The Cleveland Cavaliers have been here before. They were down 0-2 against the Detroit Pistons after two uninspiring performances on the road. Then, they rallied back to take the series after playing up to their skill level for four of the final five games.
Cleveland will need to do that again if they want to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals. However, coming back against the New York Knicks will be a much more difficult task.
The Cavs had a golden opportunity to take control of the series in Game 1, but couldn’t close out a 22-point advantage and lost in overtime. Game 2 didn’t feature the same kind of collapse, but once again a rough six-minute stretch is what cost them. New York scored 18 unanswered points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Poor outside shooting has done the Cavs in throughout the series. They’ve connected on just 29.4% (25-85) of their triples this series, despite getting clean looks. If they’re going to fight their way back, this will need to change.
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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (0-2) vs. New York Knicks (2-0)
Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
When: Sat., May 23 at 8 PM
TV: ABC
Point spread: Cavs -2.5
Cavs injury report: None
Knicks injury report: None
Cavs expected starting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Knicks expected starting lineup: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns
Previous matchup: The Cavaliers dropped Game 2 due to poor shooting.
Here’s a look at both teams’ regular-season impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.
|
Offensive Rating |
Defensive Rating |
Net Rating |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cavs |
118.9 (8th) |
115 (15th) |
+3.9 (9th) |
|
Knicks |
120.2 (4th) |
114.2 (10th) |
+6 (6th) |
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