3 players the Cavaliers do not want to see in the NBA Playoffs

Players Cavaliers don’t want to see in playoffs: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

The Cleveland Cavaliers don’t have a ton of history against this version of Jalen Brunson. He was Luka Doncic’s understudy to start his career in Dallas, and only this year since signing with the New York Knicks has he really exploded into an All-Star-level guard. Over the past two months, he has played as well as any guard in the Eastern Conference.

The current Eastern Conference standings have the Cavaliers sitting at fourth and the New York Knicks surging into fifth. A first-round matchup between the two teams would likely see the Cavs favored, but Brunson is the weapon on the Knicks that the Cavs would be most worried about.

Brunson doesn’t have a history with the Cavs, but he does with Donovan Mitchell. In the playoffs last season the Mavericks began a series with Mitchell and the Utah Jazz without Luka Doncic. It was something of a last stand for the Jazz, one final attempt to prove that group could win together. Brunson slammed that door shut, tearing apart the Utah defense and making Mitchell look helpless defensively against him.

The Cavaliers have a better overall defensive structure than the Jazz did by the end, and they have a player in Isaac Okoro who can check Brunson and slow him down. Even so, Brunson will have plenty of possessions to attack Mitchell and Darius Garland, and he would likely be the biggest hurdle to taking down the Knicks.