The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off of a very successful regular season where they finished with a 51-31 record, earning them the four seed going into the playoffs. They now get a matchup against the New York Knicks, who come in with a 48-34 record and the five seed. On records and seedings alone, you’d think that the Cavs would be feeling good about themselves. However, there are things in this pending series that have fans of the Wine and Gold feeling pretty uncomfortable. One of those factors is that the Knicks have matched up well against the Cavs, having won three of four games in the regular season.
The playoffs are obviously played at a different level, where every possession of the ball is so important. Because of this there is building pressure on several Cleveland team members as we wait for this series to commence on Saturday.
Cleveland got to this point, by playing well, and having their best players from Donovan Mitchell to Evan Mobley do things this season that made huge differences from just a year ago when the team stumbled toward the finish line and couldn’t eek into the playoffs. With those players stepping up this year, in which it’s been Mitchell’s first with the team, there is a lot to be excited about as we look at this series with New York.
This is the playoffs, though, and that pressure will be there, even if players and coaches try and downplay this factor. Let’s go in and discuss a bit more about this pressure and those Cavaliers that will feel the most pressure in this series, starting in descending order from No. 3.
No. 3: Donovan Mitchell
The Cavs best player in Donovan Mitchell has plenty of playoff experience. He played in seven series in his career with the Utah Jazz. He’s started 39 of those games in those series. He was 17-22 in those games and his Jazz teams were never able to get past the Western Conference Semifinals. So it’s a bit of a mixed back of good and bad when you consider Mitchell in playoff series’.
I believe in this inaugural Cavs playoff series, his experience will be a bigger factor in determining how this Cleveland team does moving forward. In the regular season, he averaged over 28.3 points a game, well over his 24.6 points a game average in his career.
Mitchell has made the most of his playoff performances as he’s usually outdone himself compared to the regular season. To this point, in playoff games, he has recorded 19 games where he went for 30 or more points. That includes four games of scoring more than 40 points and one game of scoring 50 points. Mitchell has scored 40 points or more in this regular season 13 times, including four games in a row of that mark to close out his regular season.
I think he’ll be ready to put his team on his shoulders but will that be enough? The pressure from that has to be in the back of his mind. He will obviously want to do all that he can for this team and the fans of the Wine and Gold. That means there is pressure, even if he won’t want to admit it.
It took a heroic performance by Mitchell back in late October to secure the Cavaliers’ lone win against the Knicks in the regular season and that will likely be needed in this series. Maybe not for every game, but there will be a game or two where that pressure will be there, and Mitchell will need to answer the bell.
The Cav with the second-most pressure: Darius Garland
Last season, the Cavaliers melted under the spotlights as they approached the playoffs. They choked and played poorly down the stretch and missed out on a golden opportunity. A big part of that collapse had to do with the Cavs guard Darius Garland playing badly and making mistakes and turnovers as the pressure mounted then.
Cleveland was smart to go out and trade for a superstar in Donovan Mitchell, who’s made a huge difference to this team’s chances this season. While Mitchell has become the Cavs security blanket, Garland will have to play well in this playoff series against the Knicks.
Garland has continued to improve in many ways this season. That includes lowering his turnovers per game which will be vital for his teams chances against the Knicks. He has also been getting to the free throw line more this year, which would suggest he’s been driving the ball to the rim more, and having success. That coincides with him throwing up fewer three-point shots as well, from 6.7 last season to 6.0 this season. That may not seem like a lot of a difference, but Garland has done a better job of having the game slow down and playing a better controlled game.
In the past, Garland has played a bit chaotically at times and that unpredictability that would include untimely turnovers, would cost his team some victories. If he can play with that more controlled and steady pace, then he’s putting his Cleveland teammates in a much better place to win games.
The pressure will be there for the young Cavalier to step up his game, but if he can continue to play as he has this past regular season, then the Cavaliers will win this series with the Knicks.
The Cav with the most pressure on them: Coach J.B Bickerstaff
The pressure cooker will be at its maximum with the Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. I will be talking about this pressure on the coach at greater length in a pending article on King James Gospel in the coming days. However, for now, I’ll begin and end with the fact that Bickerstaff has only been in one playoff series, back when he coached the Houston Rockets in the 2015-16 season. His team lost that series to the Golden State Warriors, albeit a far better team.
In a recent story this week, it was reported that Bickerstaff was seeking playoff advice from the Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona and while that’s a good move by the coach on one hand, on the other hand, Francona doesn’t coach basketball and that doesn’t exactly scream of a confident coach going into his first playoff series in some time.
I’ve written plenty over the season that I don’t believe Bickerstaff is the head coach of this Cavs squad that is going to get them to an NBA Finals series, and for that matter, win one. I just don’t think he has the ability to come up with enough creative coaching plays and use his players in the most productive ways. I believe this team’s record and getting to this point are more reflective of the team making the trade for Donovan Mitchell and having players like Darius Garland and Evan Mobley naturally improving as they play in the NBA.
Bickerstaff’s team lost three of four games to the Knicks in the regular season and that probably would have been all four games if it weren’t for Donovan Mitchell bailing his team out in the fourth quarter of the first game between the two foes.
Tom Thibodeau is the head coach of the Knicks and he has coached in 61 playoff games and has a 25-36 record. That’s not a great mark and in his last two playoff series, one with the Minnesota Timberwolves and one with these Knicks as recently as the 2020-21 season, he’s lost them 4-1.
Still Thibodeau has the experience that Bickerstaff doesn’t have. Bickerstaff will have to coach like he never has in his past for his team to have a real chance at moving on in these playoffs. That pressure will mount if the Cavaliers can’t take advantage of home court in Game 1. I’m cheering for Bickerstaff but I am a realist in knowing that hoping for something to change isn’t necessarily enough.
With that said, if his players can play well, that might be enough to get this team to the next series. Let’s keep hoping!