New York Knicks Bully Cleveland Cavaliers, 119-111
The New York Knicks outrebounded the Cleveland Cavaliers 48-31 and had twice as many free throw attempts (36-18) en route to a 119-111 home win in the season opener for both of the Eastern Conference's presumptive top two teams. The Knicks outscored the Cavaliers in the paint, 42-30. This kind of loss to a contending team is all too familiar to the Cavaliers and their fans; the Cavaliers fell to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of last season's playoffs after finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference (64-18), they were dominated 4-1 by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2024 playoffs, and the Knicks outrebounded the Cavaliers 227-186 and had 127 free throw attempts while conceding just 93 free throw attempts in a 4-1 rout of the Cavaliers in the second round of the 2023 playoffs.
OG Anunboy led the Knicks with 24 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Jalen Brunson scored 23 points despite shooting just 5-18 from the field, including 1-9 from three point range. Karl-Anthony Towns overcame early foul trouble to finish with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Mikal Bridges had a solid all-around game (16 points, game-high tying six assists, five rebounds), and Miles McBride made a strong contribution off of the bench (15 points in 26 minutes, game-high +17 plus/minus number).
Donovan Mitchell poured in a game-high 31 points, but he also had a game-worst -14 plus/minus number; this was a game of runs, and he was on the court not only for Cleveland's big third quarter run but also for most of the Knicks' many runs. Evan Mobley added 22 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sam Merrill chipped in 19 points, but also fouled out in just 28 minutes. Lonzo Ball had a game-high tying six assists in his Cleveland debut, but he scored just three points on 1-7 field goal shooting in 23 minutes off of the bench.
Both teams were without the services of key injured players: Cleveland did not have two-time All-Star Darius Garland, versatile wing De'Andre Hunter and three point shooter Max Strus, while the Knicks missed strong rebounder/defensive anchor Mitchell Robinson and versatile Josh Hart, who ranked second on the team in rebounding (9.6 rpg) and assists (5.9 apg) last season. The concerning thing for the Cavaliers is that their absent players are unlikely to help much in terms of rebounding and free throw attempts, while the Knicks who did not play are both excellent rebounders.
It is often said that the NBA is a fourth quarter league, but I often point out that the NBA is frequently a first quarter league, meaning that the matchups and tendencies that emerge in the opening stanza foreshadow what will happen the rest of the way. The Knicks led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, and they were up 33-23 after the first 12 minutes. They established the rebounding dominance (15-7) and free throw attempts lead (8-0) that proved to be the game's two main themes; the Knicks attacked the paint offensively, and protected the paint well defensively, outshooting the Cavaliers from the field .524 (11-21) to .391 (9-23).
The Knicks extended their lead to 15 in the second quarter before the Cavaliers went on a 16-2 run to pull within 44-43 at the 4:44 mark. Just when it may have seemed like the Cavaliers were back in the game, the Knicks hit them with a 21-7 burst to enjoy a 65-50 halftime lead.
Before the third quarter began, ESPN's Tim Legler said that the Cavaliers need for Mitchell to be much more aggressive. Mitchell had just eight points on 3-7 field goal shooting in the first half. As I noted in my recap of Oklahoma City's 125-124 double overtime win versus Houston, a team's leading scorer has an obligation to take a high volume of shots and score a lot of points, because otherwise he is throwing off his team's rhythm. It may sound nice to say things like "Everyone is going to eat," but the reality is that when the star player "eats" that forces double teams and traps that make it easier for his less talented teammates to "eat." This is one of the most misunderstood factors behind some of LeBron James' biggest postseason failures, most notably in the 2010 playoffs and the 2011 NBA Finals; when James became inexplicably (and inexcusably) passive after being a big-time scorer throughout those seasons, he left his teams high and dry without a realistic chance to win.
Coach Kenny Atkinson told ESPN's Lisa Salters that he was unhappy with his team's lack of aggressiveness, poor shot selection, and lack of focus, including fouling three point shooters four times.
Mitchell received the message loud and clear, erupting for 21 third quarter points on 9-14 field goal shooting as the Cavaliers outscored the Knicks 37-22 to knot the score at 87-87 entering the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, the Cavaliers outrebounded the Knicks 12-8 and attempted seven free throws while conceding just four free throw attempts.
The third quarter proved to be an aberration, and in the fourth quarter the regularly scheduled programming resumed: the Knicks outscored the Cavaliers 32-24 while winning the rebounding war 13-4 and attempting 13 free throws while allowing just six free throw attempts. Mitchell had two points on 0-4 field goal shooting in 10 minutes.
A road loss to one of the Eastern Conference Finalists from 2025 does not spell the end of Cleveland's championship dreams and goals, but it is clear that the Cavaliers not only need to get healthy but they need to cultivate a more aggressive mindset; they can glide by most teams in the regular season based on talent, but they cannot glide by elite teams relying on talent alone.
Last season, the Knicks went 0-4 versus the Cavaliers, and 2-9 combined versus the Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Indiana Pacers. This is just one game, but it was a successful start for the Mike Brown era in New York. No sensible person can deny that Tom Thibodeau did an outstanding job coaching the Knicks before being fired after last season's Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Pacers, but the Knicks' brass felt that the Knicks could and should have at least reached the NBA Finals. It remains to be seen if Brown will lead the Knicks to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Labels: Cleveland Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Brunson, Mike Brown, New York Knicks, OG Anunoby
posted by David Friedman @ 12:29 AM
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