Two games into his return from December ankle surgery, Mitchell Robinson is out of the lineup for the Knicks with an injury to the same ankle.
Robinson suffered a sprained left ankle in Friday’s loss in San Antonio, and he has been ruled out for Sunday night’s game against the Thunder at the Garden.
Mitchell Robinson was out of the Knicks’ lineup again Sunday night. Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports Mitchell Robinson played 12 minutes against the Raptors on Wednesday. Getty Images
Julius Randle (shoulder) and OG Anunoby (elbow) remain out for the Knicks, although Alec Burks (shoulder) and Isaiah Hartenstein (wrist) were available.
All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (quad) was in the lineup for the Thunder.
Steph Curry looked defeated after Draymond Green was ejected less than four minutes into the Warriors’ win against the Magic on Wednesday.
Green received two technicals for yelling at referee Ray Acosta, which resulted in an automatic ejection for the veteran big man, and Curry appeared emotional while pulling his jersey over his face.
Green lost his cool after Acosta called a foul on Warriors swingman Andrew Wiggins — and Magic forward Paolo Banchero got the and-1 to tie the game 6-6.
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks upset during a game against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on March 27, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. Getty Images
Curry was standing next to Green while he was chirping at the official and seemed upset while on the court after Green got tossed.
Some fans thought Curry appeared to wipe tears from his eyes at one point.
Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors looks upset during a game against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on March 27, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. Getty Images
The 36-year-old future Hall of Famer just lost his four-time champion center on the second night of a back-to-back — Golden State beat the Heat, 113-92, on the road Tuesday — as the Warriors fight for a spot in the play-in tournament.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) talks to referee Ray Acosta (54) after a foul call in the first quarter at the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida on March 27, 2024. Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Prior to his ejection, cameras captured Green continuously following Acosta on the court while yelling at him.
Crew chief Mitchell Ervin called it a “prolonged diatribe” with “egregious profane language” in the pool report, according to The Athletic.
It’s unclear what was exactly said as Green did not speak to reporters after the game.
Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors argues with a referee before being ejected during a game against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on March 27, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. Getty ImagesPaolo Banchero #5 of the Orlando Magic drives to the basket on Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors during a game at Kia Center on March 27, 2024 in Orlando. Getty Images
It would make sense if Curry was frustrated because the Warriors are in a desperate position.
Green’s latest ejection came after he missed 16 games this season due to an indefinite suspension by the NBA for hitting Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Dec. 12.
The league said Green’s “repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts” was considered when determining the suspension.
Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors argues with a referee before being ejected during a game against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center on March 27, 2024 in Orlando, Florida. Getty Images
Separately, Green was suspended after stepping on the chest of Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis in the 2023 playoffs.
Green’s latest ejection also came after Warriors coach Steve Kerr said they can’t rely on Curry to play excessive minutes.
“He deserved it,” Kerr said of the incident.
Green was seen hugging Curry in the locker room after the game and posted about the Warriors’ win on social media.
“We don’t want to give ourselves self-inflicted wounds,” Curry said after the game. “We need him ‘so whatever it takes to keep him on the floor and be available.”
Great DUB!! Appreciate my dawgs holding it down! On to the next one! BOUNCE BACK!
The Lakers, who pursued him in free agency, are also among those interested in the 27-year-old small forward, according to Wojnarowski.
The Knicks were also interested in Brown, whose Raptors will be facing the Knicks at the Garden on Saturday night, as a free agent in the summer and pitched him on the idea.
A couple of months ago, Brown told The Post he spoke with Tom Thibodeau and Leon Rose via FaceTime chat and they “were saying to come in and be a defender, do the little things to help them win.”
Toronto Raptors forward Bruce Brown (11) is defended by Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) and guard Coby White (0) as he goes to the net during second-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. AP
Apparently Thibodeau is a longtime Brown enthusiast.
“Thibs has always been a fan of mine, even coming out the draft when he was with Minnesota,” said Brown, a second-round pick in 2018. “And every time I played against him we had a few communications. But this was the first time to actually get a chance to get me.”
In the end, the Knicks had no chance in free agency.
