CLEVELAND, Ohio – Can they do it again?
That’s the only question about the Cavs after they were crushed 109-93 by the Knicks in New York Thursday.
The Cavs are down 0-2 in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals. The stats say that the team with a 2-0 lead wins the series 84% of the time.
But the Cavs have been there before, as in a week ago.
They opened the second round of the playoffs by losing the first two games to Detroit. They came back to win that series in seven games.
Yes, the Cavs beat the odds.
Now, it’s the New York Knicks, who have won their last nine playoff games.
The Cavs are at home for the next two games, the same floor where they have a 6-1 record in the playoffs.
But these Knicks are not the young Detroit Pistons. As for the Cavs, they have turned into the Gang That Can’t Shoot straight.
Jalen Brunson tormented the Cavs with his 14 assists. AP Photo/Seth Wenig
What happened in Game 2?
I can tell you that the Cavs lost Game 2 because they changed their defense to help shut down Jalen Brunson. If the Cavs were going to give James Harden help on defense, they had to leave someone open. That someone was Josh Hart.
In the playoffs, Hart was shooting 27% (12-for-45) from 3-point range in the playoffs. Hart shattered that strategy, shooting 5-for-11 on 3-pointers enroute to a 26-point night.
You can say, “That was a bad idea. Hart made a career-high 41% from 3-point range in the regular season.” That’s true. But you have to pick someone, and Hart delivered.
I have no criticism of this strategy. I was tired of watching Brunson slice up the Cleveland defense.
Brunson did finish with 19 points – half of what he scored in New York’s Game 1 victory over the Cavs.
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For most of the game, the Cavs turned Brunson into a passer – and the man can pass. He had 14 assists and three turnovers. He scored 12 points in the final period to ensure the Cavs would not come back.
“When you are talking about Jalen Brunson, you are talking about a potential MVP in the league,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said before the game.
The Cavs are now down 0-2 to New York in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoffs. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura
What else went wrong?
Unlike some of their other playoff losses, you can’t blame this one on turnovers or James Harden.
The Cavs committed only eight turnovers, leading to 13 New York points. Nothing drastic there.
Harden had two assists and no turnovers as he scored 18 points. He also snared six rebounds. It was a solid performance.
So what happened?
You can look at the box score and say, “The Cavs couldn’t shoot straight, especially on 3-pointers.”
That’s what doomed the Cavs.
They couldn’t score 100 points.
They were 5-for-10 from 3-point range in the first quarter. For the rest of the game, they made 4-for-25 from long range. Usually reliable 3-point shooter Sam Merrill was zip-for-7.
“Coming into the series, we knew we had to make 3s (3-pointers),” said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson.
Shooting?
How about making some free throws?
The Cavs were 22-for-32 at the foul line.
Donovan Mitchell had 26 points and was 8-for-9 at the foul line. As for the rest of the team, they were 14-for-23.
The Cavs just gave away points by assaulting the rim with poor free throw shooting.
Before the game, Atkinson told some members of the media: “In the playoffs, you live between misery and awesomeness … our guys are so positive. We’ve been through a lot in this postseason – adversity, tough losses. It’s a supportive group. They (the players) don’t play the emotional roller coaster game.”
That will be tested now when the two teams take the court at Rocket Arena Saturday night.
