Game Thread | Knicks playoff series Game #1 | Knicks @ Cavs | April 15, 2023

I don’t think either of Randles fouls were in question, but yes he had our big men shook. Going to be a few confrontations this series because the Cavs will have no choice but to stand up to him and the Knicks.

Look, the Knicks were -8 with Randle on the floor. -15 with Robinson.

Cavs were +8 with Mobley on the floor.


The difference was very much the bench units. Now, either our starters have to completely dominate the Knicks to the point that the bench can't lose it, or we have to unlock some combo off the bench that we currently haven't.

neto would defintely get some run if it were me next game.

Dr No said:

He doesn't get taken to town by hardly any PF's or SF's. I haven't looked at it in a long time, but last I knew he was good on field goal percentage against him and shot frequency against. And now the Love is gone he's one of our few rebounders.

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Wade as 3 is decent and i think he should be playing against big lineups next to Mobley and Allen, but Wade as 4 is hardly payable. JBB pulled him and Lamar will probably be slotted back next game. This scenario has already played in the regular season, I don’t understand why JBB would try it again in such an important game, when he had given the job to Wade when Love was taken out of the rotation and played poorly then

DTM04 said:

Do you really think something taught in grade school as a fundamental of basketball is not a concern for an NBA coach? Just a strange post. Maybe consider that the bigs need to take some pride and put a body on their opponent. The last couple offensive rebounds weren't even due to the bigs overhelping, they had one job as the shot went up and just didn't get it done today.

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It’s 100% coaching because it’s been an issue all season. If the focus isn’t boxing out but instead being focused on a specific assignment then it comes down to coaching. We’ve seen it come to play way too often for the size of our bigs. There’s clearly another priority.

Too much ISO=No team work. Coach doesn't trust his bench because all depends on players fighting alone. JBB has to think why this team have left working team way to became an ISO team. I remember when centers put the hammer down every time a teammate cut in the zone and receive an alley hoop. Now, players are playing for himself... No way if they don't go back to the enjoyable team it was.

What the Cavs players and coaches blamed after the game.

1. Lack of physicality
2. Lack of defensive rebounding
3. Lack of bench scoring (JBB)
4. Need to "hit them first" (Garland)

The Cavs came out tight as a drum and were down 9-2 just 1 minute and 40 seconds into the game. They outscored the Knicks by 3 points the rest of the way.

I'm hoping that if they don't come out so tight and get down seven points before anybody breaks a sweat they can win the next one. They also missed two uncontested layups and six free throws.

I would also add:

5. Inability to close games. The Cavs got the lead with 2:12 to go, the place went nuts, and then the Knicks immediately scored five points. The Cavs could not close out the game with a late lead. Hart knocked down a 3, Mitchell missed one, and Brunson hit a jumper to finish it.

6. The Cavs were 10-for-31 on 3's. Just going 12-for-31 probably wins the game. Okoro, LeVert, and Wade were 0-for-8. And as great as Mitchell played, he missed 9 three-pointers (not counting a half-court heave), some of which were forced.

I would be tempted to play Stevens the next game. I'm not sure Okoro's knee is 100% and he badly missed all four 3's he attempted, and they were uncontested. If he can't hit a wide open 3, he's a hindrance. Stevens might not be able to make them, either, but he's tougher on the defensive glass and the Cavs need more physicality.

In five games against the Knicks this year, LeVert is shooting 26.3% from the field. Here are his minutes played per game and his +/- for that game:

29 mins, -12
16 mins, -13
21 mins, -19
37 mins, -12 (he started with Okoro out)
18 mins, -14 (last night)

So that's a -70 in 121 minutes on 26% shooting. The Knicks are crushing him. Maybe they've gotten into his head or maybe their quickness, athleticism, and rim protection bother him. He's better against slower, less agile opponents who he can shake with his herky-jerky moves.

Whatever it is he needs to turn it around starting Tuesday or the Cavs have no chance.

