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2023 Playoffs Game Thread – Knicks @ Cavaliers, Game 1

The Knicks head to Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in a series the Knicks can’t possibly win.

Julius Randle was listed as questionable, but it was always obvious that he would return to play in this game, and sure enough, that’s what will happen. He will get the start for the Knickerbockers in their valiant but doomed attempt to win this series.

Let’s go, Knicks, not that it will matter, as they are doomed!

519 replies on “2023 Playoffs Game Thread – Knicks @ Cavaliers, Game 1”

I’m sorry to embarrass myself in front of you all, but I cannot contain my enthusiasm. This year just feels different. The Knicks are building something. I can’t wait for these games. Let’s go!!!!!!

If I didn’t know that the Knicks were doomed, and I were just an outside observer, I’d totally think that the Knicks were going to win this series. A young, inexperienced team with Chokey McChokerson as their star player versus an also young team but with a clutch playoff star performer as their leader, with the #5 seed having won 3 out of 4 regular season matchups? If the teams were, like, the 4th seeded Spurs vs. the 5th Timberwolves (i.e. just random teams) with that fact pattern, I’d think the Wolves would win.

But obviously, I know the Knicks are doomed. Don’t worry, folks, I know that. I am not saying anything other than the Knicks are doomed, so don’t worry!

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But obviously, I know the Knicks are doomed. Don’t worry, folks, I know that. I am not saying anything other than the Knicks are doomed, so don’t worry!

Wow Brian, for a moment you really scared me! 😉

Very boring and underwhelming first two games,
Brooklyn largest lead 0 (zero), Atlanta largest lead 2…

This has already been a successful season by our own standards, so any further success from here on out is success gravy. Let’s beat these guys, and if we don’t, let’s console ourselves with the fact that we don’t live in Cleveland. Except for those of you who live in Cleveland of course.

Maybe obvious – but key to this series is 3 point shooting. Can we keep the Cavs and Mitchell to low 30% shooting on threes. And can a few of our 3P shooters shoot 40%+ for the series (IQ, Grimes, Brunson, Hart), and 35%+ (RJ, Randle)? And in terms of made three volume, be really close. The one game we lost to the Cavs this season they were +13 in made threes, in the three games we won, we were tied or a little better in made threes.

Wally: Cleveland doesn’t have a number 3 as good as RJ Barrett.

I’m going to miss most of the second half so if the Knicks could go up by 40 at halftime I’d be most appreciative

Wally: Cleveland doesn’t have a number 3 as good as RJ Barrett.

Wow, this is gonna be a blowout!!

I am pumped to find out how this team holds up to playoff pressure. Go Bockers!

Let’s GOOOOOO
With my Ess powers, I’m suspending all previous grudges for this awesome return to the playoffs (the 1st game at least).

Road to the championship starts with the first game!

Lock y load…thibs is the x factor………he’s gotta have sumptin up the sleeve of his fleece gurdle…

Brunson going downhill = good.

Brunson fading away from, like, 20 feet = not good.

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Is it so hard to just freeze RJ out?

He bad and he’s a low IQ player. That’s a terrible combination. Just freeze him out. He’s literally one of the worst starters in the entire playoffs.

RJ brick followed by the Garland blowby.

Brunson is on Okoro and has clearly been told to roam pretty far off and try to draw charges

They’re already guarding grimes way closer off ball than in the regular season.

Nice pass from Mobley

They’ve made some insanely gorgeous passes. Thank goodness the one that led to an open three was bricked.

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Barrett/Grimes gotta hit at least some of those open shots. C’mon, guys!!

IQIQIQIQIQIQIQIQIQIQ

With the quick Randle sub I’m wondering if he’s more of a decoy this game.

Obi does have more run with IQ et al

We are going to have to do a little better on the defensive boards when Randle is not playing.

Hate when Chokey McChokerson does crazy cool things like that.

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If anyone is at Penn 6, I’m in the Spreewell jersey with the green hoodie.

Spree is a very good choice, Noble. 😉

Three turnovers on bad passes for IQ…

And J-Hart always with the little things…

Cleveland looks good and they are playing hard.

Not playing smart, though, which was what I was hoping for in this series.

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I said it before: As goes IQ, so goes our team in the playoffs. Dude must re-boot.

