Recap: Knicks 108, Cavs 121 (or, “The Don” for MVP)
2022-10-31Last night the Cavs put together a complete fourth quarter performance, put some cement shoes on the New York Knicks, and threw them into the bottom of Lake Erie, 121-108. The Don (Donovan Mitchell), the Underboss (Kevin Love), and the Consigliere (Dean Wade), delivered a historic three point performance along with some gritty defense down the stretch from Isaac “Ice” Okoro and Evan “the Professional” Mobley. Let’s dive into last night’s takeaways…
1. Donovan Mitchell AKA Spida AKA The Don, AKA Donnie Basketball, AKA mini-Bron for MVP
Donovan Mitchell has firmly established an MVP trajectory season with another superstar performance: 38 points, 12 assists, three stocks, three rebounds, and a +24.7 net rating on the game to top it all off. The performance was so overwhelming that yours truly didn’t have the heart to troll my online friends who are Knicks fans about it afterwards. At this point what more can be said? Right now the talk of the NBA is how good Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs are, enjoy the ride!
2. NBA Champion and Underboss to the Rescue Kevin Love
NBA Champion and Underboss Kevin Love decided to turn back the clock for a vintage Minnesota Love performance with 29 points, eight rebounds, and a +36.8 for the Cavs while he was on the floor. With cold shooting nights for Caris LeVert and Cedi Osman, Love filled the void with big bucket after big bucket in the magical fourth quarter. His board work was its usual masterful self, he really led the guys by example when he sacrificed his 34 year old body and went down on the floor to contest a possession. That’s how you know he was feeling good on the night. Love hasn’t missed a beat since last season and looks to be putting together another Sixth Man of the Year-worthy campaign.
3. The Consigliere, “James” Dean Wade
The Consigliere “James” Dean Wade continues to answer the bell for the Cavs by dropping what could be considered a career-best performance with 22 points on 11 shots, four rebounds, three assists, and a +27.1 net rating in 33 minutes. This performance is especially crazy considering he just had knee surgery a few months ago. Fears of the injury holding him back appear to be for naught, and he must be feeling the best he’s ever felt because he’s playing like it. All he’s ever needed was an ultra green light to shoot, and tonight was one of those night where he just let it fly in rhythm every time. It’s already been word by Chris Fedor of cleveland.com that J.B. won’t entertain the idea of Wade staying in the starting lineup:
#Cavs will be sticking with the same starting forward tonight as the last few games, I'm told: Dean Wade. The rest will stay the same as well — until Darius Garland returns and they can go back to the Opening Night starting group.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) October 30, 2022
But Wade is doing everything in his power to make it a tough decision, that’s how good he’s been.
4. The Comeback Kid: Isaac “Ice” Okoro
Isaac “Ice” Okoro returned to his roots, forgetting about offense and just being a dawg on defense. It resulted in the Cavs going +56.4 in Okoro’s 22 minutes on the court, including a 80.0 defensive rating. Even better, as Okoro gained confidence, he started to impact the game on the boards (13.8% defensive rebound rate), via the pass (28.6 assist ratio), and with defensive playmaking (two stocks). Check out the second clip for the clutch play by Okoro: He moves into open space, then drops a beautiful touch pass dime to Evan Mobley for the slam:
Quand j'vous disais qu'il avait rien à foutre. Passe laser au millimètre pour Okoro sous le panier. La lucidité maximale de l'ailier pour envoyer Mobley au cercle.
Momentum absolu, les Knicks sont sous l'eau. pic.twitter.com/n3QkHmm8Is
— QiBasket (@QiBasket) October 31, 2022
This is a game upon which Ice can rebuild his confidence. It’s amazing how simplifying the game and not worrying about offense helps players get back on track to playing winning basketball.
