For the first time since 2018, the Cleveland Cavaliers are making their first postseason appearance, squaring off against the New York Knicks tonight in Cleveland at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse!
And perhaps even more impressively, this is the first Cleveland team to make the playoffs without LeBron James, since the 1997-1998 season! That team was coached by Mike Fratello, and headlined by Shawn Kemp, a young Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and a veteran forward by the name of Danny Ferry, who would go on to be Cleveland's GM from 2005-2010 after his playing days ended.
No disrespect to that team, but the 2023 Cavaliers are LOADED with star power by comparison! Cleveland has a pair of All-Stars in the backcourt with Darius Garland, and Donovan "Spida" Mitchell, who has absolutely been tearing it up ever since being acquired by Cleveland last September before the season began. I know he's an extremely talented player, but I was very wary about the price the Cavaliers paid in order to get Mitchell, as the team traded Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton, and three future first round picks to the Utah Jazz. But so far, acquiring him has paid dividends for this team.
In 68 games with the Cavs, Mitchell has been downright dangerous, averaging over 28 points per game, notching the most 40-point games in a season for a Cavalier (11), and breaking the Cavaliers single-game scoring record with a 71-point explosion in a victory over the Chicago Bulls in January. Not only that, he was named an All-Star starter for the first time in his career.
The Cavs are stout in the frontcourt as well, with 6'11 center and 2022 All-Star Jarrett Allen leading the way. He's been able to stay healthy more consistently this season, playing in 68 games this year, vs. just 56 last year. The Cavaliers lost him and many other key players to the injury bug at the end of 2022, leading to a late-season collapse that saw Cleveland narrowly miss the Playoffs. But if he's healthy and ready to go for a full seven-game series this time around? Look out! He's one tough customer in the paint!
Along with Allen, the Cavs will be looking for big things out of second-year power forward Evan Mobley during his first foray into the playoffs. Ever since being drafted third overall in 2021, he's been a steady presence in the paint, averaging nearly 16 points per game, and nine rebounds per game.
Small Forward Isaac Okoro rounds out the starting five for Cleveland after missing the final six games of the regular season with a sore left knee. Okoro is the best at defending the perimeter for Cleveland, and he'll definitely need to be on top of his game if he wants to play great defense against a Knicks team that loves to get into one-on-one matchups. Okoro is rarely caught out of position, and is an elite defender.
Overall, the Cavaliers are right on schedule, if not a tiny bit ahead when it comes to being a contender. A couple years ago, when Cleveland was still heavily in the rebuilding phase, I was on a podcast with friends, as we all tried to gauge how long it would be before this team would turn into a contender. I just tossed a year out there, trying to be realistic while also being hopeful. That day on the show, I said that I expected the Cavaliers to be in the Playoffs by at least 2023. I could see the young core of talent forming, and the pieces slowly coming together to form something special. And here we are!
But now that the Cavs are finally back in the mix, standing in their way is an equally talented and dangerous young team in the New York Knicks, led by their counterpart to Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson. Some of the interesting storylines going into this series are:
This is the second meeting between the Cavaliers and Knicks all-time in the playoffs, with the Knicks winning a first round, best of five series against the Cavaliers in 1996, by a 3-0 sweep.
New York has won three out of four regular season games against the Cavaliers this season, with Brunson being the star player in all three victories. He's averaging 25.3 points per game against the Cavs, while shooting 48 percent from the floor.
Donovan Mitchell averaged 31.8 points against the Knicks this season, while shooting 50 percent from the floor.
In the final regular season meeting between the Cavs and Knicks (a 130-116 New York win), both Brunson and Mitchell went off for a combined 90 points on 34-55 shooting. Wow!
The Knicks and Cavaliers were both in the Donovan Mitchell Sweepstakes, before Utah ultimately decided to trade him to Cleveland. That should add a little spice to an already intriguing Playoff series!
In order to come away with a big Game 1 victory at home in Cleveland, the Cavaliers are going to have to do a number of things to match New York step for step and slow them down. Here are my Keys to Victory!