Garland concentrates, hits second free throw easily. Why didn’t you concentrate for the first free throw, then, buddy? It’s just fascinating to see these mental lapses from NBA players in a playoff game.

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It’s a good sign we are hanging with these guys even though we are playing poorly.

Did the Cavaliers not game plan for any Knicks at all except for Grimes?

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I adored Rubio dribbling under the basket and just stopping. And it was too funny that they called him for that foul on iHart! Huge turning point there.

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This first game is soooooo critical. Good start! This won’t be easy. Nothing from this point forward will be “easy”.

While the Knicks are doomed, they played an excellent first quarter overall, with dealing with some major uphill problems.

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We gotta beat up on their bench. That’s where we have the advantage. So far so good on that front

We didn’t really look “organized” on either side of the ball, but up 6, I’ll take it.

Far from perfect but we’re hanging in…

I had to leave the MSG stream and go to ESPN because it keeps losing the signal… 🙁

Why did the shot clock reset on that play?

I think the clock official ruled that the tap out was an errant pass.

When Rubio misses layups like that, you know it’s the Knicks’ day. Except they’re doomed, of course.

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I think the clock official ruled that the tap out was an errant pass.

That’s what it seemed like, right? But that’s a terrible call, if true.

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I think they counted the catch and toss in bounds as possession

But why would they do that?

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New defensive scheme vs. Cleveland. Don’t defend layups.

It’s amazing.

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IQ’s killing us…

Yep, up 12, he’s killing them. 🙂

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Randle missed the shot, but Cleveland choosing to leave him wide open was hilariously dumb.

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On another topic, since I couldn’t participate in the prediction discussion due to the time zone, I’m going to add my two cents, even though this is the game thread. I’m writing it now because my prediction for who comes out of the West is the Kings, and their game is next up today. As I posted a couple of days ago the Kings have the sort of offense that wins in the playoffs and Mike Brown has won a chip as coach before. I don’t see the Nuggets holding up well enough. The Suns with Durant are a credible threat, but they have to stay healthy, which historically has been difficult for them.

So there it is. The Kings!!

And like ptmilo, I’m not making any prediction for the East.

“Here come the refs leading a Cavs comeback.” — This.

EDIT: Julius has obviously been meditating for two weeks.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Knicks are doomed, the Cavs’ lack of fundamentals would really make me think poorly of them.

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We’re definitely funneling… It really gets them to drive more when they score everytime

Brunson didn’t end up using the clock anyways I guess but yeah

Oh yeah, it probably didn’t matter in the end, but I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, “Did they just say that he had possession on a jumping out of bounds heave?”

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Randle leaving Garland open for that corner 3pter to double Lavert might be the turning point…

6 TO already in first half. Ummm…

Luckily, that Mitchell shot was only the second time they actually scored a basket off of a turnover, I think (plus one free throw earlier).

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Randle has been really aggressive on D which I like but leaving Garland was definitely an interesting choice

I had to turn off the ESPN feed. I can’t take listening to them. Tuned into the MSG Go feed now.

Jeez, if we actually start O-rebounding like we usually do, this should be, you know…

Best shot for the Knicks defensively is the open Cavs layup.

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Best shot for the Knicks defensively is the open Cavs layup.

LOL. Was thinking the same.

Okoro passing up an open three to take (and brick) a worse three was hilarious.

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OMG, that awful break. We need an Obi dunk to re-calibrate our emotions.

I am still so pissed at the refs for robbing the Knicks of Brunson.

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I think i’m with delay, so probably when i comment something it has happened some time ago for you guys 😛

That punk Mitchell acting like he wants to fight…he probably never threw a punch in his life…

I worry about this becoming hack-a-Mitch late in the game.

iHart will probably close out for that very reason. Or at least offense/defense.

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This game is like watching the Mavs vs Blazers if they’d played against each other in the last game of the season.

Not good when the Cavs are literally pointing at each other blaming each other for defensive failures.

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Nice pass to JHart. Hats off to Julius this half. Road to redemption.

Mitchell may not be a fighter but he’s a pretty damn good basketball player.

Spida on a fight against Randle would be hilarious, and end pretty fast. 😀

“The early returns on playoff Randle 2.0 are quite strong”

Given how easily he can get into his head, I’m so glad he got out of the gate playing well, even if he could be excused for rust.