They only could offer the midlevel exception at about $12.4 million annually, and Brown took a two-year, $45 million offer from the Pacers (next season is a team option at $23 million).
A source said Brown was the Knicks’ second choice for their mid-level exception after Max Strus, who signed with the Cavaliers for more than New York could offer.
Brown previously said Tom Thibodeau is a fan of him. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Knicks pivoted to Donte DiVincenzo and that signing has worked out well for Rose.
Brown, an NBA champion last season with the Nuggets, was averaging 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game with the Pacers before the trade to Toronto.
He has a career 48.2 percent mark from the field, hitting 33.9 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point arc.
Brown scored 15 points in his first game with the Raptors, a 116-110 loss to the Bulls on Thursday night.
Bruce Brown reacts during the Raptors’ 116-110 loss to the Bulls. AP
He admitted to still becoming just familiar with his new surroundings.
“I didn’t know the plays,” Brown told reporters after the game, according to the Associated Press. “I was just trying to be in the right spots.”
The second-round pick of the Pistons in 2018 has some familiarity with New York, having played for the Nets from 2020-22.
OG Anunoby only took 12 shots in his Knicks debut Monday, but that was kind of the point, wasn’t it? Distributing the offense was part of the reason New York sacrificed 33 combined points per game in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to acquire Anunoby, who entered the afternoon with zero practice time and still fit the Knicks like sunglasses on Jack Nicholson.
It’s a personal pet peeve when a writer details new negative narratives about a player who just left, but this is something I’ve said many times previously about Barrett, while he still wore No. 9 in orange and blue:
The Canadian is not a facilitator, and therefore needs the ball to be effective.
He’s not athletic enough to be a great defender.
And his 3-point shot is subpar.
OG Anunoby made his Knicks debut Sunday following the trade with the Raptors. Charles Wenzelberg
Anunoby is essentially the opposite at small forward. He can’t create for himself off the dribble like Barrett, but the 26-year-old All-Defense selection spaces the floor because of a proficient 3-point shot. He knocked that down three times Monday in six attempts, including a momentum shifter with about nine minutes left in the fourth. The unclogged lane, courtesy of Anunoby’s long-distance threat, was important toward Knicks success, specifically for Julius Randle as he navigated the paint for a 39-point gem.
“Seems like the perfect piece that complements our team very well,” Randle said.
This was all off instincts from Anunoby. As he said postgame, “Read and react … that was everything, really.” A man of few words, Anunoby entered MSG with only a playbook to study from the night prior, when he celebrated New Year’s Eve by himself in a hotel room.
Then Anunoby logged 35 minutes with 17 points, producing the team’s best plus/minus (plus-19) while trusted by Tom Thibodeau to guard Minnesota’s budding superstar Anthony Edwards.
Not a bad debut.
“I thought the first game was impressive, just to be ready and figure it out on the fly,” Thibodeau said. “Played smart. … Played great defense. Hustled without the ball. Made big shots. Great start.
“It’s huge for us.”
Anunoby would’ve played more but fouled out with four minutes left to a Garden applause, getting his first taste of New York’s appreciation for a player who doesn’t have to light up the scoreboard to impact winning. The reaction wasn’t quite emphatic enough to declare it love at first sight, but the impression was certainly strong, much like Josh Hart’s last season.
OG Anunoby logged 35 minutes for the Knicks on Sunday and was trusted to guard Anthony Edwards. Charles Wenzelberg
And it’s just as easy to see the long-term match in the form of a lucrative new contract this summer. A lot can happen in the next six months, but we’re confident Anunoboy and the Knicks will reach an agreement.
Why?
Let’s just say the forward’s CAA agents, Andrew Morrison and Sam Rose, were seated with the Knicks front office for Monday’s game.
Sam, by the way, is Leon Rose’s son.
Wink, wink.
“I let my agents handle that stuff,” Anunoby said of his free agency.
OG Anunoby could end up being a long-term match with the Knicks after this season. Charles Wenzelberg
Keep in mind, while New Year’s Day was encouraging, this isn’t the trade. It better not be with Rose still hoarding all those draft picks.