5. Shoutout to J.B.
A massive shoutout is owed to Coach J.B. Bickerstaff for riding the Kevin Love/Isaac Okoro wave to finish the game off in fourth quarter. Caris LeVert was clearly struggling with his shot, likewise with Cedi Osman. J.B. was really in his bag last night showing supreme confidence in his 21 year old struggling guard and 34 year old big. J.B. pushing the right buttons was clearly a part of the fourth quarter comeback.
6. Quick note on the Knicks
The Knicks clearly are an improved team with Jalen Brunson manning the controls on offense along with Julius Randle. But how devastating was this loss, especially in the context of their own failed bid to acquire the hometown kid. The Don put on a Godfather-level performance, and all the Knicks fans could do was watch in horror. (Happy Halloween!)
7. Next up, Boston Part Deux
The Cavs get an extra day of rest before their re-match against the Celtics on Wednesday night. Payback will surely be on their minds, so the Cavs should expect the Celtics’ “Sunday best.” Talk soon, Go Cavs!
Bonus:
Nearly forgot this part, but obviously had to do it a scene from Goodfellas:
live thread is up
Shams says DG is back in the rotation tonight. He did not say anything about starting.
Neto is doubtful (ankle), so bringing DG off the bench would make some sense.
In other news, Windler isn’t listed as OUT! Progress there as well.
No reason he needs to start. Lose we lose but let’s get him reintegrated as slow as necessary and get that eye better.
Ime Udoka Rumors Lay the Nets’ Soulless Endeavor Bare
Brooklyn is reportedly hoping the suspended Celtics coach can save its already disastrous season, but can you really solve one calamity with another?
The RInger By Rob Mahoney Nov 1, 2022, 7:32pm EDT
The Brooklyn Nets aren’t just the greatest shit show in the NBA, but a shit show so colossal as to have its own gravitational pull—to perpetuate bizarre decisions in a kind of relentless feedback loop, turning bad to worse to truly inexplicable.
well said
IDK that’s pretty crazy. Just no transparency.
Steven A called it weeks ago!
Espn has Cavs at 3 in power rankings. Makes me nervous tbh… Feels like bad juju to me. Cleveland sports fandom has warped my brain though.
they should be #1, they are the highest net rating team in the NBA LMFAOO
Adding Mitchell really was a quantum leap for this team’s timeline, looks like they know and are seizing the opportunity!
I will never have that kind of confidence. Warped, Chris. WARPED!
oh don’t worry, first time in the playoffs for this group is when you can expect a rude awakening LMFAOOoo
Well, 2 of those 10 pt wins were in OT, so that is a bit skewed, yes?
And the Bucks are undefeated without Middleton, Connaughton, and Ingles. They are starting 3 guards because all their wings are hurt.
As a Cleveland fan, it’s always terrifying to hear your team is one of the best! But maybe this Garland injury is a blessing. Now JB has seen how Spida can run the floor with the rest of the roster and he can build something on it.
“I Think He Should Have Been Suspended” | Inside The NBA Crew Reacts to Kyrie Irving | NBA on TNT – on ytube.. BUT.. it gets better.. Shaq on kray-rie.. “Now we have to sit up here and answer for what this idiot has done.” Chuck (who i love) also called him an idiot..
If Orlando hangson vs OKC, the Nets will be in a 3 way for for last.
check out kray-rie tonight.. 4 pts in 33 min.. get back on your meds dude.. i wonder how that brooklyn love affair is going.. GS down by 5 with 10 seconds left.. they are looking like the geritol crew.. appearing to be very beatable..
Agreed.
For Brooklyn, I was curious if KD/Ky were playing to get Nash fired, but another L tonight. KD 12 after a 20 pt 1st. And the anti-Semite was awful all night. Simmons out.
In GSW, Klay still not right. He may never be the same again, sadly. Curry with a triple double. I have to think Green’s punch totally changed the vibes there.
dick-pic dray is a piece of work..
Yeah unfortunate on Klay. I am not necessarily going to say he could never return to form, but it isn’t looking good.
