Live Thread: Cavs @ Knicks, Game 3 NBA Playoffs

Good evening CtB!

The Cavs have ventured to Midtown Manhattan to take on the New York Knicks for game three of the 2023 NBA Playoffs at the historic Madison Square Garden. The Cavs are riding high off of a game two beatdown of the Knicks that saw them adjust and respond well after game one’s embarrassing offensive performance. In game two, Coach J.B. Bickerstaff left Isaac Okoro, Ricky Rubio, and Dean Wade parked on the bench as he let Caris LeVert cook at the combo guard spot and unleashed NBA Champion Danny Green off the bench. The result was damn near perfection on both ends of the court as the Cavs held the Knicks to sub-40% shooting, outrebounded the Knicks 43-36, out-assisted the Knicks 26-16, and nearly put up the magical 50/40/90 shooting splits. The performance was so good that question began anew about whether to make a change to tonight’s starting lineup given Okoro’s obvious inability to make Jalen Brunson pay for hiding on the defensive end. Even one of Okoro’s biggest cheerleaders in cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor has questions about the starting Okoro at this point:

Earlier this season, one #Cavs coach referred to a 5-man group as Cleveland’s death lineup. Darius Garland. Donovan Mitchell. Caris LeVert. Evan Mobley. Jarrett Allen. With how LeVert played in Game 2, is it time to make that the starting lineup again?https://t.co/mZRr7yYpMK

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) April 21, 2023

For yours truly, the answer is obvious that Okoro should be relegated to bench duty but the question becomes, who should start? Personally any one of Caris LeVert, Cedi Osman, or Danny Green would be acceptable answers to that question, and I still wouldn’t count out Dean Wade from that equation either in spite of his horrible start to the playoffs. The bottom line is, this the NBA playoffs, every possession matters and there’s literally zero reason why Jalen Brunson should be afforded the luxury of relaxing on the defensive end at the expense of the Cavs’ offense. J.B. needs to be ruthless and remorseless for 48 minutes, which means making the Knicks pay for every moment Brunson’s on the court. Here’s some eye-popping stats that bring home the point:

It’s clear what’s lost when Okoro’s on the floor with the starters: rebounding, scoring, and ball movement… all three of which cost the Cavs game one. Yes the defense was excellent, and I have no problem seeing that lineup in spots where it’s needed, but Caris LeVert’s defense was much better still. I’d much rather see Okoro and Cedi Osman as a tandem off the bench that can compensate for each other’s weaknesses, apropos:

Osman and Okoro make for a deadly two man combination off the bench, why it hasn’t been used more is anyone’s guess. Just for fun, let’s throw Dean Wade into the equation and see what happens…

Hmm… what’s this? Osman, Okoro, and Wade are an elite three man grouping? It’s a shame this wasn’t explored more during the regular season.

It’s funny to talk to non-Cavs fans about Isaac Okoro during the regular season and these playoffs, because they universally see the obvious: To this point, Isaac Okoro is not a good NBA player and holds the team back from its full potential. Yet this obvious truth escapes many in Cavs media, fandom, and even the organization itself. Okoro has had three full seasons to show what he’s capable of, and right now he’s a rotation player on a good team, but not a worthy starter. And should the Cavs be good enough to go deeper into these playoffs, Okoro’s weakness in the starting lineup will become even more stark. No player was affected more than Evan Mobley, who’s offense took a leap from game one to game two:

With Randle trapping PnRs, this forced Mobley to attack out of the short roll where he really struggled. Notice how far Hart is able to help off Okoro, forcing Mobley to drive left and into Hartenstein. Knicks did a great job of shrinking the floor pic.twitter.com/4y4RdJyeaO

— Ariel (@APachecoNBA) April 16, 2023

Another short roll opportunity for Mobley and he kicks out to Okoro who puts the ball on the floor and misses over Brunson. Knicks will take this every time and something to watch for as the series goes on pic.twitter.com/FKbGmicZxx

— Ariel (@APachecoNBA) April 16, 2023

What will J.B. do? He said to Fedor in yesterday’s press scrum that he doesn’t plan on making a change, however Bickerstaff also gave Fedor a laughing smirk, the kind a coach gives when they don’t want to divulge any information that might help an opponent… so stay tuned!

PUT THIS ON A LOOP IN THE CAVS’ LOCKER ROOM

LETS. GO. CAVS. pic.twitter.com/54b3vQE92Z

— (@RizzMobley) April 21, 2023

Tip off is scheduled for 8:30PM Eastern time and will be broadcast live nationally on ABC, Go Cavs!