The Cleveland Cavaliers(51-31) are in the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and for the first time without LeBron James since 1998, which is not a surprise after the acquisition of Donovan Mitchell.
Now, they battle the New York Knicks(47-35) in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 is Saturday in Cleveland.
In the regular season, New York won the season series 3-1, including a win in Cleveland, but that gets thrown out the window. It’s the playoffs.
Cleveland has all the things needed to win this series. They are the number-rated defensive team in basketball and have a go-to elite scorer in Mitchell(28.3 ppg). Don’t forget Darius Garland, a big-time scorer, and distributor(21.6 points & 7.8 assists per contest). In addition, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are ranked two and three in defensive rating. Plus, they have homecourt advantage, which should help as they have the sixth-best home record(31-10) in the NBA.
While they have been subpar on the road(20-21) this season, Cleveland has two things that do travel, an elite scorer and defense.
For the Knicks, you can’t discount Jalen Brunson(24.0 ppg), who was remarkable in the playoffs for Dallas last season and was big-time this season for the Knicks. However, the uncertainty with Julius Randle’s(25.1 ppg & 10.0 rpg) ankle could be an issue, but he is expected to be ready for Game 1. In addition, New York has been outstanding on the road this season(24-17), including big wins in Memphis, Philly, Denver, and Boston(2x).
Both teams are near the bottom in bench points(Cavs ranked 28, Knicks ranked 26).
We can talk about Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen for the Cavs and Randle and Brunson for the Knicks, but there will be some unsung heroes in this series. For the Cavs, Caris LeVert(12.1 ppg) could be that guy and has picked up his play late in the season, while for the Knicks, Immanuel Quickley(14.5 ppg) could be the man for New York.
Prediction:
The 4-5 matchup is usually exciting and this will be no different. Plus, Mitchell almost being traded to New York is an interesting subplot.
The Cavs are the slightly better team, and have homecourt advantage, so expect that to be enough for Cleveland to win in 7, but it will be challenging.
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