If Cleveland is truly a “Factory of Sadness,” the New York Knicks may be working overtime.
The Knicks face a recurring enemy on Saturday night, as they hit the road to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a weekend war. It marks the first time that the Knicks and Cavs have done battle since New York summarily swept the Cavs in last spring’s Eastern Conference Finals en route to the championship.
New York has been re-gaining its championship swagger since an 0-3 start. Wednesday’s win over the Chicago Bulls was its fourth in the past five games as the Knicks took a 135-105 decision that never dipped below a triple decade from the second period onward. Jalen Brunson scored 22 points in the first quarter alone (and 33 total) while the Knicks put up 84 before halftime to set a new franchise single-game record for most tallies in the first 24.
Cleveland is immediately back in action after posting an emphatic victory on Friday night, as they silenced the Philadelphia 76ers to the tune of a 119-95 triumph at Rocket Arena. Donovan Mitchell had 23 points to spoil yet another homecoming for all-time franchise face LeBron James. The Cavs had been swept in a home-and-home series against the Oklahoma City Thunder immediately beforehand.
This will be the first of four meetings between the Knicks and Cavs this season. The latest edition of this budding Eastern Conference rivalry, brought about by the Knicks’ failure to obtain the Empire State native Mitchell in 2022, will be completed by Christmas and the Cavs will be in Manhattan on Wednesday night.
The Knicks are more than likely at peace about missing out on Mitchell: the two sides have evenly split 14 subsequent regular season matchups since the 2022-23 season began but the Knicks have won each of the two postseason get-togethers in that span by a combined 8-1 margin. New York clinched the conference in Cleveland last time they visited, as a 19-point, 14-rebound double-double for Karl-Anthony Towns led the way in a 130-93 victory.
What To Know
Who: New York Knicks (4-4) @ Cleveland Cavaliers (5-4)
Where: Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
When: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV/DAZN
Wager: NYK —4.5 (o/u 223.5)
Keep An Eye On: Jordan Clarkson
While Mitchell is the face of the Knicks-Cavs “rivalry,” Clarkson is perhaps the most prominent bit of crossover representation in the proceedings. Cleveland was the second of four NBA stops for Clarkson, who partook in the Cavs’ run to the 2018 Finals.
Since the dreaded “DNP-CD” landed in front of his name on Oct. 27 against Detroit, Clarkson has channeled another famous Jordan by taking things personally: he’s shooting over 55% from the field in the last four games, including a scintillating 71% from three-point range.
In the 52-plus minutes that Clarkson has played in that span, the Knicks are plus-42 on the scoreboard, fifth-best among all bench players. The men ahead of him (including ex-Knick and current Los Angeles Laker Quentin Grimes) have all played at least 63. With Josh Hart set to miss his second consecutive game, Clarkson has a vital opportunity to add to those tallies on Saturday night.
Cav to Watch: Mario Hezonja
Engaged in the reverse Clarkson (having played 58 games for the dreary 2018-19 Knicks), Hezonja has made the most of his NBA re-entry after over a half-decade of professional overseas ball.
Ironically known for a rejection of James during his time in New York (one of the few bright spots of that aforementioned voyage of the damned), Hezonja is less than a rebound shy of an averaged double-double by putting up 11.8 points and 9.3 boards in the past four. Facing James’ latest Philadelphia endeavor on Friday, Hezonja put up 15 and 10 off the bench.
Hezonja has been a feel-good story but he’ll have to rise up to a larger occasion with Jarrett Allen missing another game. Considering the Cavs were brutally bullied by Towns when they got together last spring, Hezonja will have to serve as a difference in more ways than one.
They Said It
“I just always want to impact winning, and I always try to get every rebound possible for our team so we don’t give up any second-chance points or we give ourselves more chances at second-chance points on offense. Obviously, with [Mitchell Robinson] gone, I had to pick up the effort, especially the rebounding effort. When you have one of the greatest offensive rebounders the NBA has ever seen in Mitchell Robinson, it’s a team effort. I just want to do my part to help with rebounding.”—Towns on his strong start to the season (h/t Zach Braziller, New York Post)
“I continue to say it, it’s gonna be a dog fight in the East to get into a good spot … I’m trying to stress to our guys how important it is. It’s different this year. The East has raised its level. We’ve got to raise our level, if we want to put ourselves in a good position for the postseason. I’m so obsessed with the process, monitoring our processes, improving our processes, building our squad, getting to know our squad better. We’ve got four new guys in the rotation, not two, not one, four. It takes time. My job is to continue to evaluate, improve our processes, improve our systems and then get to know these guys a little better.”—Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson on the team’s up-and-down start (h/t Chris Assenheimer, The Chronicle-Telegram)
Prediction
The Knicks continue to create Cleveland frowns.
Wednesday’s win wouldn’t impress anyone on a hypothetical NBA playoff selection committee but the fact they took care of business in such emphatic fashion may be a sign that they’re finally shaking off the doldrums of their championship hangover. There’s a brilliant opportunity to do so against a Cavs that’s coming on a back-to-back but did just secure what’s by far its biggest win of this infant season.
There have been several sterling traditions established during the Brunson era. Taking advantage of opportunities and clobbering Cleveland have proved to be two of the most recurring instances.