That’s how Knicks faithful should consume the Anunoby deal, as difficult as it might be to stomach the departures of homegrown picks sent to the Raptors. The Knicks are better today but they’re not title contenders. There’s still the hardest part left for the front office, which is the acquisition of a superstar who could give the Knicks a real chance at breaking a 50-plus year championship drought. And since the landscape has changed in the NBA — with stars forgoing free agency by signing lucrative extensions — that’ll most likely have to arrive via trade.
We assume this is the greater plan from Rose. We assume but don’t know because the Knicks president never talks, at least not on the record, even on New Year’s Day after completing the biggest trade of his tenure.
Still, the play of his new acquisition spoke pretty loudly.
“I guess you can say OG’s a perfect fit,” Jalen Brunson said.
As the calendar flips and the Nets put 2023 behind them, they’re hoping to leave the struggles in the past as well.
But that’s going to take work.
And trust.
And more internal fortitude than they’ve been showing.
“Yeah, it’s really what we talked about the beginning of the year: Can we be a team that plays extremely hard every single night?” coach Jacque Vaughn said as his Nets prepare for Tuesday’s tilt with the Pelicans. “So, going back to some of the pillars that we talked about at the beginning of the year: Being physical and connected and versatile as a group, and enjoying what we do for a living.
Jacque Vaughn said the Nets need to return to some of the “pillars” they discussed at the beginning of the season. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
“So that’s the challenge for our group to hopefully finish the year this way, and with that message and then go into the new year.”
The Nets limped into New Orleans and the new year losers of eight of their last 10.
“Just energy, getting to the ball, maybe picking up full court some. It’s on everybody; it’s on me too. Just being locked in, being there for your teammates,” Nic Claxton said.
“We just can’t get used to losing. Need to figure out solutions and figure out ways to fix it.”
It clearly needs fixing.
Their defensive rating (122.7) and net rating (minus-9.3) are both fourth-worst in the league over that span.
It’s a damning indictment that those numbers aren’t a shock anymore, that end of the court being a season-long issue.
But in this extended funk, they’re next-to-last in both effective field-goal percentage (.505) and true shooting (.540).
“We can’t give up 120-plus points every game, and we’ve just got to figure out a way offensively to attack the rim more,” Claxton said. “I don’t know; I guess we’ve just got to hit shots and then get stops.”
Center Nic Claxton said the Nets can’t “get used to losing” despite their recent skid. AP
So both ends are a mess right now.
Sunday’s loss at OKC actually saw the Nets share the ball and get the shot profile they wanted, but miss good look after good look, 12 of 46 from behind the arc.
League average for left corner 3s is .392.
The Nets made just 1 of 8.
Average from the right corner is .394; yet they were somehow even worse at 1 of 9.
But more troubling is the Nets have started letting bad fortune on offense turn into bad form on defense. It’s a mental frailty they can ill afford.
“We’ve got to do what we’re supposed to do; just follow the game plan, follow our defense. We just have lapses in what we’re supposed to do,” said Mikal Bridges, who went 0 of 5 on corner 3s on Sunday. “We’ve just got to help each other when one person messes up. But it’s tough. We’ve just got to all be five guys out there on a string defensively, and knowing where to be at all times.”
The Nets have struggled with defensive issues, but their offensive numbers haven’t been impressive, either. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
All too often lately, they’ve let go of the rope.
Or seen it snap altogether.
“[The key] is just staying constant, still trusting the process, trusting each other,” said Cam Thomas. “[Sunday] we had good looks, good offense, the ball was moving: We just weren’t making shots. … Defensively, we’re still growing in that aspect, still figuring out what works for our team.”
Talk quietly with players and the word ‘trust’ keeps coming up.
It’s an area they desperately need to grow in.
“A lot obviously. A lot,” Thomas said. “Obviously everybody feels like if nobody has your back on a rotation then we’re not going to help as much. That’s with anybody. So obviously that’s a part of it we can still grow.
“But I’d say not getting down when teams go on runs, that’s the main thing. It’s the NBA; everybody goes on runs. But we can’t get down, start putting our heads down just because a team goes on an 8-0, 10-0 run. Whether coach calls a timeout or not, just push the ball and get a good shot up, make or miss. Just keep playing, because the tables will turn. It’s a basketball game. Everybody has a run, so we’ve just got to stay focused and not get down when teams go on runs.”
