Cleveland – The Knicks arrive and leave Cleveland on the same issue. Their defense is brutal against the NBA's best.
Tom Thibodeau's group was massacred Friday night by Kenny Atkinson's high-octane cavs.
The defeat dropped the Knicks 0-6 this season against the top three teams in the league, Cavs, Thunder and Celtics.
The problem was familiar and easy to find: defense. Former Knicks trade target Donovan Mitchell dissected the New York softshell, dropping 27 points in just 26 minutes in 15th and 10 minutes.
The Cavaliers scored 61% overall and 51% on 37 three-point attempts, building a 27-point lead at halftime.
It didn't matter that Knicks' top defender OG Anunoby returned from his five-game absence due to his leg being sprained.
After struggling on both ends, Anunoby finished with just five points in 27 minutes and looked like he had injured his leg again in the third quarter.
Even Thibodeau, reluctant to waving a white flag, quickly gave up by emptying the bench to start the fourth quarter.
If the Cavs looked very motivated, that's because it helped the Knicks create the monsters that ate them on Friday night.
Cleveland (46-10) emerged as the most positive and surprising startup with the NBA's best record, almost two years after being punished by the Knicks in the opening round of the playoffs.
And while Cavs are changing in certain regions, the rest of the impact of the 2023 Gentleman Sweep will remain, especially at the trade deadline with Atkinson and Deandre Hunter.
“It definitely humbled us,” Darius Garland said when asked from the post on the All-Star weekend. “But it's definitely a learning experience and you're seeing the product now. It definitely helped us a lot.”
Atkinson wasn't due to playoff embarrassment, but we know it's a lingering conversation between his players. .
“They remember. I'm sure our players remember. They'll talk about it,” the coach said. “It's not a playoff game [Friday night]but this is the team that took you. How do you play against them? Are you ready for them? ”
The Cavs were certainly ready to make it right.
They chased the Knicks to their dogs. The Knicks had missed Josh Hart for his second straight game with pain in his right knee.
New York's silver lining is a quick opportunity to change the story with a Sunday afternoon game in Boston.
But it can also further promote the idea that the Knicks will transform into a practice cone for the best team.
Especially when it resembles the defensive atrocities on Friday nights.
