Recap: Cavs 81, Knicks 92 (or, A Flop on Broadway)
2022-12-05The Cavs were not ready for the Big Apple as they dropped a sad affair at Madison Square Garden to the New York Knicks 81-92, a game which saw the Cavs go 35% from the field and get out-rebounded by 15. Their inability to finish plays on both ends of the court doomed them from the start. Some thoughts about last night…
1. Ballhogs galore
The most disappointing thing about last night’s game was selfish tone set by Darius Garland on the offensive side of the ball. DG posted an uncharacteristic 10.7 assist ratio for the game, which is less than half of his season rate at 25.2. His assist ratio was 27.8 in his All-Star season last year. The Cavs authored a pathetic 73.4 offensive rating in DG’s minutes, and he scored 17 points on 19 shots. It’s games such as this that remind everyone that he’s only 22 years old and bad games are the norm for most young NBA players.
Also it’s clear the injury toll has also taken from the chemistry of the team, with starters Dean Wade and Jarrett Allen missing. But DG still has to trust his teammates in order for the offense to work, and he simply didn’t do that last night. His selfishness filtered down to varying degrees with Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Love, both of whom weren’t their efficient selves. The bad guard/on-ball creation play also led to a lack of touches for Evan Mobley and Cedi Osman, both of whom have been key contributors to the offense. Unfortunately this was the bump in the road required to make improvements on the offensive side of the ball, which has struggled for a long time now with the DG/Spida pairing:
2. Ugly stat of the night
Isaac Okoro and Mamadi Diakite both failed to record a defensive rebound in their combined 24 minutes together. C’mon man!
3. Evan Mobley continues brilliant play
Biggest and best bright spot of the night was Evan Mobley’s 11 point, 10 rebound double-double. He also posted a positive net rating (+1.3) in a double digit loss, which was no small feat. Mobley’s play has really blossomed over the course of the past few weeks in the absence of Jarrett Allen, and the guards would do well to recognize that and leverage it to the success of the team. Time will tell if DG and Spida learn this lesson.
Evan Mobley moves the basketball like a PG more often than not. He seems to think like one at times as well. Wish he got more opportunities to create. Some of these dimes were just awesome to watch. #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/3eG9mGzRIr
— Mack Perry (@DevaronPerry) December 5, 2022
4. Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens
Both of these players deserve a shoutout for last night’s play, with both players playing really solid defense with five steals combined. Stevens also had six rebounds in only 27 minutes and showed some crafty finishes around the basket. Lastly, Cedi’s four assists in shouldn’t go unmentioned, his ability to push the pace and pass got the Cavs some easy buckets.
5. Quick note on the Knicks
The Knicks clearly wanted to show that they didn’t make a mistake in not trading for Spida, and they did get the win so credit to them. But it’s a Pyrrhic victory given how the team has performed this season, in particular R.J. Barrett who looked didn’t look particularly good in this game with six turnovers and shooting 5-13. It’s hard to believe the Knicks weren’t willing to part with Barrett to get Mitchell…
The narrative that the media should’ve actually headlined was the fact it was a Isaiah “Hard Rock” Hartenstein revenge game against his former team. In typical Hard Rock fashion, he completely dominated the Cavs in his minutes posting a +53.3 net rating leading all Knicks. Unfortunately, Coach Tom Thibodeau is not smart enough to leverage Hard Rock’s elite passing and is allowing one of the best center talents in the NBA go to waste. KOBY GET ON THE PHONE AND BRING OUR BOY HOME!!!
6. Next up, a LeBron James Homecoming
The Cavs will welcome home LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a primetime national TV showcase on TNT tomorrow night. The Lakers are on a tear, going 8-2 their last 10 games including a current three game win streak. Anthony Davis has turned back the clock and is leading the charge, so if the Cavs were thinking that this would be an easy win they would be sorely mistaken. There’s rumors of a Jarrett Allen appearance, which is welcome news, Go Cavs!
#Cavs Jarrett Allen, who has missed the last 5 games with a lower back contusion, is listed QUESTIONABLE for tomorrow night’s game versus the Los Angeles Lakers
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) December 5, 2022
LT up!
