized. Though he`s only 6-3, Murray is particularly adept at scoring from the 12- to 15-foot range, which could make him a difficult cover for Williams or Daniel Gibson.

5. Experience, but no pressure

The Hawks took eventual NBA champion Boston to seven games in the first round last year and survived a tough opening-round series with Miami this season. That means they`ve already had what can be classified as a successful season. At the same time, Atlanta is playoff-tested and knows it can compete with upper-echelon teams.

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