If we don’t play neto and green Jb needs to go….neto has shown gritty defense and enough playmaking to play but instead he keeps playing rubio in which he is not 100% yet

Chris Fedor commented that Mobley was "soft" on his shooting, taking off-balance shots. It did seem to me like he was putting up little jump hooks rather than powering up the shot and drawing a foul. He was playing a finesse game and missing everything. His jump hook from 3 feet out has been inaccurate all year - he seems to hurry it and the arc is too flat.

Next game I'd like to see him ditch the finesse game and power the ball to the rim. I know that's not easy against Robinson and Hartenstein, but these jump hooks off pump fakes are out of rhythm and ineffective.

bleedwineandgold03 said:

If we don’t play neto and green Jb needs to go….neto has shown gritty defense and enough playmaking to play but instead he keeps playing rubio in which he is not 100% yet

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I thought Neto was effective guarding Brunson in the last regular season game. Rubio was awful. In his last two games against the Knicks he's a -17 in 15 minutes. Fedor wrote this:

Rubio, still not his old self after a 380-day recovery from a torn ACL, picked up a pair of fouls in his first two minutes of court time, missed an uncontested driving layup, committed two turnovers and looked at least a step slow against the young, athletic and tenacious Knicks.

Not just against the Knicks - against everybody. They say it takes two years to fully recover from an ACL and it's been 16 months for Ricky. I would try Neto.

Green - worth a shot, I guess, but let's see if they can get untracked Tuesday.

The defense was great, holding the Knicks to 101 points and that was with Brunson making some amazing shots. The backbreaker was the 3-pointer he hit with Allen right in his face after grabbing an offensive rebound. I don't know how he even got the shot up much less made it.

The key move this year for the Knicks was trading for Josh Hart, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds last night, including 8-for-11 from the field. He hit a 3-pointer right after the Cavs took the lead with 2:12 to go and the Cavs never got the lead back. Without Hart the Cavs win easily.

Hart has been a hugely impactful addition. At the time of the trade they were 29-26. With Hart on board they went 17-6 in games he played before losing their last two meaningless games with Brunson resting and Randle out.

The Knicks traded Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2023 first round pick to Portland for Hart. Great move - he was exactly what they needed to propel them from a barely over .500 team to one that is now 18-6 when he and Brunson play.

The Cavs, OTOH, did nothing at the trade deadline, possibly because they were constrained by the cap. But after watching Okoro and Wade throw up bricks yesterday they really could have used a perimeter shooter. To be fair, Okoro shot 40% from deep in March and Levert 47%. But they were awful last night.

Kizzle said:

Agree on the second part even though i don’t think either face shot was intentional.

The 1st paragraph is hogwash .

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I'm just getting that out there so he can light it up next game. Need 25 min from him in this series.

Garland was scared to shoot and deferred to Mitchell way too much. His first playoff game, he had the jitters. I hope he shakes that shit off quick and go back to DG the PG. The lights might be to bright for him. Any time the game gets physical, he gets shook, timid and passive.

JA and Mobley got thrown around like rage dolls on the boards. They never seem like they want it more than the other team.

Bench stunk up the joint as expected. We got a sniper on the bench that's not scared to shoot and has all the confidence in the world in his shot but JB refuses to play him for whatever reason. He can be hidden on defense like anybody else if that's the issue. What the fuck is he here for? Decoration? Sick of this bum ass coach, scared to shake shit up.

We get swept if this continues. Point blank.

And please, play with some fire, some attitude, some passion. I only get that out of Spida. The rest look like scared school kids on the first day of school.

dice1717 said:

It’s even harder to say cuz it’s not true

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It's even harder to say cuz their bench played 45 minutes more than our bench. And fans think they ought to outscore their bench. LMAO

To me the biggest issues is that when LeVert is off we have no bench scoring and our team is very one dimensional. I think we all knew this team had a great starting 5, but the bench has been the issue all year. The guys on the bench are not consistent and you can’t count on them. When they are on, it makes us very hard to beat because our starting 5 is so good. This game was one where we needed them to step up, the Knicks had a good game plan against the starters and threw them off. If we get anything from the Bench we probably win. I think we all have the remember that it is just one game, we have to adjust. I am sure the whole team had to leave disappointed and realize this is playoff basketball now, you have to give 100% all game on both sides of the court if you want to win. Let’s go get game 2, and get the momentum back.