Dorian Finney-Smith was added to the Nets’ injury list, probable with left knee soreness.
Ben Simmons (left lower back — nerve impingement) and Lonnie Walker IV (left hamstring strain) are both still out.
“He’s one of the few people who, I guess, is not scared,” Randle said.
Randle, a physical force, has known this for a while since he and Portis have faced off “my whole life” as power forwards in the same high school class from the South.
Still, Randle tried to trash-talk his longtime rival in the second quarter of Saturday’s Knicks-Bucks matchup — when the Knicks All-Star converted an and-one and proceeded to flex his chest — which only seemed to activate Portis.
From that moment, Portis scored 19 of his 23 points — displaying his usual boisterousness while yelling at Randle and celebrating wildly — as the Bucks rolled to a 130-111 victory.
Portis, who has been on a tear for a couple weeks, is pumped for the Knicks rematch on Christmas afternoon.
“It’s one of those things on a yearly basis, you watch all your favorites — the Kobe Bryants of the world, the Kevin Garnetts of the world, the LeBron James of the world,” Portis said. “And to be able to play on Christmas at the Garden, the Mecca of basketball, I’m excited.”
Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) looks to drive past New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) in the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Randle, a physical force, also played well offensively Saturday while scoring 26 points but was killed on the glass.
He and Portis were teammates in New York for a season after both were signed during the 2019 free agency.
It was a poor fit because they played the same position and Portis later labeled it “the most miserable season of my career.”
Now they’re back to being friendly rivals.
Julius Randle (30) drives to the basket as he is double teamed by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the fourth quarter. Robert Sabo for NY Post
“We’ve been doing it for a while,” Randle said. “But it’s always fun.”
With greater minutes comes greater responsibility.
With injuries decimating the center rotation, Isaiah Hartenstein went from backup to indispensable and it killed the Knicks in Saturday’s loss to the Bucks.
Hartenstein managed just two minutes before committing his second foul and being removed for Taj Gibson.
The Knicks trailed by nine when Hartenstein returned in the second quarter and never recovered.
“That’s just something I can’t do, especially given the situation we’re in right now,” Hartenstein said. “Before when we had [Mitchell Robinson], we had the luxury of: if one guy was not doing good, or if one guy was in foul trouble, I don’t think there was any drop-off at all. So I feel like especially in a situation where Taj is coming back trying to get his feet under him, I can’t do that. I think I put us in a bad situation, especially against a team like that, where even when I come back, it’s kinda hard to get the lead back. So for the future, I’ve just gotta be better in that situation, and I will be better in that situation.”
It’s unclear how long this will last. Jericho Sims, who sprained his ankle, is expected to return in about a week — maybe longer — but Hartenstein would still get the majority of minutes. Robinson is out for an extended period, perhaps until the end of the season.
New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) argue with an official in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Unless team president Leon Rose awakens and completes a trade, Hartenstein, who is bloodied in almost every game these days (he got stitches in his lip from an elbow last week against the Nets), can’t get in foul trouble.
“We played out of a hole from the start of the game,” Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought we got behind when Isaiah got into foul trouble to start and then it snowballed from there.”
The Knicks are playing their 56th game on Christmas, the most in the NBA after competing in the league’s first Xmas contest in 1947.
They’re 23-32 all-time on the holiday, with their last victory in 2021 against the Hawks (when Kemba Walker produced a triple-double).
As he struggled through the opening week-plus of the season, Julius Randle had been battling through ankle pain and, as a player committed to availability, resisted attempts from the Knicks to get him to rest, multiple sources told The Post.
Randle, who underwent arthroscopic ankle surgery in the offseason, was operating at about “70 percent,” a source said.
And through the opening six games — while limited by that pain — Randle was among the league’s least efficient players with a notable drop-off in his explosiveness.
Part of the reason Randle’s production has increased recently, sources said, is that his ankle is feeling better.
In the last two games — both victories for the Knicks — Randle averaged 25 points while shooting 43%.
It was well above his season averages of 16.5 points at 31.6%.
