“I think, for myself, for us as a group, you needed that.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been hearing about the New York Knicks series for nearly two years now and understandably so. It’s difficult to break first impressions. You couldn’t have asked for a worse one on the national stage for this core.
At the same time, it’s something the Cavaliers keep bringing up themselves. Their cathartic, one-sided victory on Friday probably won’t do much to change that.
“They remember,” said head coach Kenny Atkinson when asked about that playoff series before Friday’s win over New York. “I know our players remember. They talk about it and it’s one of those kind of challenges you got to get over.”
The Cavaliers fell apart in nearly every aspect of that series. It’s a feeling that they know and remember all too well even if they can view it in a different light now.
“I’m appreciative of it because it’s really helping us continue to be who we want to be,” said Donovan Mitchell about the 2023 series. “Because we can have something to fall back on and remember how s***** that felt to be honest.”
Mitchell’s shortcomings were part of the issues. He struggled with New York’s ball pressure, couldn’t consistently get to the rim, and wasn’t able to generate looks for others.
In many ways, his performance on Friday was the antithesis of what he did almost two years ago.
Mitchell played assertively at the start but didn’t dominate the ball in doing so. He trusted his teammates which allowed Evan Mobley to get off to the fantastic start he did as he poured in 10 points in the opening frame.
It’s easy to point to Mobley and Darius Garland’s offensive leap as the main reasons why the Cavs’ offense has dramatically transformed. That’s largely true. Although, that transformation doesn’t happen if their perennial All-Star guard doesn’t cede control.
“I think sometimes Donovan gets overlooked,” said Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau before the game when asked what has made Cleveland’s offense so effective. “I think what probably gets lost is what Donovan has done. He probably sacrificed a little bit so everyone else can grow. And so they’re a diversified offense.”
The second quarter was about giving a reminder of how good Mitchell can be when he does take control.
Seventeen of Mitchell’s 27 points came in the second stanza. He was getting anywhere he wanted to on the court which included putting the game out of reach with three triples in the final two minutes to push the lead to 27 at the break.
“For me, it was leave no room for, you know, any glimpse of life,” Mitchell said about his second-quarter run. “We both played last night. We’re both obviously fatigued and whatnot. They went to overtime and all that. So trying to find ways to kind of, you know, send that message, like, look, we’re here.”
The Knicks certainly got the message as the Cavs extended their lead up to 42 in the fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers may never be able to truly enact revenge on the Knicks. And honestly, that’s not what’s important. The takeaway from that series wasn’t that New York was an unsolvable problem for this group. It was that the Cavaliers weren’t ready for the moment and the Knicks were there to reap the benefit.
That loss was a necessary detour on the road to where the Cavs want to go. The next step will be showing that these lessons can translate over multiple rounds of the playoffs.
In the meantime, Mitchell at least is thankful that they were able to go through those struggles. Neither he nor this team would be in the position they’re in now without those tough moments.
“I don’t want to say that [the series is still bothering us] just because I’m appreciative of it,” Mitchell said. “I will look at it like that. I think, for myself, for us as a group, you needed that.
“You don’t see us get to this point [without it]. You don’t see the hunger in Darius Garland. I mean, you see it, but you don’t see the chip on his shoulder. Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, myself, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, if we don’t, quite frankly, get embarrassed by New York, you know?
“I think those experiences are humbling. Those experiences are needed. I don’t think we look at it as like, ‘Man, we need to kick their ass because they beat us.’ I think for us, it’s more like, I mean, at least I look at it as, like, I’m appreciative. It sucks to lose, you know, I mean, and the moment, I probably wouldn’t say, ‘Oh I’m appreciative we lost.’ … Now you look at where we’ve all grown as a unit because of that, you’re definitely appreciative of it.”