It will take time if he does. But it is hard to believe 32-33 year old Klay (after all his injuries) will ever be as good as the 29-30 year old Klay pre-injuries. Though shooting tends to age well. He was a top tier defender AND shooter.
Irving 2-12 for 4 pts. KD with 2 bad passes late, and LaVine has outscored the Nets by himself in the 4th. Bulls up 11.
Good.
bright minds think alike..
IT WOULD BE NICE IF SOMETIME WE COULD ALL —-WELL MOST OF US MEET UP SOMETIME AND ENJOY STORIES AND OF COURSE……..” MORE BEER PLEASE ” !!!
I dream about flying home for CtB night at the rock.
Is there a CtB night coming up?
not yet, but you never know!
hell yeah, ur getting the wheels turning WCC! LMFAOO
only if you wear a RoLo wig NOMAD bro
I do have a varejao one from back in the day
I’m back in Cincinnati NOMAD I’m trying to make it to at least one game this season I will give you a head’s up! MORE BEER PLEASE!
WEST COAST WELL SAID AND WE ARE GRATEFUL// FORTUNATE THAT YOU ARE PART OF THE “CTB BROTHERHOOD ” !!!!
I’m so thankful to have a team to root for that is populated with high character guys, top to bottom. I’m of course impressed with Mitchell’s play, but listening to him, listening to what JB says about him and seeing how his new teammates respond to him is what impresses most. The same can be said about this forum, CtB is such a great place for a Cavs fan like me living in Lakerland. It’s a joy to hang out with you all. Watching the Nets implode, while I take a sort of sports fan satisfaction in, has been really… Read more »
Nicely stated. Totally agree from the mid-Atlantic. Go Cavs!
And from Nashville
agree. CtB is by far the coolest fan blog anywhere that I know of. excellent combo of writers and contributors, insightful commentary and entertaining back and forth.
BTW, whatever happened to cols640 (or what ever it was)?
LETS GOOOOOOOO
Holy cow
Nets hire udoka.
Answer the question, “how do we make this locker room more toxic?”
WTF?
Yes, insanity. Is he under any league conduct policy right now? If not, why was he suspended? If so, how can he sign to coach anywhere?
Unusual and interesting. Will Boston try to get something out of it? Or happy to get rid of him and not have to pay him?
I would suspect the latter.
I’m hearing rumblings that Ime’s suspension was due to internal politics in the Celtics’ org… pure speculation but something’s fishy around that situation.
There are more salacious rumors regarding his exit. And it doesn’t seem like he had violated an NBA code conduct but rather internal codes of conduct/policy and/or simply aggravated Celtics ownership/management. As far as I know it was an internal suspension and the league had nothing to do with it.
yup, that’s correct John B, which is why there’s speculation about internal strife within Celtics org WRT Udoka suspension.
Like attracts like.
AGREE BW—-WOULDN’T WANT TO COACH THAT BUNCH OH “HEAD CASES ” EITHER —-THERE WOULD BE MANY ……………” MORE BEER PLEASE ” !!
Udoka might be the coach. Yeesh what a franchise.
yeah! I would have to bring in Urban Meyer to kick a few of them
Nash got canned!
For some reason I don’t think he’s losing any sleep over it.
Casting my eye over NBA stats. I’d like to point out that the current leader in fouls is:
Kelly Olynyk. Fail harder, douche!
While I’m feeling this feisty, can’t help but also notice Kyrie is leading in minutes per game. With a 2-5 record. Shades of 2013, except his minutes are higher now.
James Dean Wade!
Have to paste in our own Chris Lyden’s popular tweet on this topic:
Shai over there just chillin.
Okoro could’ve scored easily on that pass from DM. He instead made a touch pass which is more momentum-swinging and more demoralizing for the other team. That is what separates good teams to great teams and we need lots of that.
Props to Ice. HUGE props to Ice. Great teamwork. Let’s go Cavs!!