So far … Julius great, Mitch very scary basketball player, Knicks D strong, 3 threes apiece for Knicks and Cavs, that’s good sign so far for Knicks, esp with Brunson sitting on the bench for almost the entire 1H.

Mitchell may not be a fighter but he’s a pretty damn good basketball player.

Chokey is a very good player. Early in the game, at least.

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We need to push up on the screens, Mitchell is most dangerous when he’s hitting threes efficiently and in a rythmn, Randle or the big needs to get up that screen more up the court, …Steph Curry D

Start letting DMitch get layups again!!!

Right?

Also, Cavs, your guy is in the fucking stands! Call a timeout earlier, you losers!

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Hilariously, up until this exact second, I thought timeouts were per half, not per game. I didn’t know why the Cavs weren’t calling timeout there.

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Julius playing his ass off and Hart/Hart really giving us stability. I still like our chances, but Ted Lasso gotta slap our kids around a bit.

Knicks are starting 3 draft picks (Grimes, RJ and Mitch). Last time that happened was in 1992. Who were those three?
Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson and ?

They can’t possibly play worse on offense. That 24 second violation would be embarrassing for 10 year olds. At least they are playing physical, but the Cavs are going to start hitting shots.

It should have been IQ’s 4 TOs, but 24-seconds violations are “team turnovers”…

The good news is that the Kings are about to play the Warriors, so people who like seeing the ball go in the basket will still be able to go to bed happy.

Cyber, answer should be Gerald Wilkins.

Thanks. At least i got 2 thirds of the answer. Not bad. 😉

so people who like seeing the ball go in the basket will still be able to go to bed happy

I don’t like to see the ball go in the basket, i like to see the ball go in the other team’s basket.

Grimes and IQ looking waaay off on their 3s is a little concerning for the 2nd half, hopefully they can hit a couple

Knicks current draft picks 4/18 for the half. Take a deep breath, and let’s pick that up, kids.

The Cavs around the basket is hilarious. But then Mitch made it less funny. But then the Cavs made it funny again. But then Randle gave Thibs a stroke, and that wasn’t funny.

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Just win baby of course, but this is a sloppy-ass game.

That was garbage

Mitch really making his case for only getting cardio

Good TO by thibs…this shit is embarrassing

Yeah, some dudes definitely needed to be slapped around. The problem for me is that the Cavs probably also needed to be slapped around (all metaphorically, of course).

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I was kinda hoping we’d come out for the second half looking more poised and organized.

Brunson sucks today

This game is super sloppy. Do anyone besides Randle and Donovan Mitchell realize it’s the playoffs?

Knicks need to slow down … andrenaline on 120. Slow down on breaks, throw more secure passes, focus on finishing the play …geezus

This team has an uncanny ability to appear completely outmatched even when they have a lead. After watching this half, I feel less optimistic about our chances because the eye test is shitting all over us. The Cavs have missed a ton of high quality shots, Brunson appears to have been completely neutralized in his limited minutes a la Randle 2021, and our supporting cast looks too rattled to make a shot.

The ratio of empty offensive possessions is enormous and climbing, and I’ll be shocked if this goes more than five games.

Barrett missed that open 3 by six feet. Not even close enough to be a Clyde UFO.

You have to think that the Cavs will eventually make a layup, and that will be concerning for the Knicks.

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Brunson needs to get seriously cooking if we’re going to have a chance here. We look terrible here in the second half.

Bench RJ forever

Their starting lineup is so talented. And the Knicks have a guy they never want touching the ball.

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Some of these Cavs passes are, just, like, why are you passing to a guy, like, underneath the rim on the out of bounds line?!?

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Can you even imagine this game if the Cavs could make easy layups?

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Missed free throws and missed bunnies, the Cavs lack the fundamentals.

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See how Brunson takes his time each time and concentrates when he shoots a free throw? Why don’t other guys do that?

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The Cavs are playing like a young team in their first playoffs series. The Knicks are playing like a bad team. If the Knicks lose this one, you can expect a much better Cavs team next out.

What the hell foul was that, Hart? Away from the basket, on a center? Why?

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As good as Julius has been, this lineup for us is good news.

EDIT: Brunson, jHart, Grimes, Obi, iHart.

“See how Brunson takes his time each time and concentrates when he shoots a free throw? Why don’t other guys do that?”

I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but under extreme pressure it’s sometimes better to not think too much. It makes you even tighter. Of course, if you are not nervous, then concentrating is an advantage.

