3 things the Cleveland Cavaliers will have to do to win Game 2
By Chad Porto
The Cleveland Cavaliers have got to play better against the New York Knicks
The Cleveland Cavaliers fell short in their game one loss to the New York Knicks, thanks in part to a bad shooting night from the Cavs. Specifically, Evan Mobley, Isaak Okoro, and Caris LeVert. The three men combined to shoot 6-26 on the day, which comes out to a shooting percentage of just 23%.
It forced Donovan Mitchell to try and win the game on his own, as he went 14-30, for 38 points, 8 assists, and five rebounds. Frankly put, the Cavs can’t rely on Mitchell to do everyone on his own, especially when you have Darius Garland, who is supposedly an All-Star.
While Garland shot well, he only scored 17 points, played some pretty tepid defense (though he did get a few steals), and didn’t really impact the game in any other way. The Cavs’ offense slammed shut in the half-court and it was evident they were flustered offensively. As the primary point guard on the team, that’s on him.
The Knicks struggled as well and shot the ball even worse than the Cavs, so it’s not like they’re better than the team, they just executed better. The Cavs had a team split of .434/.323/.714 while the Knicks had splits of .420/.276/.864.
The Knicks and Cavs differed significantly from the free-throw line but had nearly the same attempts. The Knicks hit 19-22 (86.4%) and the Cavs hit 15-2 (71.4%). That’s the difference in the game right there.
The Knicks are beatable but how can the Cavs top them in Game 2 and even up the series?