6/24/2023 0 Comments Cavaliers vs knicks scoreThat shift - plus an altered shot diet that exchanged a bunch of long 2-point jumpers for more 3s - helped Randle move past an often-ugly 2021-22 campaign and rediscover the form from his 2020-21 breakout, averaging 25.1 points, 10 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Only three players scored more “clutch” points than Brunson, who shot 51.6% from the field with 17 assists against five turnovers.Īs helpful as Brunson’s been individually, though, his arrival carried another massive benefit: easing the shot-creation pressure on Julius Randle and rebalancing his game toward finishing. After thriving primarily as a secondary ballhandler and catch-and-shoot release valve next to Luka Dončić, Brunson transformed into a full-service offensive weapon - nearly six free-throw attempts per game, a career-high 38% on pull-up 3s, top 10 among high-volume creators in points scored per isolation - and a top-flight late-game option. In the grand scheme, though, that’s a speeding ticket - well worth the cost of doing business, because it sure as hell looks like Knicks brass targeted the right guy.īrunson responded to the biggest role of his career by playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 24 points and 6.2 assists per game on 49/42/83 shooting while turning the ball over on a microscopic 9.4% of New York’s plays - the ninth-lowest turnover rate among players to use at least 25% of their team’s offensive possessions, according to Stathead. constituted enough smoke for the NBA to investigate the signing, and ultimately dock the Knicks a 2025 second-round pick. New York wasn’t exactly clandestine in its pursuit of Jalen Brunson the many, many machinations of team president Leon Rose and Co. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)īy landing the most important free agent to change teams last summer, reviving a fallen star and cutting their losses. New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson facing Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell should be an outstanding matchup. By and large, though, the Cavs enter the postseason with a top-10 offense, a best-in-class defense and a pair of elite on-ball playmakers with deep shooting range - the kind of ingredients you need to make a deep postseason run. Those questions become even more nettlesome if starting small forward Isaac Okoro - Cleveland’s top defensive option against tough perimeter scorers, who’s also shot 43% from 3-point land since Christmas - is hampered by (or unavailable thanks to) the bone bruise in his left knee that kept him out for the final six games of the season. Bickerstaff must pick and choose from a suite of imperfect options to try to connect the dots between his stellar bigs and smalls. Questions persist on the wing, where head coach J.B. He did it all while fitting in beautifully next to Garland, whose production didn’t drop a tick despite the introduction of another high-volume playmaker, and without compromising that elite Mobley-and-Allen-led defense, which finished first in the NBA in points allowed per possession. Mitchell’s been worth every penny, though, averaging 28.3 points per game on 61.4% true shooting - both career highs - while giving Cleveland an elite pull-up 3-point shooter, isolation scorer, pick-and-roll creator and crunch-time closer. Mitchell came at a dear cost - a package headlined by unprotected first-round draft picks in 2025, 20, plus the right to swap first-rounders in 20, and Markkanen, who would become an All-Star in Salt Lake City. (Who, as you might recall, the Knicks wanted, too, which adds a whole ’nother level of spice to this matchup.) From there, though, the accumulated weight of injuries - season-enders for Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio early in the season, brutally timed absences for Allen, Mobley and reserve forward Dean Wade in March - effectively scuttled their season.Īfter a 9-16 close to the season, including a pair of losses in the play-in tournament in which they absolutely could not score when Garland was off the floor or the ball was blitzed out of his hands, Cleveland entered the summer knowing it had the foundation of a playoff team, but also knowing it needed something if it wanted to reach the next level. 3 draft pick Evan Mobley, stretch 4-turned-big wing Lauri Markkanen - and an All-Star breakout from point guard Darius Garland to within two games out of the East’s top spot as late as mid-February. The Cavs were one of the best stories of the first half of the 2021-22 season, riding a funky and futuristic jumbo frontcourt - center Jarrett Allen, No. (5) Los Angeles Clippers How they got hereīy swinging one of the most ambitious trades of last offseason - and watching it pay immediate dividends.
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