On Thursday, April 28, the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals that starts next week. The Hawks have been working hard to advance to the Eastern Conference finals once again, but it is definitely a challenge when their next competitors are LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Last year in the Eastern Conference Finals, Atlanta was up against Cleveland as well and lost the first 4 games of the series, giving Cleveland an easy route to the NBA Finals. However, Atlanta is more than prepared to take Cleveland once again, and they will not go down without a fight.

Jeff Teague injured his ankle in the last game against Boston, forcing him to be more cautious as he plays in the next few games. However, he came right back in the final quarter to finish strong with 11 points and 1 rebound. As one of the key players on the Hawks team, Teague is conscious of the game and how to play effectively regardless of the circumstances. With this mindset, he will continue to play extraordinarily against Cleveland.

LeBron James may say that he is the "best player in the world," but he has not been showing "best player in the world" qualities in the past few games. Although Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry is currently out on an injury, his last game he scored 24 points, and LeBron only scored 22. Usually around the playoffs season, LeBron tends to bring his A game, but so does Atlanta.

This year, Atlanta is more prepared for Cleveland than they were last year. With Kent Bazemore as the starting Small Forward, and Al Horford as the starting Power Forward, their high performance is ready to take on anything in the next few games.

So to answer the question, yes, the Atlanta Hawks are more than prepared for the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference Semifinals.