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After two days off the Cavs head to MSG to take on the 25-23 Knicks. The Knicks have lost four straight games; two to Toronto (21-27), and one each to Washington (20-26) and Atlanta (24-23). They are clearly not playing well at the moment, although they had an eight-game win streak in December.
The Knicks are also the only NBA team over .500 with a losing record at home. Oddly, they are 11-13 at home and 14-10 on the road. Maybe there’s just too much night life in New York.
Starting center Mitch Robinson broke his thumb three games back only 9 minutes into the game. The Knicks allowed 123 points that game and 139 and 125 their last two games, going 0-3. Their defense has gone to hell since the 7’0”Robinson got hurt. He’s responsible for 43% of their blocked shots and he alters a lot of others. He also grabs 32% of their offensive rebounds.
These teams have played twice this season with the Cavs winning 121-108 in Cleveland and the Knicks winning 92-81 in New York on Dec. 4. That was the lowest scoring game of the year for the Cavs and also the lowest scoring game against the Knicks this year. Jarrett Allen was out and JBB started Stevens and Diakite. The Cavs shot 35% overall and were 5-for-29 on 3’s. They were outrebounded 54-39 and the Knicks grabbed 14 offensive boards. With Jarrett Allen back and Robinson out this time I expect those rebounding numbers will change dramatically in the Cavs’ favor.
The Knicks will be starting a pretty small team; PG Jalen Brunson is 6’1”, SG Quentin Grimes is 6’4”, SF RJ Barrett is 6’6”, Julius Randle is 6’8”, and backup center Jericho Sims is 6’9”, 250. Sims is a second year player who was a late 2nd round pick last year. He averages 4 points and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes per game.
Their sixth man is SG Immanuel Quickley, 6’3”, who missed their Sunday game with a knee injury and is questionable for tonight. Former Cavs Isaiah Hartenstein is the backup center. He averages 5 points in 18 minutes.
Randle is their best player, averaging 24.4 points and 11 boards at 46% from the field. Brunson is having a superb year at point guard, averaging 22.5 points and 6.3 assists on 47% and 40%. Barrett is not a high efficiency shooter at 43% and 33%, but he averages 20.3 ppg. SG Quentin Grimes averages 10.4 ppg and Quickley averages 12.5 points off the bench.
The Cavs have done a great job defending Randle this year. In two games he's 12-for-32 from the field and 1-for-10 on 3's. As a team the Knicks have shot 29% against the Cavs on 3's.
None of their bench players other than Quickley average more than 8 points, including Obi Toppin, Derrick Rose, Even Fournier, and Hartenstein.
As a team the Knicks rank 6th in offensive efficiency despite ranking 27th in effective field goal percentage, 25th in 3-point accuracy, and 24th in fast break points. The explanation is they are 3rd in offensive rebound percentage and 3rd in free throw attempts, so they get a lot of second chance points and points at the foul line. The key to stopping the Knicks is defensive rebounding and avoiding a lot of fouling. Robinson being out should put a big dent in their offensive rebounding since he's responsible for almost one-third of their total despite playing just 27 minutes per game.
The Knicks are 9th in points in the paint. They love the short mid-range shot (4-14 feet) and that is where they are most accurate. They are only 29th in shooting percentage at the rim and 25th from deep, but that short mid-range shot is where they thrive. Randle likes to post up his man and shoot a fallaway. It will be interesting to watch the Mobley/Randle battle when the Knicks have the ball.
cleaningtheglass.com ranks the Knicks 6th offensively and 18th defensively, but over the last two weeks they are 7th offensively and 26th defensively. I think the loss of Robinson in the paint is having a big impact on their defense. Atlanta, averaging 116 points, scored 139 on the Knicks last week. Toronto, averaging 113, scored 125 Sunday.
In two games against the Cavs the Knicks scored 108 and 92 points for an average of 100, so the Cavs have defended them well so far and the Knicks had Robinson for both games.
Defensively, the Knicks play conservatively, not gambling for steals. They rank 29th in steal percentage and 27th in forcing turnovers. They rank 24th in block percentage, but with Robinson out they’re probably last or close to it. Bottom line is you can get your shot up on this team, but they contest very well, ranking 4th in opponents’ effective field goal percentage. Without Robinson, however, I doubt they are the 4th best at forcing missed shots.
The Knicks are below average in defensive rebounding and with Robinson out it’s probably worse. The Cavs should be able to get some putbacks and second chance points from Allen and Mobley.
The Cavs will win if they 1) dominate the offensive and defensive boards with Robinson out and Jarrett Allen in, 2) avoid excessive fouling and strongly contest the short mid-range shots, and 3) take advantage of the Knick’s recent defensive issues to score in the paint using the height advantages of Allen and Mobley and the lack of shot blocking due to Robinson's absence.
The Cavs will lose if they shoot 35% from the field and 17% on 3’s like last time they were here. Garland and Mitchell were 13-for-41 and with no Jarrett Allen and only 4 points from LeVert the Cavs put up just 81 points - 31 below their season average. But as bad as the Knicks have been defensively of late, I can’t see that happening.