If I had a daughter I’d try to fix her up with Josh Hart. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but under extreme pressure it’s sometimes better to not think too much. It makes you even tighter. Of course, if you are not nervous, then concentrating is an advantage.

Oh sure, if you’re Reggie Miller, you just shoot quickly, but for most guys in the league, you want to take your time on your free throws.

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The Cavs are playing like a young team in their first playoffs series. The Knicks are playing like a bad team. If the Knicks lose this one, you can expect a much better Cavs team next out.

Yeah, that’s fair, but if the Knicks win this one (which they won’t, since they are doomed), then they’d be leaving Cleveland at worst tied. You have to love that as the Knicks (if they weren’t doomed, which they are).

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Brunson is a beast.

Is the espn court audio cutting out periodically for others? Same thing watching the Wolves and Thunder the other night…

The Cavs really don’t seem to even have a specific game plan for Brunson besides “guard him and try to keep him from scoring.”

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IQ being planted on the bench??

Yes, but in part because Brunson is so hot.

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Is the espn court audio cutting out periodically for others? Same thing watching the Wolves and Thunder the other night…

Yes

“Oh sure, if you’re Reggie Miller, you just shoot quickly, but for most guys in the league, you want to take your time on your free throws.”

I hear you, but I think you missed the point. Under extreme pressure like this taking more time makes some players more nervous and more likely to miss because they have more time to think about the pressure. So they just want get into a consistent routine and stick to that.

Added three points to the halftime lead. Amazing. Also amazing is that the Cavs aren’t landing any of those easy buckets. Everything is rimming out for them. That last one was particularly big since the Cavs get the ball first in the fourth.

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Randle should really just look to score from 4 feet away. First few mins of the 4Q critical

8 points heading into the 4th… I’ll take it.

While they’re doomed, you shouldn’t just take it, you gotta love it. They took a punch from Cleveland and ended up up 8!

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If I’m Bickerstaff, I’m just playing my starting five in this fourth quarter. It’s amazing just how much of a dropoff there is for the Cavs.

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The Cavs do a lot of dumb bullet passes and dumb lob passes. It’s, like, dudes, passing it faster isn’t necessarily better.

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great job by mitch staying out of foul trouble, 3 years ago he’d be on the bench already

At least Okoro got the foul. Imagine getting hit like that and you getting the foul called on you! It happens.

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I can’t watch Randle leading the break anymore…

And it’s a flagrant!

Edit: No, it’s not…

Come on that’s not a flagrant

How could it possibly be a flagrant?

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Hart needs to not give Randle the ball at the three point line on fast break …his fault

The Cavs keep trying those close baskets and keep bricking them. It is awesome. Ten point lead! Josh Hart is a difference maker just by being one of the few guys out there who just always keeps his cool.

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Julius and RJ together without JB scare me…

J-Hart is playing a fantastic game…

Can’t believe we traded a late first round pick for hart LOL.

Imagine how bad we’d be losing if we hadn’t traded for Josh Hart

Hart!

(And he would have had another layup on the Randle O foul, if Julius had just passed the ball back.)

I haven’t seen it for myself until now, but when the announcer says “Barrett blows the layup, but Hart is there to clean it up”, I feel like that sums up pretty much everything I’ve read here over the past 2 months.

Ok guys, I’ve resolved to reorganize my kitchen cupboard while watching and it seems to be working!

If RJ isn’t out of here after this season there’s something wrong with this organization. There’s no way on God’s green earth he should he be starting on a good team and it’s stretch for him to be a rotation player.

There are gonna be plenty of white Cavs Playoffs tees available in Cleveland area thrift shops in a couple of weeks.

the Cavs complain about every single thing that happens on the court. Amazing.

Why in the world do the Cavs think that Mobley is some guy you want to, like, create near the basket?

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Cavs have one timeout left with 7 min to go. Let’s hope it comes back to bite them.

Not sure what thibs is seeing here…but he is fucking this up with Barrett in there…I guess he doesn’t want Grimes or iq in there

While the Knicks are doomed, this was the exact thing I was hoping we’d get from the Cavs. Just sloppy, non-fundamental play.

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Randle does seem to hit guys in the head a lot…

It ain’t a great look for the guy.

Randle should probably stop punching and elbowing guys

Ay-yep.

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“This 10 point lead must feel like a 30 point lead to Cavs fans.”

