On Saturday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will begin their first round series versus the New York Knicks, in what could be a long series between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland will have home court advantage in the series, which should come in handy if needed in a matchup of two of the younger teams in the postseason.
This one should have its share of storylines, with the Jalen Brunson-Donovan Mitchell element being the most prominent one, given the Mitchell-Knicks rumors last offseason. A matchup of two stout frontcourts is another key to watch in this series as well, and it’ll be exciting to see how Darius Garland and Evan Mobley do in their first experience in the playoffs.
For both teams, it’d be huge for the role players to step up when needed, too, which is always a boost in the playoffs.
When examining the matchup between these two teams in a general sense, as we alluded to, this one would seem to be pretty even. The Knicks did defeat the Cavaliers in three of the four meetings between the two teams in the regular season, but this Cleveland team is a talented one, and with more time to gel as the season has progressed, they should be a confident group heading into the postseason.
Having said that, New York is a good team, too, and there should be one clear point of emphasis with them for Cleveland, going into this series that does pop out.
The Knicks are one of the league’s best offensive rebounding teams, and the Cavaliers have to contain them there.
New York was second in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage this season, and Cleveland has to hold up on the defensive board.
Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle, if he can go, regarding his ankle injury, and Isaiah Hartenstein are players that have definitely been active and have contributed to the Knicks’ offensive rebounding splits this season. In his extensive minutes-share off the bench since being traded to the Knicks, Josh Hart has factored into the offensive rebounding efforts to some degree and has kept plays alive, too.
The Cavaliers have done a solid job limiting second chance points for the most part this season even after opponent offensive boards, on the plus side. It was less than ideal that the Cavaliers had the NBA’s second-worst defensive rebounding percentage post-All-Star break, though. Rest assured, New York is well-aware of how they could be set for a bunch of extra possessions if the positoning is there, along with the rim pressure.
This isn’t to diminish the Knicks’ crucial offensive threats, such as Brunson, who has a legit All-NBA case this season, Randle (health-depending), RJ Barrett, and a multi-faceted scorer in Immanuel Quickley and a talented bench unit. Hart and Obi Toppin are included in that bench group as well, for what it’s worth.
The Knicks’ creators can make plays when getting downhill, which is part of the reasoning for them being second in the NBA in offensive rating post-All-Star, and fourth on the season. Additionally, Quickley and Quentin Grimes, among others, are impact shooters the Cavaliers will have to be accounting for in this series, in particular.
However, if Evan Mobley and the Cavaliers can be sound defensively, as they often have this season, and limit New York to single-shot possessions often in this series, they should be plenty fine here.
Something also to keep in mind is Jarrett Allen was not active in the Knicks’ 130-116 win over the Cavs, even sans Randle, and Allen missed a game earlier on in the season against New York as well. He’s invaluable for Cleveland’s defense and rebounding efforts. Allen having missed several games post-All-Star with an eye and then groin injury didn’t aid the Cavaliers rebounding splits in that span, either, and he’s now good to go.
For the Cavs, as we touched on, though, it has to be a clear point of emphasis for them to have a total group effort on the defensive board this series, and realistically, moving forward.
Here, minutes for Dean Wade, for some defensive forward minutes, too, could be sensible, one would think, to help there. Perhaps some Lamar Stevens energy spurts could as well, but Cedi Osman in other instances for an offensive lift could, on the flip side, and I’d tend to lean Osman.