This will be the first game of the season that the Cavs have their entire roster healthy with the usual exception of Dylan Windler. I assume Dean Wade will be on limited minutes in his second game back, but otherwise JBB will finally be able to fully utilize his roster for the first time.
The Knicks are also the only NBA team over .500 with a losing record at home. Oddly, they are 11-13 at home and 14-10 on the road. Maybe there’s just too much night life in New York.
Starting center Mitch Robinson broke his thumb three games back only 9 minutes into the game. The Knicks allowed 123 points that game and 139 and 125 their last two games, going 0-3. Their defense has gone to hell since the 7’0”Robinson got hurt. He’s responsible for 43% of their blocked shots and he alters a lot of others. He also grabs 32% of their offensive rebounds.
These teams have played twice this season with the Cavs winning 121-108 in Cleveland and the Knicks winning 92-81 in New York on Dec. 4. That was the lowest scoring game of the year for the Cavs and also the lowest scoring game against the Knicks this year. Jarrett Allen was out and JBB started Stevens and Diakite. The Cavs shot 35% overall and were 5-for-29 on 3’s. They were outrebounded 54-39 and the Knicks grabbed 14 offensive boards. With Jarrett Allen back and Robinson out this time I expect those rebounding numbers will change dramatically in the Cavs’ favor.
The Knicks will be starting a pretty small team; PG Jalen Brunson is 6’1”, SG Quentin Grimes is 6’4”, SF RJ Barrett is 6’6”, Julius Randle is 6’8”, and backup center Jericho Sims is 6’9”, 250. Sims is a second year player who was a late 2nd round pick last year. He averages 4 points and 4 rebounds in 14 minutes per game.
Their sixth man is SG Immanuel Quickley, 6’3”, who missed their Sunday game with a knee injury and is questionable for tonight. Former Cavs Isaiah Hartenstein is the backup center. He averages 5 points in 18 minutes.
Randle is their best player, averaging 24.4 points and 11 boards at 46% from the field. Brunson is having a superb year at point guard, averaging 22.5 points and 6.3 assists on 47% and 40%. Barrett is not a high efficiency shooter at 43% and 33%, but he averages 20.3 ppg. SG Quentin Grimes averages 10.4 ppg and Quickley averages 12.5 points off the bench.
The Cavs have done a great job defending Randle this year. In two games he's 12-for-32 from the field and 1-for-10 on 3's. As a team the Knicks have shot 29% against the Cavs on 3's.
None of their bench players other than Quickley average more than 8 points, including Obi Toppin, Derrick Rose, Even Fournier, and Hartenstein.
As a team the Knicks rank 6th in offensive efficiency despite ranking 27th in effective field goal percentage, 25th in 3-point accuracy, and 24th in fast break points. The explanation is they are 3rd in offensive rebound percentage and 3rd in free throw attempts, so they get a lot of second chance points and points at the foul line. The key to stopping the Knicks is defensive rebounding and avoiding a lot of fouling. Robinson being out should put a big dent in their offensive rebounding since he's responsible for almost one-third of their total despite playing just 27 minutes per game.
The Knicks are 9th in points in the paint. They love the short mid-range shot (4-14 feet) and that is where they are most accurate. They are only 29th in shooting percentage at the rim and 25th from deep, but that short mid-range shot is where they thrive. Randle likes to post up his man and shoot a fallaway. It will be interesting to watch the Mobley/Randle battle when the Knicks have the ball.
cleaningtheglass.com ranks the Knicks 6th offensively and 18th defensively, but over the last two weeks they are 7th offensively and 26th defensively. I think the loss of Robinson in the paint is having a big impact on their defense. Atlanta, averaging 116 points, scored 139 on the Knicks last week. Toronto, averaging 113, scored 125 Sunday.
In two games against the Cavs the Knicks scored 108 and 92 points for an average of 100, so the Cavs have defended them well so far and the Knicks had Robinson for both games.
Defensively, the Knicks play conservatively, not gambling for steals. They rank 29th in steal percentage and 27th in forcing turnovers. They rank 24th in block percentage, but with Robinson out they’re probably last or close to it. Bottom line is you can get your shot up on this team, but they contest very well, ranking 4th in opponents’ effective field goal percentage. Without Robinson, however, I doubt they are the 4th best at forcing missed shots.
The Knicks are below average in defensive rebounding and with Robinson out it’s probably worse. The Cavs should be able to get some putbacks and second chance points from Allen and Mobley.
The Cavs will win if they 1) dominate the offensive and defensive boards with Robinson out and Jarrett Allen in, 2) avoid excessive fouling and strongly contest the short mid-range shots, and 3) take advantage of the Knick’s recent defensive issues to score in the paint using the height advantages of Allen and Mobley and the lack of shot blocking due to Robinson's absence.
The Cavs will lose if they shoot 35% from the field and 17% on 3’s like last time they were here. Garland and Mitchell were 13-for-41 and with no Jarrett Allen and only 4 points from LeVert the Cavs put up just 81 points - 31 below their season average. But as bad as the Knicks have been defensively of late, I can’t see that happening.
This will be the first game of the season that the Cavs have their entire roster healthy with the usual exception of Dylan Windler. I assume Dean Wade will be on limited minutes in his second game back, but otherwise JBB will finally be able to fully utilize his roster for the first time.
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