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

[Melancholy Jaques]

Does anyone think we’ll be fine, or we just aren’t ready to win a playoff series?

This is pretty much sums up my views.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

While the adjustments are fairly obvious (rebounding/boxing out), I fear that this team is too young to adapt still. DG has been a disappointment all season long with his clutch play, Mobley and Allen has been soft throughout the season and Okoro will not shoot enough to be a threat. Mitchell is leagues better than any knick but the 2-5 top players belong to new york. Our young guys needs to step up, the question is can they.

It’s amazing because garland was so great in the clutch last year. I made a post last year about how great his clutch decision making was - and I compared it to young LeBron vibes - way better than young Kyrie. Sounds crazy now but no one disagreed…got a ton of likes. I felt so confident with the ball in his hands down the stretch and it was fun to watch.

Before injuries, last years team was on pace to get as many wins as this team actually got, too.

It’s baffling.

 

[cavsfever]

These attacks on Cedi are bullshit. I just checked it and Brunson went 4-9 with Cedi on him in the fourth quarter. How is holding Brunson under 50% shooting losing us the game?

Look at Mobley, Levert, Okoro, Garland if you want to see why we lost this game. And rebounding

 

[MattyIce8]

Rewatching the game… I loved that Okoro was back for his defense but the time off was not good for his shot. It did not look right tonight.

 

[Goldin Brown]

To the ppl saying Osman was getting good contests on Brunson, the easiest way to tell if a guy is getting good contests is if he has to angle his shots higher than usual.

Brunson was getting anything he wanted on Osman. His shots had no angle to them. He was wide open.


Osman being close enough for it to look like a hood contest on TV means nothing. Osman was almost a foot behind Brunson on every jumper.

It was poor Individual play by Osman and EXTREMELY poor decision making by JBB. Almost ANY starting PG in the league would’ve put Osman’s ass on the Barbie in that same situation. That has to be Okoro and Steven’s there.


I am a bit worried that after 82 games JBB thought Osman could do that. That’s an utter lack of bball IQ or it’s extreme narcissism on JBB part.

Osman wasn't horrible, a few possessions he forced Brunson to pick up his dribble and make a panic pass which lead to turnovers. I thought his length gave him problems, he got a few decent contests which lead to misses, but we didn't secure the rebounds over and over again. I thought it was a bit of a gimmick, just trying to give Brunson a different look and throw him off a little, it almost worked, it's not something I'll think they'll go to very often.

 

[letgocavs]

Rather play Lopez than Wade. Shit put in Lopez for two minutes. Need some toughness out there

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

Rewatching the game… I loved that Okoro was back for his defense but the time off was not good for his shot. It did not look right tonight.

Someone in the media posted a video of him shooting open 3s on Thursday in practice. Dude went 4-9 in one clip and 6-8 in another. Small sample size but I got worried right then. NBA guys who hit playoff threes are usually lights out wide open in the gym. And it’s his first series…

 

[Goldin Brown]

Rather play Lopez than Wade. Shit put in Lopez for two minutes. Need some toughness out there

Too bad we can't put Diakite out there to throw some elbows.

 

[inliner311]

While the adjustments are fairly obvious (rebounding/boxing out), I fear that this team is too young to adapt still. DG has been a disappointment all season long with his clutch play, Mobley and Allen has been soft throughout the season and Okoro will not shoot enough to be a threat. Mitchell is leagues better than any knick but the 2-5 top players belong to new york. Our young guys needs to step up, the question is can they.

Right, we just aren't built or schemed to be a successful playoff team. DG has to be able to get tough baskets, the easy assists that he ranks up won't open up without them. The shooting also hurts a lot, if the Mobley and Allen are dominating as bigs, they can't make up for the lack of shooting. Mobley need to be able to create for himself so he isn't reliant on DG to create his offense.

Basically the plan for teams is going to be to try to shut down DG so that Mobley and Allen don't get easy buckets either. Mitchell will basically have to be a superhero to beat teams if our team isn't getting much from DG, Mobley, and Allen. There just isn't anyone else who can step up to offset that. Levert might have a good game or two but he isn't able to step up for a entire series.

 

[letgocavs]

Throw it into the post more. When we go minutes without a bucket get close to the basket.

 

[Dr No]

I beg to differ. Dude plays with no passion. If staying on someone’s hip while they still score the basket is your idea of defense then you win. He doesn’t ball contest, he doesn’t have quick hands, rarely blocks a shot and looks lost most plays. His negative skills shows in the stats too. He doesn’t even look like he wants to be out there. He has absolutely zero trade value so it looks like we are stuck with him another year.

I don't know what you are watching. Pretty much every stat says other than what you claim here.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Yep, all the Cavs' flaws were exposed.