And like a 20 point deficit to Knick fans (like me).

By the way, ten years between playoff wins isn’t even that big of a deal, is it? The Knicks’ problem is that they just suck most years, not that it’s been so long since they won a playoff series.

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Everyone in the building knew Brunson was taking that three and Allen just, like, “okay, take the three.” You’re a center, dude, you can keep him from taking a three.

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Haven’t won a road playoff game since 99…did I hear that right? Jesus.

5 point swing courtesy of a blown no-call by the refs

It’s funny how everyone was, like, “A problem in this series could be Thibs trusting RJ too much,” and we all hoped no, since Hart, Grimes and IQ, why would he?

And then…this.

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It took him long enough to get RJ out of there. How fucking stupid can an entire coaching staff be. The entire league knows RJ sucks. Even the media knows he sucks.

The Cavs just lack in the fundamentals, man. It’s awesome. No closing out at all. No boxing out. It’s just “Go be prime Gary Payton, Cedi fucking Osman.”

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I rarely comment during games..but..

Fuckin Josh Hart man. Literally the heart & soul of this team. Such a gutsy game so far. Pay than man nnnneowwww!

No one around him at all on the rebound! What are they doing?!?! It’s aamazing!

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Only appropriate if they end up winning the game on the back of an offensive rebound.

RJ would’ve bricked one thank god Thibs saw reason earlier than game 3 with RJ

Not losing the game after the Cavs took the lead late is really so un-Knicks.

I’m shocked that either of those teams made it to 100.

Good win by the Knicks, but if they’d let that slip away they were gonna get swept. Cavs were horrible for 46 minutes of this and the Knicks are going to have to play a LOT better next time.

That was the most exciting and satisfying basketball game I have seen in an extremely long time

3 things in this world i know to be true:

Josh Hart is my one true long promised oft delayed but never disappointing true and forever love

RJ need to not start or play in the closing 6 minutes

I fucking love this team

PS if they want to stop us they best start making offensive rebounds illegal

Normally you’d want Brunson-IQ-Hart-Randle-Mitch closing out, but IQ did stink today, so Grimes in his place was reasonable. RJ played way too many minutes and is bad at the sport of basketball

Good win by the Knicks, but if they’d let that slip away they were gonna get swept. Cavs were horrible for 46 minutes of this and the Knicks are going to have to play a LOT better next time.

It’d be hard for Cleveland to play worse than this, but the Knicks also have a lot of room to improve, too, with IQ and Grimes and hopefully less minutes for RJ.

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Man the way the media talks about Mobley you’d think we were going up against prime KG.

Brunson, jHart unreal. iHart and Obi brought real quality as well. Julius *almost* imploded, but credit to him for keeping his cool, and that was a monster last board.

Get IQ on track. And Thibs, it’s okay if RJ sits for a bit, no?

jalen brunson is a championship level player…

His performance against Utah last year should have gotten him a full max contract from every team who could give him one. Few players can take over a playoff game like that. It’s an extremely rare skill.

That said, as amazing as Brunson was tonight, how the Cavs chose to guard him tonight was baffling. The guy is cooking you and they’re, like, “Eh, what can you do? The league rules say you have to guard everyone one-on-one, right? Right?”

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I’m going to credit this one on Brian. His jinxes are still undefeated. 😀

The shooting numbers in the end were pretty bad and there were some ugly turnovers but mad props to Randle tonight for his performance especially coming off the injury.

“What will it take to dump RJ this summer?”

If there’s a gm out there who still thinks he’s worth that contract, maybe they’d also be interested in a WAS protected first?

“It’d be hard for Cleveland to play worse than this, but the Knicks also have a lot of room to improve, too,”

Exactly this. Makes it hard to handicap, but just win games and you win the series. I mean, Cleveland *has* to be better than that, right?

On the raw feed, you can see Nitrease Quickley has grabbed IQ by the ear, and she’s got him out there running suicide sprints right now. Amazing.

By the way, how insanely bad was the defense on the Hart go-ahead three? There’s, like, 3 seconds on the shot clock and the guy is behind the three point line, why in the world would you ever let him shoot a three there? Remember when IQ wouldn’t let Jamal Murray take a three late against the Knicks with the Nuggets down three? You can keep a guy from shooting a three, you just risk him driving past you, but with 2-3 seconds left on the 24-second shot clock, you just can’t let him take a three. If He drives past you with three seconds left, you live with that.

