CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Cleveland Cavaliers might have won 51 games and secured the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference but Saturday night was a reminder they’ve got plenty to learn.
The New York Knicks, led by 27 points from Jalen Brunson and 19 more from Julius Randle, stole home floor advantage away from the Cavs with a 101-97 win in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
“Again, our guys are learning,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We played a ton of guys a ton of minutes who are learning what playoff basketball is about. We've talked about it. Like I said, it's like you have to experience it to understand it. And this was our lesson.”
Here’s a look Beyond the Box Score as bench scoring and second chance opportunities killed the Cavs Saturday night.
1. The atmosphere leading up to tip off was absolutely electric. Fans filled the seats well before player introductions. It’s been five years since the Cavs played Game 83. It felt and sounded like it.
2. Julius Randle and Isaac Okoro both started for their respective teams. Randle finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while Okoro, who is being counted on for his defensive prowess, was a non-factor offensively going 1-6 from the floor, including 0-4 for three to score six points to go with three rebounds and two assists.
3. Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell played his heart out on both ends of the floor. Mitchell scored 13 of his 18 first half points in the second quarter. He jumped over Brad Daugherty and landed in the third row while saving a possession off a missed three, which he blamed himself for having to make the play in the first place. Mitchell finished with 38 points, five rebounds and eight assists.
4. Mitchell’s message following the loss was important. “This isn't the end of the world,” Mitchell said. “I think there's more of you guys around. There's more noise, there's more talk. It's more people are watching so you can lose one game at home and they can feel like the end of the world if you allow it to. So understanding that they came in there and took one from us, we got to go get one right back. There's no room to sit here and feel sorry or feel upset and get down. It's one game. We will respond.”
5. The numbers don’t lie and Saturday night they painted an ugly picture as to why Cleveland trails the best of seven series 1-0.
6. The Knicks won all of the intangible stats Saturday night – bench scoring 37-14, rebounding 51-38, fast break points 17-15, points off turnovers 26-10, points in the paint 44-40 and second chance points 23-12. “I think we actually did a pretty good job just defending, we just had to come up with the rebound,” Darius Garland, who finished with 17 points, said. “That's nothing that we really wouldn't change, but turnovers, I think it was like they had a lot of points off our turnovers. Just a lot of turnovers were killing us, especially in the first half. That's when they just got going a little bit. So yeah, I think the turnovers really killed us. I mean, offensive rebounds is our main focus right now. We just have to just finish a possession, that's when we get out and run and that's what we do and be our best.”
7. Cleveland got killed on the glass on the defensive end of the floor – especially in the second half that saw the Knicks come up with 11 offensive rebounds. “We have to be more physical. It's that simple,” Bickerstaff said. “I think in the second half they got back almost half their misses. You know, give yourself a chance in the fourth quarter, but you continue to give up offensive rebounds and give them second chances, third chances, you're going to have a hard time beating them.”
8. The disparity in bench scoring is alarming. It was thought that it could be a problem for the Cavs coming into the series and Saturday night confirmed that it’s going to be a major issue. “Obviously our bench has to give us a spark,” Bickerstaff said. “We got to find a way to manufacture some buckets. How do we create for one another and how does our bench support our starting cast? And we'll go back, we'll take a look at it, but at some point in time you got to find a way. Just put the ball in the basket.”
9. It seems absurd to write Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley just weren’t assertive enough inside considering Allen had 14 rebounds and Mobley 11, but both could have had more. Offensively, it just wasn’t Mobley’s night as he made just four of 13 shots to finished with eight points. “Just an off night,” Mobley said. “Got to some of my spots and didn't knock it down how I wanted to. Some games are going to be like that, but you just got to keep going and move on to the next.” Allen scored 14 to notch a double-double.
10. Midway through the second quarter Bickerstaff was already nine deep in the rotation. Caris LeVert and Dean Wade were first off the bench and those minutes did not go well as the Knicks quickly opened up a 12-point lead. Ricky Rubio was next off the bench followed by Cedi Osman. Osman and LeVert came on midway through the third quarter. Osman played almost the entire fourth quarter. “It was great,” Osman, who scored nine points in just under 19 minutes, said. “It was important for me and really I was waiting for that opportunity to go out there and play defense, play offense. So I think that it gave my best.”
11. Brunson picked up three fouls in the first half and was limited to six points in just over nine minutes because of it, but the Knicks still led by five, 50-45 at intermission. The Cavs were unable to take advantage of the foul trouble and the Knicks guard went on to sore 27 on 11 of 24 shooting.
12. Mitchell and Garland combined to shoot 21 of 43 for 55 points. Unfortunately, the other seven Cavs combined to shoot 15 of 40 for 42 points.
13. Cleveland tried to play catch up all night. New York led by as many as 12. The Cavs just two. There were just two lead changes and three ties in the second half.
14. Game 2 is Tuesday night.