Get Mitchell going while slowing down Brunson
Unlike some other sports, the NBA is a league heavily influenced by star power. Games can be won by incredible individual performances, or lost if a star player disappears in clutch time. One of the reasons the Cavaliers traded for Donovan Mitchell is his arsenal of many different abilities. He excels as a scorer, playmaker, and shot creator, and he can slam the door shut as a late-game closer. Both Mitchell and Brunson will get their shots and score their points. They won't be completely stopped in their tracks. But whichever team can slow the other's star player down just enough, may be able to bring this one home.
Defend the three
While researching for this article, I came across a stat line that might make any Cavs fan a little nervous going into this series: In the four games against Cleveland, Julius Randle, Obi Toppin and RJ Barrett all were deadly from long range. They all shot over 40 percent against the Cavaliers from deep, with Randle hitting at a 40.9 percent clip, Toppin hitting at 45.5 percent from downtown, and Barrett making it rain at 43.5 percent.
I know Cleveland can hit from long range as well. But I don't want this game to turn into a shootout if the Cavs can help it, especially since the team has the top-ranked defense in the league. You might be able to win a game or two with a three-point shooting contest. But series and Championships are won with defense. The Cavs need to hang their hat on stout defense, and lock it down in this area of the game!
Take advantage of second chance opportunities
In a big series in the Playoffs, whether it's in the final seconds of Game 7 of the NBA Finals, or in the first game of Round 1, everything seems magnified. Every block, every defensive stop, every big-time bucket can massively swing momentum. Second chance points off rebounds is no exception. This is another area where New York outplayed Cleveland during the regular season. The Knicks were great at crashing the glass, as they outrebounded Cleveland by over eight rebounds per game (+8.2), and they averaged 15.5 second chance points per game, compared to just 6.5 second chance points per game for the Cavaliers.
This has to change. The Cavaliers will need to not only match New York in terms of energy and hustle, they will need to kick it up several notches. This is the NBA Playoffs. Energy and hustle do matter. If the Cavaliers can match the Knicks in terms of energy on the boards, and they can cash in on second chance points, that will go a long way to not only winning this game, but setting the tone for the entire series. Whether it's decided in four games, or in overtime in Game 7.
The bench needs to show up
For the last several years, even when the Cavaliers have had good to great teams, the bench often seems to underperform or flat out disappear. Cleveland might've been able to cover that weakness when LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love were here. But they no longer have the luxury of a Big 3, nor are they a super team in terms of talent like they were from 2015-2018.
Winning Game 1 and the series will truly be a team effort, and bench scoring is an underrated, but critical key to a team's success. According to Statmuse, the Cavaliers have scored 95 points off the bench in the four games against the Knicks this season, which comes out to just under 24 points per game. New York on the other hand, has scored 128 points off the bench against the Cavaliers, which averages out to an even 32 points per game off the bench.
In order to come out on top tonight, I'd say Cleveland needs to score at least 30 points off the bench. Bare minimum. With 35-40 points being a great night in that area of the game. 10 to 15 points for a role player who's not considered a star may not sound like much. But they add up over four quarters of hotly contested, high-pressure basketball in the Playoffs. Everyone needs to do their part. The Cavaliers have had a team mantra for several years now that fits this mindset. All for One. One for All. Time for them to take this saying to heart, and put their money where their mouth is.
The rebuild is finished. The wait is over. It's time to watch these guys experience their first taste of Playoff basketball. Young, inexperienced teams are eventually turned into grizzled, veteran Playoff teams thanks to series like these.
Young and talented teams are forged into future NBA Championship teams after they undergo several years of experiencing the high-pressure situations that come with Playoff basketball, and learning how to win big games. The first step on that journey for this young bunch of Cavaliers starts tonight! Game 1 tips off on ESPN at 6 PM! GO CAVS!
Sources: nba.com, WKYC Channel 3, New York Post, statmuse.com
Picture Credit: ESPN
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