I would love to get onboard with this take, but the eye-test says dude passed it to Mobley because (shades of Ben Simmons) he was afraid to shoot. Still, glad to see the metrics showing Ice’s worth and glad that JB isn’t giving up on him (yet). Hope the offensive confidence comes back soon.
I disagree brother that’s reaching. Ice didn’t bring the ball down and it doesn’t matter if he did. He will not think twice throwing it down and I’m a 100% sure he will take it if needed be.
GO CAVS!
Great cap!
Big revelation for me are how many “effortless, perfect assists” DM makes.
He has always been a pretty good playmaker for a combo guard. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some of his passes this year. He isn’t a pure point in the vein of a DG who seemingly makes advanced passes and has elite vision, but he definitely has filled the void with Levert in DG’s absence.
Speaking of Levert. Love his vision and willingness to move the ball and play unselfish this year. We didn’t see the same kind of playmaking last year from him.
Yep. Agree 100% on both.
DM is not a PG at heart, but he can still lead an efficient offense, as he did in Utah. More drive and kick out than feeding bigs, though. Despite LeVert’s hot (from 3)/cold (from 2) start, his passing & defense have been on point.
5-1 without your top 2 PG’s is amazing. Interesting stretch of schedule incoming. Celtics game + 5 game roadie (Det + 4 Cali stops).
yup, good post John B.
Thanks Raoul! agreed re DM assists!
Great recap Chris! The Real Dwade definitely played a Klove-light role before the 4th…and I don’t even like that description cuz he is a better defender outside taking charges…but it’s hard to understate how poor the Cavs energy was outside the Don before Love got inserted late in the 3rd quarter. Love’s insistence on taking 3 after 3 while the cavs were down lit a fire under the whole team. By the time the knicks knew what was happening the cavs had gone from dead in the water to barely able to contain their joy. that was 100% Don+Love pick… Read more »
A thoroughly enjoyable game based on play that is not sustainable. I loved every bit of it, but bring that 3ball shot percentage down from the stratosphere and it’s a different contest. Hope DG gets back soon, for his own sake but also for Mobes and Mitchell.
I 100% agree this is not a sustainable way to win. This team doesn’t win just one way, thankfully. Bad offensive night against orlando? clamp down on D and hold them under 100 points. Playing a bulls team not ready for physical d? coast to a shellacking. Playing the raptors? offer the refs more than they do…
Thanks scotch as always!
yup, agree with you Don and Love take, they have fantastic chemistry
wow.. mark (28 pts) & jazz going off against MEM (with Ja).. 103-85 with 7:30 left in Q4.. i am not very evolved, so i keep hoping (i know i shouldn’t) that mark, sexton and ochai regress.. does not seem to be happening.. looks like they may be a pretty (very ?) good team with the former cavs..
I hear you…but I want Mark to play so well that Ainge feels like he has to sell high…and the cavs somehow sneak into the middle of a houston-Jazz trade and snag the best piece like the did with Allen. There’s a super 3 out there ready to be gobbled up by Koby in Ainge’s greed for more assets.
that would be nice.. more icing on the cake (no okoro pun intended)
I wish the best for the three ex-Cavs. That is what it cost to get DM, and so be it
Same. Good for them. Good for the Jazz. Seems like one of the very very very rare win win trades thus far.
I was thinking the same thing. The Jazz had two superstars and a bunch of good players, but it wasn’t jelling — who knows why. They moved their two stars, and the new mix is looking pretty good already. Good for them.
Not exactly.
They moved/lost 5 of their top 7 guys. Mitchell & Gobert, yes. They traded Bogdanovic to the Pistons and O’Neale to the Nets. That is 4/5ths of the starters. Ingles was hurt, but signed with the Bucks.
Clarkson was elevated to start for Spida, joining Conley in the backcourt. Lauri is in Bogdonavic’s spot at SF. Olynyk came the other way in the Piston’s deal and is starting at C. Vanderbilt (from Minny) is starting at PF.
The 2nd unit is almost all new guys: Sexton (Cavs), Beasley (Minny), Horton-Tucker (Lakers for PBev), Gay (holdover), Kessler (Wolves).
