Basketball / Dafydd Lewis / 05 May 2009 / Leave a comment Bet Now

The question is, in the wake of LeBron James' coronation as the NBA's MVP this season, can the Atlanta Hawks stop Game 1 of their series being anything other than a celebration for the Cavs, asks Andy Morris.

Fresh from their first round victory over the Pistons, the Cavaliers now meet the Hawks, who disposed of Miami in the first round.

The Cavs, the No.1 seed, have had the benefit of some rest time ahead of this series, having not played for nine days. That should benefit the likes of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace.

Cleveland were fourth in the league with a 49.1 shooting percentage with that more than three days off.

They are the better team on both sides of the ball, and even if they sometimes are lacking on offense they will not let up on the Hawks.

The Hawks did beat the Cavs in December, when Cleveland had no defense - a game when Atlanta got to the line 39 times which was more than any opponent attempted in regulation against Cleveland this season. The Cavs went into that one without Ilgauskas and Daniel Gibson, and their 11-game winning streak was over.

Can the Hawks do it again? Possibly if they move the ball as well as they undoubtedly can - they were 29-9 this season when they recorded 21 or more assists this season. They need to keep James out of the paint, and maybe if he has an off night they can keep it close.

This game, though, will be won on defense as much as offense and even without a star night for LeBron the Cavs should be good enough.

I'm taking them in match odds and to get more value also backing them to cover the 11.5 points spread.

The Denver Nuggets were 0-4 against Dallas going into Game 1 of their series, but pulled out an excellent performance to win 109-95. The Mavs got off to a flying start, leading by eight after the first quarter, but the Nuggets' charge began soon into the second quarter which they won by 11 points. Any hope of a Dallas comeback was snuffed out in the final quarter when the Nuggets put a further seven points on their lead.

Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points and grabbed five rebounds to help Denver on its way, and the Nuggets' bench had an outstanding night.

Game 1 showed the Mavs' vulnerability in the paint, where they were outscored 58-30. That puts too much pressure on their offense to survive.

Denver hasn't lost at home since early March, winning 14 in a row, so this is a big ask of the Mavericks and I don't see them doing it.

If the Nuggets play anywhere near as well as they did in Game 1, when they had 28 assists - 11 more than the Mavericks - then they should win it by a similar margin, so I am backing them in match odds betting.