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Cedi Osman on Brunson basically one on one … I mean, that’s like really fucking stupid.

Cedi Osman on Brunson … I mean, that’s like really fucking stupid.

Not just Cedi Osman on Brunson, but Cedi Osman on Brunson one-on-one each possession! It worked a few times, but then they thought it was brilliant when it clearly was not.

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I’m going to credit this one on Brian. His jinxes are still undefeated. 😀

Jinxes aren’t real, but now I have to freaking keep this bit up until they win the NBA Finals. 🙂

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Do you think we can do a sign and trade with Josh Hart in the off-season and get 2 firsts back?

Cleveland will definitely up their effort after this but feels good to punch them in the mouth like this.

Also, the thing is we can win games when we don’t shoot well bc we hustle and outrebound and can be a good defensive team. Especially with hart in tow.

But honestly the best thing about winning this game is not having the next 3 days of E ruining threads on this blog.

People complaining about Thibs but Randle lead the team in minutes with 34, check out the mins for the Cavs starters: Mitchell 44, Garland and Allen 43, Mobley 38.

The Cavs are not a very good team outside their big 4 and Allen/Mobley aren’t offensive options. Cavs won’t shoot this bad the entire series but they aren’t necessarily much better than what you saw tonight.

Jinxes aren’t real, but now I have to freaking keep this bit up until they win the NBA Finals. 🙂

LOL! And finally i will get over the 1994 defeat. 😉

Yeah I was trying to figure out the logic of Osman guarding Brunson and couldn’t come up with an explanation. That was a huge gift for us

Despite being talented, this Cavs team is very young… a good thing to remember.

Despite being talented, this Cavs team is very young… a good thing to remember.

Yeah, the Knicks will clearly lose this series, but that is very much the reason I thought the Knicks had a chance (despite being doomed). The Cavs are so young and unexperienced in the playoffs except Mitchell, who is experienced in a bad way.

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So we shot 27.6% from 3P while the Cavs shot 32.3% and you guys are saying they are the ones that will get a lot better? I think we have more “room” to get better than them.

not sure what was the more egregious coaching blunder thibs/playing rj or bickerstaff going with osman/on brunson…neither was a good look….

some teams are built for regular season…especially with a poor decision maker like spida as your main dude…we have brunson (as long as Randle stays in his lane) …that is a huge advantage for us…

@BBA:”People complaining about Thibs but Randle lead the team in minutes with 34, ”

Great point, and it’s prolly Thibs’s “counterintuitive” decision to go with Obi for so long even though Randle was playing well that extended our lead to 10. Cavs seemed to struggle against Brunson, jHart, Grimes, Obi, iHart.

9 made threes for Knicks, 10 made threes for Cavs…we keep the made 3s close, with our other advantages, we should stay in good shape

not sure what to do with myself…its a weird feeling to win a playoff game…just gonna go to circle k and get another six pack…

Mobley took 13 shots and made four of them. That was embarrassing.

Levert was even worse. 1-7.

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Both teams have players who didn’t play at their best (Mobley, IQ, LeVert, Okoro, Grimes, even RJ) both teams can play a lot better next game.

But as Monsieur de La Palice once said “It’s better to be up 1-0 than down 0-1″…

But as Monsieur de La Palice once said “It’s better to be up 1-0 than down 0-1″…

Very much so.

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We can complain about too many RJ minutes but one of the biggest advantages the Knicks have this series is Thibs vs Bickerstaff.

Our main advantage is our superior bench.

Their main advantage is they don’t have RJ.

Very noisy crowd in Sacramento,
no matter how the series will go I’m happy for them after all this years of misery…

The Cavs have better top line talent, but their bench is so thin that they don’t have the ability to throw a lot of different looks at you. They don’t have anything resembling a guy like Hart who can come off the bench and just wreck shit.

Yeah it’s a strange feeling to not only be in the playoffs but to be up 1-0 and to now watch this kings warriors game totally stress free and completely zenned out.

And yeah Cleveland shot poorly. So did we. But we know how to win even when we shoot poorly. In the playoffs that is really important. We put hustled them in every way. And Brunson is our calming presence.

Randle can play better. IQ can play better. Even RJ can play better. Grimes too.

But also low key can we give a shout out to Mitch for coming up big in his first playoff game?

