For the first time since 2018, when LeBron James dragged the team to the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the playoffs. In Round 1, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, and the Cavs will square off with Jalen Brunson, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and the New York Knicks.
In their final regular season meeting, the Knicks defeated the Cavaliers 130-116 which secured the 3-1 regular season series victory for New York. In that game, Jalen Brunson turned in a career-high 48 points, and Donovan Mitchell was six points behind him with 42. In their upcoming seven-game series, Brunson and Mitchell are going to cancel each other out, which means that Darius Garland and Evan Mobley will need to be the difference-makers for the Cavaliers.
Garland and Mobley have to carry load for the Cavs versus the Knicks, with how Mitchell and Brunson could essentially cancel each other out.
The two games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland were relative blowouts, as the Cavs won the first game 121-108 on Oct. 30 and the Knicks won 130-116 on March 31. But those two games don’t feel indicative of what type of series this is going to be. This first-round matchup between New York and Cleveland is going to be a dirty, grimy, slow, grind-it-out style. Many predictions have this series likely being a long one between two evenly-matched up teams.
While the Cavaliers might’ve been able to get into the playoffs without Donovan Mitchell this season, he’s the primary reason why they’re the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. With that being the case, the Knicks are going to key in on him defensively. They know that Mitchell has the ability to go nuclear and carry his team to victory at any moment.
Famously, Mitchell and the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray put on an absolute clinic in the NBA Bubble in a series where Denver came back from a 3-1 deficit (something Cavs fans know all about) to beat Mitchell’s Jazz. This won’t be the first meeting between Brunson and Mitchell in the playoffs. Last season, the two went head-to-head in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs as Mitchell and the Jazz squared off with Brunson and the Mavericks. Mitchell will be seeking vengeance against Brunson as the Mavs eliminated the Jazz in six games.
With Mitchell and Brunson locking horns, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are going to have to carry the load because the Knicks aren’t going to allow Mitchell to be the one who beats them.
As of right now, we don’t know if forward Julius Randle is going to surely be available or not over the course of this series. Granted, Randle is reportedly targeting a Game 1 return, regarding coming back from missing time due to an ankle sprain, and with the progress he has made, it seems as if he’ll be involved in the series, although we’ll have to see on Game 1.
But if he’s unavailable or is limited at all in games, that would give Evan Mobley the advantage. Against the Knicks this season, he averaged 13.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 2.5 BPG (Blocks Per Game), which are decent numbers for Mobley against New York. But if Randle is unavailable for the Knicks, Mobley needs to park himself down low in the post and establish that part of his game.
Mobley is capable of stepping away from the basket and making the 15-foot mid-range shot, but it’s not necessarily his specialty. But if he can make that mid-range shot on a regular basis, it would draw his defender away from the basket more, which would give Mitchell and Garland more room to operate when they drive to the basket. Post All-Star break, Mobley averaged 17.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 2.0 BPG, and he continued to be more aggressive offensively, which paid dividends. If Randle is unable to go as the series begins, Mobley needs to take advantage of the matchup against Obi Toppin and/or Isaiah Hartenstein, as a versatile scorer.
Against the Knicks this season, Darius Garland averaged 19.7 PPG, 6.0 APG, and his field goal percentage was 34.5%. In the final meeting against the Knicks, Garland had 20 points and nine assists. He’ll need to be more efficient than his shooting splits were overall against New York in the regular season, however, Garland is more than capable of putting up staggering numbers alongside Mitchell in the starting backcourt for the Cavaliers.
More than likely, he’ll have to put up at least 25 points in multiple games since the Knicks are going to be so intent on taking away Mitchell. Similar to Mitchell, the Knicks are going to play tight defense on Garland. He’ll have to make plays, though, and capitalize when doubles come to Mitchell.
When Mitchell went to the playoffs in the past with the Jazz, he didn’t have the support system around him to advance as he has in Cleveland this season. Mike Conley was more of a traditional point guard, whereas Garland is more of a hybrid who can play on the ball and off the ball. Plus, as the season has gone on, Jarrett Allen has figured out his role on the team and embraced it.
In Utah, Mitchell and Rudy Gobert couldn’t get on the same page seemingly enough on offense. Mobley is a young and athletic big who is multifaceted offensively (to go with that interior threat in Allen), which is something Mitchell never necessarily had out in Salt Lake City.
For the Cavs moving forward, Garland, Mobley, and Allen are great players to have surrounding Mitchell, and if other pieces can help for stretches, this Cleveland team should be in good shape.