Only 3/10ths of their rotation was there last year: Conley, Clarkson, and Gay.
Unless Ainge was trying to tank…..
I think Conley & Clarkson probably get traded ASAP. Though waiting until December makes the most sense with so many guys not being tradeable until then. Though it could happen sooner if the Lakers are desperate.
20 games is usually the benchmark. In most cases, you are what you are by then.
I expect they’ll slow down. But they might not be as bad as expected. Which you could take two ways. The first being they won’t have as high of a pick so that’s bad and therefore trade more guys as you stated. The second being, hey maybe some of those guys can form a solid core to build around via the draft or more trades.
Clarkson on that team as well.
looks like browns are discovering their inner rage (if that’s all you have, then by all means use it).. it is a violent game, by design (primary reason why i don’t watch).. but hey, if you are going to play, and want to win.. tapping your primal rage is a good place to start, especially after being repeatedly punked and had sand kicked in your face.. brownies up 18-0 with 7:27 left in Q3..
This is the Browns I was expecting. Don’t know where they have been all year.
looks like they have a masochistic streak.. need to be shamed and abused to get where they need to be.. whatever floats your boat.. rage on macduff
Love the recap theme. “Funny how???”
Bengals playing like a 4th quarter Knicks team right now….
LMFAOOO THANK YOU SIMMO!
Great cap, Chris, great win! The way Love has played over the last 2 NBA seasons is amazing. It begs the question of a 34 yr old, seemingly made of glass pre-2021, playing like a bonafide 6th man running on 2 seasons. Can they resign him and can they even afford it?
Love should really really take a serious discount to keep playing as 6th man. He was massively overpaid by the org the past 4 years. I am happy to see him flourishing
Thanks DaveR! They have Bird rights and Cavs Dan is a rich man, get it done Koby!
A other stellar cap, Chris.
Thank you Nate!!! LFG!!!!
I agree go Cavs
I agree Go Cavs
GREAT JOB CLF—-SIMILAR TO THE CAVS GREAT// MASTERFUL PERFORMANCE ——LOVE THAT MOVIE ALSO ——–HOPE THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE “CONFIDENCE –JUMP START ” FOR ICE ——-KEEP THE GAME SIMPLE AND ENJOYABLE—————SO WRAPPED UP IN THE CAVS I FORGOT THAT THERE IS ANOTHER SO -CALLED PROFESSIONAL TEAM PLAYING TONIGHT —THE MIGHTY ” FROWN CLOWNS ” —–CLF I AM ” IN THE JUNGLE ” WITH YOU ALL NIGHT TONIGHT —WHO DEY—GO BENGALS !!
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOMAD WHO DEY BABYYYYYYY GET THAT STOGIE READY!!!!
Woooot!!! Who Dey baby let’s go Bengals! (Sorry not sorry browns fans—Cavs fan from southern Ohio)
Love it CLF! Totally captured the fourth quarter wave that swept New York into Lake Erie. Though levert couldn’t hit a shot, literally, he had 7 dimes. I hope he keeps his head up and his confidence, we’re going to need him. Loved watching James Dean Wade coming into his own and Ice getting his dawg on. Klove abs lighting the knicks on fire and Spida playing mvp level ball. Go Cavs
thank you WCC!! yeah not worried about Caris, just a high variance player apparently LMFAO
Great write up, Chris!
Agree 100% on the shoutout to JB for riding Ice & Love. Brunson with only 2 in the 4th was big for us. Spida, DG, and at least 1 of JA/Mobes (usually both) are locks to close. But the other 1-2 spots should be open to whomever has it going. Love, Wade, LeVert, Cedi, Rubio, whomever.
Was hoping Mitchell’s block would make the clip, but YouTube lives O more. Alas!
THanks Jason, for sure… I think JB will look to ride the hot hand.
I agree, go Cavs!
That’s right DanK!