Randle, 28, has shunned load management and is among the league leaders in total minutes over the last three seasons.
Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) passes as Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama (1) tries to block on Nov. 8, 2023.Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
“He’s too proud to sit,” a source said.
Publicly, Randle has refused to use the ankle as an excuse for his struggles, even after two sprains left him ineffective in the playoffs.
“I have my own science,” Randle said last season about load management. “I just put way too much into my body, for me personally to cheat myself out of being available for my team.”
Julius Randle talks to head coach Tom Thibodeau during the Knicks’ win over the Spurs on Nov. 8, 2023.Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post
There will be more time for Randle to heal.
Counting Thursday, the Knicks will have had a rare three days off before Sunday’s matinee against the Hornets.
Josh Hart had been waiting to unveil some new attire.
But it might be a one-time outfit.
Before and after the Knicks’ 101-97 win over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series on Saturday, Hart donned a t-shirt with teammate Jalen Brunson’s face on it.
It featured a portrait of Brunson on Slam Magazine’s cover from the basketball outlet’s March 30 issue.
“I told him, he was on the cover of Slam a couple of weeks ago, so I bought a shirt,” Hart told reporters after the game when asked about the shirt. “I told him I was gonna wear it at some point.”
Although he rebounded from a poor start to finish with a team-high 27 points, the shirt didn’t didn’t have the desired effect for Hart.
Brunson got into early foul trouble, picking up two quick fouls in the first quarter before getting whistled for his third foul just minutes into the second quarter.
It forced Brunson onto the bench for longer than would be ideal.
Josh Hart (l.) dons a shirt with Jalen Brunson’s face on it while sitting next to him following the Knicks’ Game 1 win over the Cavaliers on April 15, 2023.MSG Network Jalen Brunson (l.) high-fives Josh Hart during the Knicks’ Game 1 win over the Cavaliers on April 15. Charles Wenzelberg / NY Post
“He gets in foul trouble the day I wear it so I’m gonna go burn it and never wear it again,” Hart added jokingly.
Sitting next to Hart, whom he was collegiate teammates with at Villanova, Brunson was asked if the shirt embarrassed him at all.
Most importantly, with the Knicks trailing 93-92 with just under two minutes left to play, Hart drilled a critical 3-pointer to give the team a 95-93 lead.
The Knicks never trailed the rest of the way.
Josh Hart enters the arena wearing a Jalen Brunson shirt before the Knicks’ Game 1 win over the Cavaliers on April 15. Screengrab
“He plays to win,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after the game. “There’s no other agenda other than winning.”
Zion Williamson and the Pelicans appear to be at a crossroads.
Williamson played in just 29 games this season after missing all of last year, as questions have lingered about if he’s doing everything possible with his conditioning to stay on the court.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin did not have a specific answer when asked what would need to happen for Williamson to be available more frequently, but he did put some of the onus on the former No. 1 overall pick.
“I wish I could immediately pinpoint the answer. I think a big part is on him,” Griffin said, according to ESPN.
“I think there is a lot he can do better. And he would, I think, tell you that. I think we need to do a better job examining the whole situation top to bottom a little bit better.
“I think putting him in the best position to succeed is important. And I think his participation is a big part of that.”
Earlier this week, Williamson, 22, made the bizarre decision to throw down authoritative dunks in warmups before the Pelicans lost to the Thunder in the NBA play-in tournament, and after raising eyebrows when he said that he was physically fine.
Zion Williamson played in just 29 games this season after missing all of last year.NBAE via Getty Images
Griffin said that this situation wasn’t indicative of the idea that Williamson could have been cleared to play by now.
“He came up here the other day and said ‘physically, I’m fine.’ ‘Physically I’m fine’ means ‘I’m not currently injured,’” Griffin said.
“He wasn’t physically cleared to play basketball. He was playing one-on-none. He went up and windmill-dunked pregame.
“That’s not the skill set that makes you capable of playing 5-on-5 basketball. So for people to now say, ‘He chose not to play basketball,’ that’s nonsense. That’s not factual. But that’s a way more interesting story than he chose not to play basketball. That’s the truth.”