I feel like the ungodly amount of travel calls is worth some analysis too – that cant be good for basketball
Cavs 5.5 point favorites tonight
Boy I hate to bet against the Cavs but that seems like easy money. I think LAL is going to roll us
TONIGHTS GAME HAS ME DOUBTFUL FOR A CAVS ‘W “—–THE WAY THE LAKERS ARE PLAYING AND THE CAVS ARE NOT ——DAVIS IS ON A “PERSONAL ” TEAR —-LEBRON HATES TO LOSE TO THE CAVS —ESPECIALLY IN CLEVELAND—–REVENGE GAME FOR THEIR LOSS IN LA —–IN FACT THIS GAME MIGHT GET “UGLY “—-HOPE I AM TOTALLY WRONG !!
I hear ya and expect the same. Wouldn’t it be nice though if the Cavs balled out?
PUT ME DOWN FOR ” BRINGING BACK HARD ROCK CAMPAIGN ” REVIEWING THE TRADE— DIDN’T WE MORE OR LESS STEAL HIM FROM THE NUGGETS AND DIDN’T WE HAVE THE RIGHTS TO MATCH OTHER TEAMS OFFER IN FREE AGENCY —–PULL THE TRIGGER KOBY // GET HARD ROCK BACK HERE —–GETTING HIM BACK HERE WOULD ALMOST GET ME AS EXCITED AS THE MRS NOMAD SAYING ” YES TO MY LATE SATURDAY NIGHT REQUESTS “……………….’ MORE BEER PLEASE ‘
LMFAOOOOOOO hell yeah NOMAD! Yup, Koby decided to not offer the QO to Hard Rock and we would’ve had his Bird rights.
Many at CtB, certainly me, were loudly calling for making an offer to HR so we could match, which seemed to be a no-brainer. At the time some said something like “we were doing his agent and/or him a favor by not”. That was insane.
Others said that was too many big men (!?!)
Both this year and last year we would have won several more games with HR.
Any guesses on what it would cost to get him back?
Good point about Garland’s youth, but when you look at the way the Cavs were moving the rock like the 2015 Warriors in the first 10 games… tvs. he Dion Waiters hero ball and lack of passing/cutting of the last 10, I think you have to put some of the blame on JB, too. Maybe run some plays other than pick and rolls once in a while, ya know? Also – JA really is the straw that stirs the wine (& gold). Everything except for Mobley’s game regresses when he’s out. COME ON AND GET BACK ON THE COURT, OHIFRO!
Yup, agreed it’s really a JB and DG thing as to why they’re .500 since DG’s been back. Agreed DG really misses JA it appears.
the two grossest things about this game were mentioned in this article, Chris. Hard Rock could easily become a cav if we’re willing to lose Rolo and Neto and caris…and worse still…DG and DM are not getting along yet. 24 games in…with DG missing i think 6 of them early…JB has not figured out their combo literally AT ALL. they look like an otherworldly talented YMCA team. When it works…it’s rhythm. When they suck…they don’t understand why it isn’t working. Even though the coaches are paid millions to know why. And even though the players are paid millions more to… Read more »
Caris makes too much money to be involved in a potential Hard Rock trade and it would be idiotic to trade our best backup guard by far this season for a third string center. Windler or Okoro money fits the Hard Rock contract now, or bundling the minimum guys perhaps I haven’t looked into it. Of course the Cavs should’ve just offered Hard Rock the QO back when he was a Cavs but that’s all water under the bridge now. Agree that JB is underperforming relative to talent level, but he’s also having to walk a fine line between keeping… Read more »
“third string center”??
Yeah that’s what RoLo is???
Great analysis as always CLF, and particularly brutal but honest take on DG. A lot of hero ball for both him and Spida. It looks good when the shots are falling, but pretty shitty when they’re not. The league looks to be blitzing DG and until he starts burning them with the right pass they’ll continue. Somebody’s open.
Thanks WCC as always! A lot of room for improvement from DG, very exciting if that happens!
Thanks for the recap, Chris!
About a month ago, I did the right thing and got NBA League Pass, and I’ve been putting in my time on the couch watching the Cavs, mostly enjoying myself. But last night’s game against the Knicks was so painful to watch it was (almost) humorous.
LFMAOOO you’re welcome as always daspec!!!
yeah, that game was so comically bad LMFAOOOo honestly Cavs played great defense the offense though, WOOF