I chose to show statistical evidence of why the Atlanta Hawks were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals. Each graph represents a game in the series and the last one demonstrate each teams total in the series.
In every game, besides Game 4, the Cavs managed to shoot and hit more field goals than Atlanta. In fact, the Hawks only consistently beat Cleveland in team fouls and turnovers. Cleveland also constantly out-rebounded them on offense and defense. The Cavs had a pretty monstrous game in the paint which may have been the cause of Atlanta’s struggle to rebound the ball. In Game 2, the Hawks also turned the ball over twice as much as Cleveland.
As for the overall series, Cleveland scored 30 more 3-pointers (90 more points) that Atlanta. This could be because of the works from Kevin Love, J.R. Smith and Shannon Frye, notorious for their 3-point shooting ability. The Cavs also collected almost 20 more offensive rebounds than the Hawks, giving them more possessions and opportunities for second chance points.
Each teams’ averages seem to be pretty standard, for example, the Hawks scored in the range of 9-16 three pointers in the series. Neither team had a night where the stats were just off the charts, or unusually different. This to me shows that the Cleveland Cavaliers are just an all around better team than the Hawks. They didn’t allow the Hawks to throw them off their game, while at the same time they didn’t allow Atlanta any wiggle room to dominate.
