Knicks Eliminate Cavaliers in Cleveland
The Cleveland Cavaliers' slogan this season is "Let Em Know."
After losing 4-1 in the first round to the fifth seeded New York Knicks, the Cavaliers let everyone know: they are not ready for prime time.
The Cavaliers sought to establish themselves as a team that can challenge Boston and Milwaukee for Eastern Conference supremacy, but they were unable to even win two games against a New York team that no one would consider to be a legitimate championship contender.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 23 points in game five, but he shot just 8-22 from the field. I almost fell out of my chair when TNT's Charles Barkley equated Brunson's performance in this series with the playoff performances of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Brunson is an excellent player but, to borrow one of Barkley's favorite quips, the only thing that he has in common with Jordan and Bryant is that all three are Black.
The Knicks won this game in the paint,
where most playoff games are won. They outrebounded the Cavaliers 48-30
while outscoring them in the paint 44-34. The Knicks had 20 second
chance points compared to just three second chance points for the
Cavaliers. This looked like a "1, 2, 3, Cancun" performance
by the Cavaliers, who were pushed around and embarrassed on their home
court. The Knicks led by seven points by the end of the first quarter,
pushed the margin as high as 18, and never trailed.
I am not going to talk crazily like Barkley and compare Mitchell Robinson (13 points, game-high 18 rebounds, three blocked shots, two steals) to Willis Reed, but I will note that he had as many rebounds in game five as Cleveland's three starting frontcourt players (Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Caris LeVert) combined.
The Knicks won despite getting just 16 minutes from Julius Randle (13 points, six assists, four rebounds) before he suffered a sprained ankle that caused him to miss the rest of the game.
Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 28 points, but he shot just 11-26 from the field. The Cavaliers acquired Mitchell to be a playoff superstar, someone who is without question the best player on the court--not someone who is productive but who, at best, played Brunson to a draw over the course of the series.
This will be a long offseason for the Cavaliers, as they need to do an internal audit to identify what went wrong in this series and what they have to do to fulfill their championship aspirations. Is the problem rooted in the team's talent level, their lack of playoff experience, the coaching, or something else? I did not believe for one moment that the Cavaliers as presently constituted are a championship contender but I am surprised that they lost so meekly to a Knicks team that, unless I am wrong, will not last long in the second round.Labels: Cleveland Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks
posted by David Friedman @ 10:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home