1. No bench (4-for-13, outscored by Knicks' bench by 23 points in a 4-point loss).

2. Allen - no offense other than dunks and one tip-in.

3. Mobley - no touch on shots in the 3-8 foot range. He went 4-for-13. He's tall, athletic, and moves well but like Allen, it pretty much has to be a dunk or he's going to miss it.

4. Bad foul shooting. Missed six free throws and lost by four.

5. No defensive rebounding. The Knicks had 17 offensive rebounds.

The Cavs still could have won if not for two blown uncontested layups (by LeVert and Rubio) and six missed free throws. They left 10 points on the court.

That being said, they got a break when Brunson came out over-aggressive and got in early foul trouble. Despite him being on the bench most of the first half the Cavs were behind at halftime. They came out really tight in the first half. Okoro tried three corner 3's in hopes of making the Knicks respect him but none came close. To be fair, the knee may have bothered him.

Randle was not only available to play - he played great with a line of 19/10/4. If you didn't know he had been injured it would not have been noticeable.

The difference was in the benches, obviously. Toppin and Hartenstein were +12 and +19. They have a great backup center. We don't have a backup center at all.

At least the Cavs should have fewer jitters the next game but that doesn't get them a decent bench, better defensive rebounding, or get Mobley a reliable jump hook.

I like to think they just need to shoot better free throws and not blow uncontested layups, but the Knicks look like clearly the better team. Only a monumental individual performance by Mitchell kept it close.

LeVert was a total no-show, going 1-for-7 and a -14 in 18 minutes. The Cavs needed a decent, not great, performance from him and he disappeared. Same with Wade - an embarassing -14 in 7 minutes. He looked terrified out there - his 3-point attempt missed the rim entirely. Rubio was -9 in six minutes. Upon entering the game he immediately made a horrible pass, then committed a foul, then another turnover.

Please do Ricky a favor and sit him until next year. He's not close to being ready.

The Knicks have flipped home court advantage and won four of five this year. It's over.

 

[Don-no-vann!]

I can’t even begin to explain JBB’s reasoning behind that decision!

Should try Neto on him.

 

[buzzdog]

These attacks on Cedi are bullshit. I just checked it and Brunson went 4-9 with Cedi on him in the fourth quarter. How is holding Brunson under 50% shooting losing us the game?

Look at Mobley, Levert, Okoro, Garland if you want to see why we lost this game. And rebounding

Exactly. I don't know what Kizzle and some of the others are talking about. JB tried Cedi, and he was more effective than the other available options.

As for the improper closeout on Hart that Boobie pointed out, well 2 things can be true at the same time. Cedi is known for his lapses. But he bothered Brunson more than LeVert could, and was as effective as Okoro while providing more offense.

 

[Don-no-vann!]

Yep, all the Cavs' flaws were exposed.

1. No bench (4-for-13, outscored by Knicks' bench by 23 points in a 4-point loss).

2. Allen - no offense other than dunks and one tip-in.

3. Mobley - no touch on shots in the 3-8 foot range. He went 4-for-13. He's tall, athletic, and moves well but like Allen, it pretty much has to be a dunk or he's going to miss it.

4. Bad foul shooting. Missed six free throws and lost by four.

5. No defensive rebounding. The Knicks had 17 offensive rebounds.

The Cavs still could have won if not for two blown uncontested layups (by LeVert and Rubio) and six missed free throws. They left 10 points on the court.

That being said, they got a break when Brunson came out over-aggressive and got in early foul trouble. Despite him being on the bench most of the first half the Cavs were behind at halftime. They came out really tight in the first half. Okoro tried three corner 3's in hopes of making the Knicks respect him but none came close. To be fair, the knee may have bothered him.

Randle was not only available to play - he played great with a line of 19/10/4. If you didn't know he had been injured it would not have been noticeable.

The difference was in the benches, obviously. Toppin and Hartenstein were +12 and +19. They have a great backup center. We don't have a backup center at all.

At least the Cavs should have fewer jitters the next game but that doesn't get them a decent bench, better defensive rebounding, or get Mobley a reliable jump hook.

I like to think they just need to shoot better free throws and not blow uncontested layups, but the Knicks look like clearly the better team. Only a monumental individual performance by Mitchell kept it close.

LeVert was a total no-show, going 1-for-7 and a -14 in 18 minutes. The Cavs needed a decent, not great, performance from him and he disappeared. Same with Wade - an embarassing -14 in 7 minutes. He looked terrified out there - his 3-point attempt missed the rim entirely. Rubio was -9 in six minutes. Upon entering the game he immediately made a horrible pass, then committed a foul, then another turnover.

Please do Ricky a favor and sit him until next year. He's not close to being ready.

The Knicks have flipped home court advantage and won four of five this year. It's over.

Ricky was pretty bad but I don't think it had anything to do with him physically, just was careless and got out of synch.