Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed -- LeBron Who? Hawks Still Gonna Take It! (VIDEO)

Give Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed some credit -- even in the face of a dominant LeBron James ... he's picking his beloved Hawks to take out the Cavaliers.

Reed was out in L.A. on Thursday night when he made his prediction -- we're not shocked he's riding with the Hawks ... but the odds are stacked against them. DeMarre Carroll is nursing a bad knee, their best defender is out with a broken leg, and they've lost home court advantage.

Oh yeah, and LeBron.

So, the shocking part is the number of games he thinks the birds will need to come out on top. He's pretty much saying tonight is a must-win.