The Cavs spent the past two days identifying the mistakes they made in a Game 1 loss to the Knicks. They quickly corrected them in Game 2.
The result wasn’t pretty for the Knicks.
Cleveland neutralized New York’s offensive rebounding and forced the Knicks into turnovers and tough shots in a blowout win.
Now, the series shifts to New York for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Knicks will try to do what the Cavs did so well over the past two days: identity what went wrong in Game 2 and correct those mistakes for the games at The Garden.
If the Knicks are successful, the series should be no worse than tied 2-2 at the end of the week. If the Knicks fail to make the necessary adjustments, Cleveland will be looking to close out the series at home in Game 5 next Wednesday.
Here are a few observations from Game 2 and a note on one of the things the Knicks think they can correct in Game 3:
KNICKS THINK THEY CAN FIX TURNOVERS
The Cavs trapped Knick ball-handlers – particularly Jalen Brunson – regularly in Game 2. The Knicks struggled to take advantage of traps. It was part of the reason their offense was so meek Tuesday. The Knicks matched their Game 1 total for turnovers (13) in the first half of Game 2. They finished with 18 turnovers on the night. Cleveland scored 32 points off of those turnovers.
Julius Randle had a team-high six turnovers.
“I’m still turning the ball over way, way, way too much. And I’ll adjust and correct that (for Game 3 on Friday),” Randle said. “At the end of the day, we came here and did what we’re supposed to do. We got one on the road. In the big picture of things, we have to be positive about that. But obviously got to play a lot better next game.”
Cleveland’s ball-pressure and hard closeouts seemed to bother the Knicks all night. New York missed 22-of-29 three-point attempts.
“They were aggressive with the closeouts,” Randle said. “…. I think for the majority of the game they had more of a sense of urgency than we did. And that’s correctable on our part.”
The Knicks also need to fix their counter to Cleveland’s traps.
“It’s just your outlets,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked about the traps. “Part of that is the shot making. You have wide-open shots, you’ve gotta knock them down. You don’t make them, you’ve got to get to the offensive boards.
“Usually when a team is blitzing, it puts [the opponent] in rotation; when you’re (opponent is) in rotation, it gives you an opportunity to get second shots.”
The Knicks got those second shots in Game 1. They outrebounded Cleveland by six on the offensive glass and dominated them in second-chance points. The Cavs hung with the Knicks on the offensive glass in Game 2 and rebounded New York’s misses well.
Those plays on the margins were the difference in Games 1 and 2.
“This series, the game is more of, who can get steals and get easy baskets, get offensive rebounds, putbacks? Which team can do more of the dirty work?” RJ Barrett said. “I think that’s the team that’ll win.”
WILL KNICKS GET MORE FROM QUICKLEY AND BARRETT?
If the Knicks can figure out how to counter the Cavs’ pressure, maybe it creates easier offense for Immanuel Quickley, Barrett and the other rotation players.
“It starts with me,” Quickley said after Game 2. “Looking in the mirror and just finding ways to help the team. Just being better overall.”
Through three quarters, Quickley shot 1-for-3 and had just two points in 11 minutes. He went 3-for-5 in the fourth quarter; he also drew fouls and had two steals.
“With Quick, it was good for him to get some rhythm going,” Thibodeau said. “He’s a shot maker so we have confidence in his ability.”
Barrett went 4-for-13 in Game 2. He drew fouls but didn’t have the same impact on Darius Garland that he’d had in Game 1.
Garland went off for 32 points in Game 2, a key factor in Cleveland’s win.
After the game, Barrett was asked if he’s still finding his rhythm on offense.
“Nah, not really,” he said. “Also, been hitting a lot of free throws, so shot’s falling.”
Thibodeau said he liked the shots Barrett took in Game 1, when he went 2-for-12. He was asked late Tuesday to assess Barrett’s performance so far in the series.
“Just keep trusting. Trust the game, trust your reads,” Thibodeau said. “If they’re blitzing, if you’re in the open floor and the second defender comes, just pass. Pass. If you’re open, you have an angle go to the basket. Attack.”
RANDLE’S BACK IS OK
Randle said after the game that his back felt fine following a rough fall late in the fourth quarter.
Randle went down hard after Jarrett Allen contested his breakaway dunk and bumped the All-Star forward in a way that prevented him from grabbing the rim and coming down.
Randle landed on the baseline and stayed down briefly, grabbing his back.
“I’m fine, I’ll be fine,” Randle said of his back.
Allen received a Flagrant 1 on the play.
“At this point, it’s irrelevant. I thought it was a little unnecessary,” Randle said after the game. “I understand playoff basketball. You don’t give up on plays and I respect that. I’m somebody who doesn’t give up on plays. Typically when you make those type of plays you go across their body, not through them. But it’s fine. It’s irrelevant. We’ll go back to The Garden, and see them there.”
The Knicks were up 20 when Randle went down with two minutes to play in the fourth. So why was he in the game at that point? Both Thibodeau and Randle said Randle asked to remain in the game to regain some rhythm after he missed two weeks due to an ankle injury.
“Just trying to get my legs under me. Get a little rhythm,” Randle said. “I’ll be fine.”
Josh Hart played 27 minutes in Game 2 after spraining his ankle late in Game 1. He had five points and four rebounds in 27 minutes.
“It’s solid,” Hart said of his ankle. “If I’m out there I’m solid, no excuses. If I’m out there I’m good. I’m feeling good.”
NO MORE OKORO?
The Cavs got 24 points from Caris LeVert off the bench in Game 2. LeVert had a quiet Game 1.
It will be interesting to see if the Knicks make any adjustments on LeVert in Game 3.
The Cavs benched Isaac Okoro three minutes into the game when he picked up his second foul. They took off from there, dominating the Knicks with Okoro on the bench. Instead of playing Ricky Rubio and Dean Wade off the bench, Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff went with Danny Green. LeVert played 40 minutes.
It’s reasonable to expect the Cavs to stick with Green in Game 3. It will be interesting to see if they start Okoro on Friday night or go with a different starting lineup