This first-round matchup may be the most exciting and probably will be the most physical. It features the #5 seed New York Knicks (47-35, 44-34-4 ATS) who are in Ohio for game one against the #4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers (51-31, 42-36-4 ATS) on Saturday night. Cleveland won the first meeting of the regular season by 13 at home, followed by New York winning the next three. The final matchup was on March 31 in Cleveland, a game that the Knicks won 130-116. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse has the honor of hosting the first game at 6:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, in front of what should be an extremely loud crowd.
What a duel tonight in Cleveland ??
Donovan Mitchell:
42 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 6 3PMJalen Brunson:
48 PTS (career-high), 4 REB, 9 AST, 7 3PMKnicks came away with the W pic.twitter.com/bF5sYDm1c9
— NBA (@NBA) April 1, 2023
The New York Knicks were one of seven teams to finish above .500 on the road this season, with a 24-17 record away from the Garden. Their net rating in road contests was +1.6, fifth in the NBA. One of those road wins came against the Cavs on March 31, the last time they faced Cleveland. Without Julius Randle, the Knicks won 130-116.
Julius Randle's health may be the biggest storyline for the Knicks. He was on his way to playing all 82 games before spraining his ankle against the Heat on March 29. Although Randle has been practicing, he's been limited, not taking part in any contact activities. Julius Randle was an All-Star this season, leading the Knicks in scoring and rebounding. They survived the regular season without his 25.1 points and 10.0 boards per game, but the postseason won't be as unforgiving.
Jalen Brunson also ended the season with an injury but indicated that his right -hand sprain won't hamper him at all. He's a left-handed shooter, so at least that won't be affected. They'll need Brunson at his best, as he was in last year's playoffs, to lead an offense that finished fourth in offensive rating. New York's success offensively wasn't rooted in shooting efficiency. Instead, they dominated by limiting turnovers (fifth in turnover percentage), getting to the free throw line frequently (eighth in free throw rate), and grabbing offensive boards (second in offensive rebounding percentage). The Knicks are an iso-heavy offense, with the lowest assist percentage in the game.
Winning is in his DNA ?? pic.twitter.com/mL8XvMAU7m
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 12, 2023
New York lagged a bit on defense, especially for a Tom Thibodeau team, finishing 19th in defensive rating. Rebounding and forcing misses, especially at the rim, are the Knicks' strengths on the defensive end of the floor. However, they allow a lot of threes and don't force many turnovers. In four meetings they were able to hold Cleveland to 105.3 points per game on 44.6% shooting from the field, both well below the Cavaliers' season average.