Cavs Vs Knicks: 3 (Plus 1) Things We Learned

The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed to have an easy game going into their November 4th game against the struggling New York Knicks, that was until 7:59PM. Then Cavs Vs Knicks tipped off.

The favored Cavs came into the game with a lot of promise following their three game winning streak. However, the Knicks came into Cleveland looking to tear the Cavs just like LeBron did to his sleeves. It took a little longer than expected, but the Cavaliers were able to pull out the +++ victory over the Knicks. For King James Gospel, we had plenty of takeaways from the game.

1. Cavaliers Can Start Slow

The Cavaliers did not lead during Wednesday night’s game until nearly the end of the third quarter. If that isn’t a slow start then I don’t know what is. During the first half, Cleveland had spurts of light, but were not able to generate much of a comeback until late in the second quarter.

The entire game seemed to stay much closer than most expected. Even with the Cavaliers’ runs throughout the third and fourth quarter, the Knicks were able to stick around until the very end.

The Cavaliers poor shooting was a significant factor in this poor start, as they only shot 39% throughout the game. LeBron was the center of this poor shooting as we shot 4-14 in the first half and 9-23 overall.

Luckily, the Cavaliers were able to show that even with their slow starts, they’re capable of winning. Although the Knicks aren’t the best example to prove this with, the way they were able to fight back showed a lot of promise.

(Editor’s Note: This is becoming an early pattern for the Cavs against lower level competition.)

2. The Cavs Can Rebound

The Cavaliers finished with an impressive 87 to 71 rebound total. That’s impressive considering one of the biggest concerns last season was the lack of rebounds during the Regular Season. Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love were huge chunks of this rebounds total, which gives a lot of light to the Cavs post game.

The best part about this total was that the entire team contributed to the total. Besides Thompson and Love, Mo Williams (6 rebounds) was the only player to have more than five boards. This is good news for the Cavaliers as they look to continue adding post game to their team.

Another good statistic about these rebounds are that Carmelo Anthony was the only Knick to grab more than ten boards on the night (10 rebounds). Not allowing opposing big men to grab boards is going to be a massive factor as the season progresses.

It’s nice to see that early in the season, Cleveland’s big men are playing like they should.

3. Mo Williams Can Still Play

If LeBron James didn’t play in this game, the biggest story would be how 32-year-old Mo Williams played like 21-year-old Mo Williams. Finishing with 22 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds, Williams lead the Cavs to a late game run to hold off the nagging Knicks.

If it wasn’t for Williams, the Cavs may not have been able to make that late game comeback. Considering LeBron was shooting less than 30% in the first half and only three other players finishing the game with over ten points, Williams was their biggest factor through much of the game. It was like watching young Mo, as he played with so much energy and poise.

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If Williams can keep this up until Kyrie Irving returns, the Cavaliers may be in for treat. Considering Williams will be coming off the bench to compliment Irving, he should be able to keep up this level of play while playing fewer minutes.

4. LeBron Does NOT Like Sleeves

The most memorable part of the entire game had to be LeBron James ripping open his sleeves during the second quarter. I guess we all know now that the Cavaliers won’t be wearing sleeved jerseys for awhile.

Have to wonder if the NBA will have some response to LeBron ripping his sleeves?

(Editor’s Note: It is clear that the sleeves are in LBJ’s head.)

What did you learn from Cavs Vs Knicks?