Defense on Display in Knicks 105 – 103 Defeat of Cavs
The Knicks starters were outplayed by Cleveland’s five even though Julius Randle had a monster game with 36 points and 13 boards. But the first five hung in there, scratching and clawing their way to victory. Excellent defenders can’ stop great scorers, but they can limit the damage great players inflict . That was the case with Quentin Grimes against Donovan Mitchell. It took Donovan 24 shots to score 24 points as Grimes shadowed him the entire game. The Cavs offense is run for Mitchell with constant screens being set for him. Donovan was 6 – 14 from three, but only 3 – 10 inside the arc.
Isaac Okoro did an even better job on Jalen Brunson, who was 5 – 13, 1 – 3 from deep. Along with the two fouls on Mitchell the refs missed in the final two minutes, they added a ticky tac foul on Okoro in the final minutes. If Brunson was on the bench, Isaac effectively guarded Randle. Luckily, Caris LaVert played as badly as Cam Reddish ever did, and Coach Bickerstaff gave him 21 minutes, while Lamar Stevens only received an early 6.
The Cavs followed the blue print set by Nick Nurse earlier in the year of concentrating on doubling Randle and handcuffing Brunson with his best defender, not his PG. This is a very effective strategy because the Knicks are more ISO than a movement offense. They are 27th in assists per game. Jules had a fine game, but his 5 TOs compared to 4 dimes underlines the effectiveness of the double team.
Once again, RJ Barrett was spotted playing D and picking up 4 personals. Barrett and Brunson just don’t have the tools to be superior defenders, but they put in the effort against the Cavs. Jules, on the other hand, has been asserting himself more and more on D. He could be a quality, even a superior, defender with his physical tools.
The Knicks second team saved the night. IQ was 4 – 8, 1 – 2, Obi 4 – 6, 1 – 2, Hart 2 – 3 and McB was 1 -2. That is 11 – 19, 3 – 6 from the second unit. The starters kept the game within reach and the second unit’s offense put them over the top.
The Knicks must continue this dedication to defense if they are to edge out Miami, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Chicago, Washington and Toronto for 6th place, or even remain in the top 10.
Box Score: https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401468870