Knicks Vs. Cavs. Get Your Popcorn Ready.
Seven months ago, if you had approached Hollywood scriptwriters with a plot-twist pitting New York vs. Cleveland in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, they would have laughed you out of the room...
Last night:
The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves,
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic,
The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics.
And as a result, the New York Knicks will head to Cleveland to take on the Cavs in Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference playoffs next weekend.
Take a step back for a second and think about how absurd that sentence is…
On September 1, 2022, the Cavs officially acquired Donovan Mitchell, forever altering the direction of three different franchises.
In his write-up on the massive blockbuster trade that sent Mitchell to Cleveland, the first team mentioned by ESPN senior reporter Adrian Wojnarowski wasn't the Cavs (Mitchell's new team) or the Jazz (Mitchell's old team), but rather the Knicks.
"After the New York Knicks temporarily walked away on talks Monday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers aggressively pursued and acquired three-time All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell in a trade with the Utah Jazz on Thursday, the team announced Saturday," wrote Wojnarowski.
Woj wasn't the only one. For the better part of six weeks last summer, the seemingly inevitable deal between New York and Utah dominated #KnicksTwitter, sports talk radio in NYC, the back pages of Gotham City tabloids, and this, here substack Newsletter.
The pros and cons were debated ad infinitum. Was Mitchell worth it? Was Leon Rose willing to part with both Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes and an obnoxious amount of draft capital to secure the services of the New York-born scorer? How much was too much?
Ultimately, Rose and company backed away, and the Cavs swooped in.
It's been seven months since the swap between Cleveland and Utah was consummated. Two hundred and sixteen days, to be exact.
The Cavs have to be happy with their monumental decision thus far. Mitchell has played at an All-NBA level during his first season in "The Land," averaging a career-high 28.3 points while shooting a career-best 48.4% from the field. With Tuesday's victory in Orlando, the Cavs secured the 4-seed and guaranteed themselves homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Cleveland's success was expected. After all, they traded Lauri Markkanen, Ochai Agbaji, Collin Sexton, three unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027 and 2029) and two pick swaps (2026 and 2028) for Mitchell. They pushed all their chips into the middle of the table, betting that Mitchell could help transform them into legit contenders.
On the other hand, the initial outlook wasn't nearly as bright in New York. Yes, they added Jalen Brunson, but he was their only significant off-season upgrade, and the team still had plenty of question marks up and down the roster. Most pundits predicted the Knicks would struggle to secure a spot in the play-in tournament. Sportsbooks in Vegas projected the Knicks to finish several games below .500 on the season.
As we know, New York would go on to exceed even the loftiest of expectations. Heading into the final three games of the regular season, the Knicks are 13 games above .500 at 46-33. They rank fifth in the NBA in Offensive Rating and eighth in Net Rating.
Brunson has been arguably the best free-agent signing in the history of the franchise. Julius Randle has, remarkably, bounced back from a troubling 2021-22 campaign to re-establish himself as an All-Star.
Two of the young assets Leon Rose decided to hold onto, IQ and Grimes, have emerged as budding/potential stars. Quickley, at just 23 years of age, will likely be named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year next month. Grimes is averaging 20.8 points (on 52.4% shooting), 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 4.8 made three-pointers over the Knicks' past six contests.
This unforgettable season has been extraordinarily unpredictable in so many ways for Knicks fans. The fact that it will culminate in a first-round matchup against Mitchell's Cavs is the unthinkably sweet cherry on top.
Seven months ago, if you had approached Hollywood scriptwriters with a plot-twist pitting New York vs. Cleveland in the first round of the 2023 playoffs, they would have laughed you out of the room. It's just too unbelievably delicious, too preposterous to conjure up.
Yet, somehow, someway, here we are.
They say sports are greater than any reality TV show. They may be right.
There are just so many enticing storylines to dig into. Brunson and Mitchell going head-to-head one year after JB embarrassed Donovan in what would be the final games he ever played for the Jazz... Grimes, the player that some scoffed at being considered "untouchable," will be asked to defend Mitchell in the most meaningful games of his career...
We could go on and on. And, beginning next week, when we start previewing/preparing for the first-round slugfest, we shall.
Yet, before we get there, the Knicks still have three more regular-season games remaining. New York will play the Pacers Wednesday night in Indiana. With the Knicks now locked into the five-spot (they can't move up or down in the standings), seeing how Thibs handles his rotation will be interesting.
Will he limit Brunson's minutes significantly Wednesday night? Will he sit him Friday or Sunday? Will IQ, Grimes, Hart, Robinson and/or Hartenstein also see their minutes reduced? Stay tuned…
Around the NBA:
🏀 Not only did the Knicks benefit from the Nets losing last night, but NY also got favorable results in two other contests: The Bulls lost to the Hawks, and the OKC Thunder lost to the Warriors.
How do these games impact New York? Well, they don't directly, but they do affect the Mavs. And, as we know, the Knicks get Dallas' first-round pick in June if it lands outside the top 10.
Earlier this week, there were rumblings that the Mavericks (who have lost seven of their last eight games) might shut down both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to increase their odds of holding onto their lottery selection. However, Doncic came out Tuesday and told reporters he would suit up as long as the Mavs are alive for the play-in tourney.
With OKC's defeat, Dallas is now just a half-game behind the Thunder. The Mavs host the Kings (who are locked into the three-seed) Wednesday night. OKC will travel to Utah on Thursday.
As of this morning, the Bulls (at 38-41) would have the 12th pick in the draft. The Mavs (at 37-42) would have the 10th pick.
On Friday, Dallas hosts Chicago in what could be a critical contest.
The best-case scenario for New York would be the Mavs winning Wednesday and OKC losing Thursday, which would make Dallas highly incentivized heading into Friday night. The Bulls clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament on Tuesday due to Orlando's loss vs. Cleveland.
🏀 It's worth noting that among the teams (Knicks, Mavs, Jazz) most directly impacted by the Mitchell trade, Utah has to be the least satisfied at the moment.
Sure, the Jazz got three unprotected first-rounders and two pick swaps in the deal, in addition to Lauri Markkanen (who has been incredible and will likely win the Most Improved Player award), Agbaji and Sexton. However, partly because Markkanen has played so well, and partly because Danny Ainge overvalued his other veteran assets (Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt) and held onto them for too long, the Jazz won 36 games this season.
It was fun early on when Utah was in the playoff picture, but now they find themselves in no man's land.
They won't qualify for even the play-in tournament and likely won't land a top lottery pick - the Jazz would enter the lottery with the ninth pick if the season ended today. Assuming they don't buck the odds and jump up into the top-4, that would certainly qualify as a disappointing year in Utah.
🏀 Lastly, just wanted to give you guys a heads up: To celebrate the Knicks clinching a postseason berth this season, I am offering 20% off all annual and monthly subscriptions to the "What's On Tap" Substack! If you joined me on the electrifying journey through the regular season, buckle up and prepare for the ride into the playoffs. And if you subscribe this month, you'll be automatically entered into a raffle to win a lot of seven Knicks rookie cards:
