Let’s take a look at the matchups for the upcoming Knicks/Cavaliers series.
Wings: I mean, both Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland have been All-Stars (Mitchell was even an All-Star starter) while Jalen Brunson has never made the All-Star team. Plus, the Knicks were willing to trade a gazillion picks for Donovan Mitchell, ergo, he is clearly the best player around. Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes have also never made All-Star teams. RJ Barrett was once a McDonalds All-American, though, so he’s the closest the Knicks come to matching the Cavaliers’ stars.
Bigs: The Knicks have officially listed Julius Randle as Questionable for Game 1, but come on, we all know he is going to play, and he is going to do too much too soon and it will sink the team. Evan Mobley is a great defender and he will easily handle Randle. Unintended poetry. Jarrett Allen is basically Mitch just making more money, so that’s a win for the Cavs.
Bench: The Knicks have two Harts, but as Phil Collins once sang, “Two hearts believing in just one mind,” and one mind is not that helpful on the basketball court, so I think that you have to give the Cavs the nod, especially when they have Ricky Rubio, who was almost a Knick once. I guess Quickley can be here, too, but the argument against Quickley for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award is that he starts too much. It’s so confusing.
Coaches: J.B. Bickerstaff is the son of longtime NBA coach, Bernie Bickerstaff, and we all know that nepo babies are all the rage nowadays, so I think that is a clear advantage for the Cavs, as Tom Thibodeau’s dad worked for a steel company. So what good is THAT?
Cavaliers in four.