Some of the Cavaliers’ most vocal social media followers are fed up with learning experiences.
For them, the first-round NBA best-of-seven series against the New York Knicks that opens Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse could be a trying test of patience.
Watching the Guardians push for their first championship since 1948 and the Browns strive to end a title drought dating to 1964, Northeast Ohio fans are understandably antsy. The Cavs championship parade in 2016 was an intoxicating elixir that left its base craving more.
As the fourth-seeded Cavs (51-31 regular-season record) make their first playoff appearance without LeBron James since 1998, there are two possible scenarios. Are they ready for glory? Or will they be resigned to more growth?
A career-defining year from four-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, a New York native who has never missed the NBA postseason, might not be enough to offset the Cavs’ inexperience. Starters Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro will be making their playoff debuts, along with Lamar Stevens and Dean Wade. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert played in nine games with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 and 2020. Nine of the Cavs’ 17 players (including those on two-way deals) had never been on a playoff team.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff, 44, is also making his first appearance, while the Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau, 65, carries a 25-36 record with the Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and Knicks. Bickerstaff conceded Sunday that he would pick the brain of Guardians manager Terry Francona, 63, who led the Boston Red Sox to two championships and took Cleveland to the 2016 World Series.
The Cavs posted a 31-10 record at the FieldHouse but might need to win a game in Madison Square Garden, an intimidating setting both in terms of crowd noise and the venue’s history. The fifth-seeded Knicks (47-35) are more physical, displayed as they claimed the season series 3-1.
The Cavs boast the league’s top defensive rating, and the Knicks stood 19th. The Cavs tied for 11th in 3-point percentage (36.7), the Knicks 19th (35.4). But New York has more players with potential long-range firepower.
“They’re a pretty good team,” Garland says when asked to assess the Knicks.
The Cavs know what they must shore up. They ranked 19th in the league in free-throw percentage (78.0). They have been plagued by fourth-quarter turnovers. Defensive anchors Allen and Mobley must avoid foul trouble as the Knicks drive to the basket. In the most recent meeting on March 31, a 130-116 New York victory in Cleveland, the Knicks outrebounded the Cavs 48-33, 16-3 on the offensive glass.
The only injury concern for the Cavs is Okoro, who has missed the past six games with left knee soreness. The Cavs hope he can be the primary defender on Knicks’ Most Improved Player candidate Jalen Brunson, who torched them for 48 points with Okoro sidelined on March 31. For the Knicks, it’s the status of two-time All-Star center-forward Julius Randle, out since spraining his left ankle on March 29.
When turning to the glory side of the equation, it’s possible the Cavs have not played their best basketball of the season. It’s not a stretch to think they could put it all together when it matters most.
Backup point guard Ricky Rubio has not been the same since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee for the second time in his career on Dec. 28, 2021. Forward Wade, who missed 32 games due to injury and illness, lost confidence after signing a three-year, $18.5 million contract extension in September. Rubio and Wade could find themselves.
Forward Cedi Osman is a feast-or-famine shooter, hitting .311 from beyond the arc in February, .455 since. Danny Green, 35, acquired in February after tearing the ACL and LCL in his left knee on May 13, showed in the final two games he could be the long-distance threat the Cavs desperately need. Cavs 2009 second-round pick Green, who won championships with the Spurs, Raptors and Lakers, could have an important role after appearing in 165 postseason games (104-61 record). Consistent scoring from Osman and Green would be a huge boost.
Garland agreed Cavs’ best could still be ahead, saying they started to “jell a lot better” down the stretch and noting a week’s rest will help their legs. But Bickerstaff says teams that usually click in the playoffs are those loaded with veterans.
“Teams that have been through things together, won championships together and just know where they need to go,” Bickerstaff says. “For younger teams or teams that haven't had those experiences, it's extremely difficult to flip a switch at this point.”
Building a core four around Mitchell, Garland, Allen and second-year center/forward Mobley, the recipient of some Defensive Player of the Year votes, Cavs President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman has accelerated what can be a slow rebuild.
This season the Sacramento Kings snapped a 16-year playoff drought, the longest in America’s big four pro sports. The Charlotte Hornets haven’t reached the postseason in seven seasons. The Golden State Warriors went to the playoffs once in 15 seasons before drafting Stephen Curry in 2009, then took until 2012-13 to get there again.
Altman and his staff deserve praise for the trades (Mitchell, Allen) and draft choices (Mobley, Garland) that have gotten the Cavs back on the playoff path since James last took them and then departed in 2018.
But the Knicks series is not without minefields. The Cavs are favored. They have home-court advantage and the league’s top defense. They must handle new expectations.
To help in that regard, Garland says he’s carrying the hunger from losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks in the Play-In Tournament a year ago.
“All of it,” Garland says. “It’s a long time from last year to now, so it's been always on my mind.”
Bickerstaff can feel the motivation from last April, when injuries, especially to Allen, cost the Cavs a top-six seed.
“There’s the emotion of having been through tough times. There's the emotion of having failed in a big moment that brings together a collective spirit to not allow that to happen again,” Bickerstaff says. “And I think that's where teams grow and get better is when they have those failures and then find a way.”
Not finding a way in the first round would be a blow to all and force the front office to reconsider its roster construction, especially the bench. The realization that the Cavs didn’t have enough against the Knicks would be a painful lesson.
Will the Cavs earn glory, arguably a year too soon? Or will there be more growth?
For some, the latter would be hard to stomach. It might take time to realize that with a young nucleus, it would be a win-win either way.
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