After a rough shooting performance in Game 1 on Saturday, the Cleveland Cavaliers need their offense, mainly their outside shooting, to vastly improve.
Donovan Mitchell hit six threes on 16 attempts, and Darius Garland and Cedi Osman made a pair of threes. However, Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, and Isaac Okoro combined to go 0-8 from beyond the arc for the Cavs.
It is imperative that the Cavs wings can knock down open jump shots since they will get plenty of open looks when Mitchell and Garland get double-teamed by the New York Knicks.
While J.B. Bickerstaff will likely trot out the same lineup and similar rotation, he might want to think about calling on a veteran off the bench.
That veteran is Danny Green, who could give the Cavs a lift in Game 2.
Yes, Danny Green is who I’m referring to. The 14-year veteran has played in his fair share of postseason games. 165 games, to be exact.
Green has also been a part of three championship teams and is ninth all-time in made postseason three-point shots. Overall in the postseason, Green is also a 39 percent shooter from beyond the arc.
Just last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Green connected on 31-76 (41 percent) from beyond the arc, so there is recent proof he can still be a consistent three-point postseason threat.
In his brief second stint with the Cavs, Green has seen real minutes in only a pair of games. He scored 21 points (5-9 from three) against the Orlando Magic and 13 points in the season finale against the Charlotte Hornets.
The further away Green gets from the knee injury he suffered in the postseason a year ago, he shows glimpses of his former self.
While Green shouldn’t see a large chunk of minutes, Bickerstaff should give the veteran shooter a chance to make an impact. Unlike many Cleveland players, he has played in these tough playoff series and hit numerous big shots.
Even though Green would essentially be on the floor for his three-point shooting, he has been a capable defender over his career. After all, you don’t stick in a Greg Popovich rotation without a commitment to the defensive side of the ball.
Now Green won’t play defense to the level he did back in 2016-17 when he was named Second-Team All-Defense.
But with Green getting back to full strength, he is likely capable of giving the Cavs 10-12 good minutes and even more if he can knock down shots.
With Cleveland staring at a 0-2 deficit, there are several areas they need to sure up before tipoff on Tuesday night, but Green could prove to be a valuable X-Factor if given the opportunity.