What is the painful truth about the Cavs that was exposed in the playoffs? – Terry Pluto
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – We can talk about how the Cavaliers are a young team. That showed up as they were eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Knicks Wednesday night.
We can talk about how veteran Donovan Mitchell didn’t have anything close to the postseason the Cavs had a right to expect. He came to the Cavs having played in 39 career playoff games, averaging 28 points. Mitchell averaged 23 points in this series.
We can talk about how coach J.B. Bickerstaff spent the five games searching for the right rotations and some type of discernible offense. These playoffs videos will be agonizing and revealing for him to watch if he’s willing to critique his own performance.
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We can talk about the Cavs needing more veterans to come off the bench. This series made a case for re-signing soon-to-be free agent Caris LeVert and adding others.
But here’s the most discouraging part of the playoffs for the Cavs, which was again highlighted in their 106-95 loss to the Knicks in Game 5 of this best-of-seven …
The Cavs are not as tough as they thought, physically and mentally.
OVER AND OVER, THE SAME STORY
The “Grit” and “Scrap” that Bickerstaff has preached since taking over in 2020 helped them win 51 regular season games and make the playoffs this season.
In this series, the Cavs were overwhelmed physically and emotionally by the far more gritty and scrappy Knicks. The Knicks are underrated, as their record is 21-10 since trading for Josh Hart during the season. Being knocked out of the playoffs by them isn’t a disgrace.
But the way the Cavs were out-worked, out-hustled and out-rebounded in four of five games in this series was alarming.
Take Mitchell Robinson …
In the name of Hot Rod Williams, the Cavs could use someone such as Mitchell Robinson, New York’s rebounding machine. He was the first Knick to have at least 10 offensive rebounds in a playoff game since Patrick Ewing.
He grabbed 18 rebounds in this game. The Cavs starting big men of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley combined for 13.
Or how about this? Add 6-foot-5 Josh Hart’s 12 rebounds, and he along with Robinson had as many rebounds as the entire Cavs team – 30.
Overall, the Knicks owned the boards, 48-30.
In their four losses, the Cavs were out-rebounded by an average of 12 per game.
FACING THE TRUTH
Allen is one of my favorite Cavs, but he was invisible in the final three games of this series. The 7-footer had 5-4-4 rebounds in those games. He was pushed around by Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein. They took the ball out of his hands. They intimidated him to the point where he’d get the ball 5 feet from the basket – and not shoot it.
Allen is 25 years old. This is his sixth NBA season. You’d expect 21-year-old Mobley to have some problems with the physical nature of these games – and he did. But he competed far more than Allen in this series.
Mitchell played hard in this game. He finished with 28 points. His seven rebounds was No. 2 on the team – Mobley had nine. But it was obvious Mitchell pressed in the two games at Madison Square Garden, which was a surprise given his playoff experience.
But the series showed the Cavs were not ready for playoff prime time vs. a team that holds the same tough-minded values Cleveland wants to develop.
In a home game facing elimination, you’d have expected the Cavs to come out strong. Instead, they were bullied on the boards (as usual) and the Knicks put 33 first quarter points on the scoreboard.
Yes, those 33 points were the most New York has scored in a quarter in this series. The Cavs chased New York all night, never able to catch them.
And so a good season ends on a very low note. I’m upbeat about this team and next year. But in the final moments of the game, the Knicks kept grabbing offensive rebound after offensive rebound. The frustrated fans began to boo, and you couldn’t blame them.
– You can find more Terry Pluto columns here.
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