@Swift, did you persuade the whole family to tune in? If so, that’s a good one to start with, no?

Wishing you well 🙂

Levert sucks the Cavs really should have taken him away from the coaching staff at the trade deadline

Monsieur de La Palice

Max, i don’t know if our american friends are aware of the lapalissades.

Another thing is that we’re significantly more mentally tough than we were during the Atlanta series. That first half dustup between Randle and Mitchell would’ve been a tech two years ago, and the Mitchell scoring flurries would’ve been backbreaking, like Trae’s were. We’re a lot better because of players like Josh Hart, but we’re also just more experienced than we were two years ago.

It’s a long series but being up 1-0 is an excellent result!

This felt very much like the opposite of game 1 vs Atlanta 2 years ago. I believe we even had a furious 10 point 4Q comeback then, too. Even when they took the lead, though, I wasn’t concerned. The Cavs are not ready for prime time yet, and we will win this series in 5 games after the Cavs win game 2.

That was insane! I hate Cleveland. My brother in law and family there. Big lebron fan. Can’t stand him or the city.

Barettt obviously stunk. Quickly bad game. Bad turnovers. Randle gassed. We can improve. In Brunson I trust!

Ha. I was watching the first half with the little one. Her first Knicks game and they win!

Was able to time bedtime perfectly with half time so I only missed the first two minutes of the third.

Knicks in six looking good. We only need to hold serve from here. Can someone look up RJ’s on off this year. I believe we’re about 10 points better with him off the floor. Hey, where’s E?

“Real shame we traded for Josh Hart”

I’m sure we’ll hear about it when someone late in the draft shows out. The meaningless playoff win on the back of merc Josh Hart at the cost of our hopes of building a true contender, whatever that is. Wash, rinse, repeat…

Had to miss it. Great thread. Amazing win.

Can’t believe we survived 2-11 from RJ

“Imagine how bad we’d be losing if we hadn’t traded for Josh Hart”

Nah, we’d be on vacation by now…

“Can’t believe we survived 2-11 from RJ”

-12 but who’s counting? Not to mention a -13…but he did outplay Caris LeVert, so there’s that! And Dean Wade was a -14 in 7 minutes!

E must be so pissed right now. Josh Hart was amazing and several offensive rebounds literally won us the game.

I have never understood Caris Lavert as a player people think is a valuable NBA asset. Every time I watch him all he does is miss shots. But I will take it!!!

It won’t matter to E or dj, if the Knicks don’t win a championship this season they’ll continue to criticize the trade.

This felt very much like the opposite of game 1 vs Atlanta 2 years ago. I believe we even had a furious 10 point 4Q comeback then, too. Even when they took the lead, though, I wasn’t concerned. The Cavs are not ready for prime time yet, and we will win this series in 5 games after the Cavs win game 2.

That really does feel like the Cavs simply aren’t ready yet. Brunson, however, is very much ready (so is Hart).

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On the raw feed, you can see Nitrease Quickley has grabbed IQ by the ear, and she’s got him out there running suicide sprints right now. Amazing.

Love it!

She’s reminding him that he has duties to uphold as an honorary Morganite, and that he can’t let us MSU grads down 😉

I can’t find splits for the first and second halves but it seems like we didn’t turn the ball over much in the second half. And we beat them decisively on the boards, an impressive feat considering their size.

Anyone want to change their prediction of the Kings winning this series while there’s still time?

“Brunson, however, is very much ready (so is Hart).”

Yeah, a particular feel good story would have been if IQ lit it up today with the kids Mitch, Obi, RJ, and Grimes making clutch plays. For sure Mitch and Obi did play well, but it was Brunson, JHart, and iHart who just wanted it the most (IMO).

Still, it was such a good team victory (And our “old” guys are what, 27?). Hahaha. Keep going.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Cleveland despite their size are not a great rebounding team, in fact the Knicks ranked higher in both defensive and offensive reb %.

Sacramento took advantage of an injury ravaged Western conference during the regular season but you can make the argument that going into the playoffs they’re only the 6th or 7th best team in the West.

Well, there you go: GS Sac game is at 101-97 at the beginning of the 4th quarter, tying the Knicks/Cavs final.

The Knicks and the Kings both just won close Game 1s.

What even is this world?

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Good for the Kings and their fans, well deserved! And De’Aaron Fox was fucking awesome. Oh, and Malik Monk is yet another guy we passed on for the great Frank Ntilikina…

Btw I know we love us some Hali here, but Fox is looking like the right guy to have kept…

Well, after Game 1 of both series being Knicks and Kings wins, I think it is clear that, this being the 20th anniversary of How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, we are destined for a Knicks/Kings NBA Finals again.

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This is why you fucking trade for Josh Hart, what a fucking player. I love him so much.

Really unexpected first win, but it feels so damn good.

Z–man says::
April 15, 2023 at 22:30
Anyone want to change their prediction of the Kings winning this series while there’s still time?

I see no reason to change my prediction. I didn’t say it wouldn’t be close. Golden State is good in the playoffs too.

“Really unexpected first win, but it feels so damn good.”

I didn’t “expect” it per se but felt we had a very good chance, given the Cavs’ inexperience and lack of quality depth. Still, for a Knicks fan, any good thing in the playoffs is kind of unexpected!

I didn’t “expect” it per se but felt we had a very good chance, given the Cavs’ inexperience and lack of quality depth. Still, for a Knicks fan, any good thing in the playoffs is kind of unexpected!

100% this. This was obviously the matchup the Knicks wanted, and the Cavs have huge weaknesses that are especially problematic in the playoffs, but still, you never want to be too optimistic.

But not me, because I know the Knicks are doomed. 😉

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It’s amazing how Josh Hart can take over a game without, you know, taking over…

***this being the 20th anniversary of How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, we are destined for a Knicks/Kings NBA Finals again.***

How on earth did you even think of this post, let alone manage to type it?

93-92 things were looking bleak with 2:12 remaining

They took RJ out soon after that, so I was confident at that point (while knowing that they were doomed).

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It’s amazing how Josh Hart can take over a game without, you know, taking over…

It’s fascinating to see how important it is in playoff games to just not freak out, ya know? Mobley doesn’t know how to do that yet.

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How on earth did you even think of this post, let alone manage to type it?

How can I forget it? That fictional NBA Finals was the closest the Knicks have come to the real NBA Finals since 1999.

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That really does feel like the Cavs simply aren’t ready yet. Brunson, however, is very much ready (so is Hart).

I wouldn’t have guessed it going in, but it was clear as day watching the game.

Cavs fans must be having that same sinking feeling we had two years ago, i.e. “fuck, we’re not as good as we thought we were.”

And as a Knicks fan I feel like the Hawks fans must have felt when they realized they were legit.

Pity I am in LA bc these two games at MSG gonna be fun AF.

With all this great basketball going on, I forgot to mention there’s a great world chess championship match going on. There were three wins in the first five games. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a bet down and would have bet Nepo. He’s ahead so far, but this one is far from over.

It’s fortunate we are getting a few days off. That will give Randle more time to get his wind and legs back to 100%. We need him to get to the next level to come away from Cleveland up 2-0. If we win game two, MSG is going to be insane for game three.

I can’t see Thibs pulling RJ from the starting lineup, but if we don’t get a minutes reduction in favor of various combinations Hart, Grimes and Quick someone in the press should start hassling him.

I’ve seen that movie maybe 15 times and I didn’t even remember that they were playing the Kings in the finals until you mentioned it.

***if we don’t get a minutes reduction in favor of various combinations Hart, Grimes and Quick someone in the press should start hassling him.***

He reduced his minutes. He averaged 34 mins per game and played 31. And taking him out coincided with stopping the Cavs run, didn’t it? So didn’t the coach make a the good move that you want him to already?

I’ve seen that movie maybe 15 times and I didn’t even remember that they were playing the Kings in the finals until you mentioned it.

The best part about it is that the Webber was hurt the game that the Kings played at the Garden that year (that was filmed for the movie), so Lawrence Funderburke was way more involved in the NBA Finals than anyone could ever imagine!

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How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, silly Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy from 2003, but an inoffensive one. They’re both big Knick fans in the movie, and one of the plot points is that she’s trying to get him to dump her and he’s trying to prove he can woo her, so they’re both pretending not to care about the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Kings (her to drive him nuts, because he’s a Knicks fan and she figures he’ll dump her so that he can watch the finals, as she needs him to be the one who breaks up with her, and him to prove that he cares about her more than the Knicks, because he needs her to date him for some convoluted reason).

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