The Pelicans lost both of their games in the play-in tournament and were officially eliminated from the postseason with a 123-118 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday night that would have earned them the No. 8 seed.
Williamson averaged 27.0 points and seven rebounds this season.
Pelicans vice president of basketball operations David Griffin told reporters that part of Zion Williamson’s health struggles have been ‘on him.’NBAE via Getty Images
Speaking on ESPN earlier this week, Stephen A. Smith called on Williamson to take it upon himself to be on the court more often going forward.
“He’s gotta find a way to get back on the court. Period,” Smith said. “Because it’s starting to look very bad and it’s raising suspicions everywhere.”
The Knicks are back in the playoffs and back in the 4-vs.-5 opening-round series as the lower seed two years after they were the fourth seed in their unexpected 2020-21 appearance in Tom Thibodeau’s first season as their head coach.
In his first career postseason experience in that opening-round series two years ago, All-Star forward Julius Randle was swarmed and flustered by the Hawks in an eye-opening five-game elimination.
His supporting cast is far better this time around, however, with the additions of Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, the health of Mitchell Robinson, the experience gained by RJ Barrett and others, and the internal improvement and impact of homegrown players such as Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes.
The Post’s Peter Botte breaks down the key matchups that will decide whether the Knicks can get by former trade target Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers — and advance to the second round for the first time since 2013:
Knicks’ 3-point shooting vs. Cavaliers’ 3-point defense
The Cavaliers were the top team in the league this year in overall defensive rating and fewest points allowed per game (106.9), but opponents shot 36.8 percent on 3-point attempts against them, which ranked 23rd overall.
The Knicks upped their volume of 3-point tries to eighth in the league, and they connected on nearly half (17-for-36) of their long-range shots in their win at Cleveland two weeks ago, including seven makes by Jalen Brunson in a 48-point eruption.
BrJalen Brunson drives down the court during a recent game against the Wizards.Noah K. Murray / NY Post
Isaac Okoro, the Cavaliers’ best perimeter defender, could be a difference maker if he returns from a sore left knee to play for the first time since March 26.
Edge: Even
Cavaliers’ 3-points shooting vs. Knicks’ 3-point defense
Expanded roles for Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley — and to a lesser degree, Deuce McBride — helped the Knicks bounce back from a few disastrous early efforts guarding the 3-point arc, and they finished the season a respectable 12th in the league in that category.
The Cavaliers’ highest volume outside shooters are Donovan Mitchell (9.3 attempts per game), Darius Garland (6.0) and Caris LeVert (4.4), and they shot 36.7 percent as a team.
Edge: Cavaliers
Donovan Mitchell, shooting a jumper over the Nets’ Mikal Bridges during a recent game, is one of the Cavaliers’ top 3-point shooters.Getty Images
Rebounding
Mitchell Robinson led the NBA in offensive rebounding among qualifying players with 4.5 per appearance, and Julius Randle’s 10.0 boards per game overall helped the Knicks finish tied for second on the glass with an average of 46.6 per game.
The midseason addition of Josh Hart also added 7.0 per game off the bench.
Cleveland starts dual 6-foot-11 bigs Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, but finished 25th in rebounding, with 41.1 on average.
Edge: Knicks
Drawing fouls and shooting free throws
The Knicks attempted the third-most freebies in the league (25.5), with Randle, Brunson and RJ Barrett all above five tries per game.
They connected on just 75.5 percent, though, good for 22nd in the league, with even Quickley slipping to 82 percent after hitting 88.5 percent from the stripe his first two seasons.
Mitchell and Garland average around 10 attempts between them, while shooting a combined 86.5 percent.
Edge: Cavaliers
Knicks’ ability to get paint points vs. Cavaliers’ interior defense
Led largely by Robinson’s offensive rebounding, the Knicks’ 16.2 second-chance points per game ranked third in the league, although they finished in the middle of the pack (15th) in paint points.
Barrett is at his best when he’s attacking the rim, and Brunson and Quickley have proven able to score near the rim with floaters and short jumpers.
Mitchell Robinson pulls a down a rebound away from the Wizards’ Daniel Gafford during a recent game.Noah K. Murray / NY Post
Mobley (1.5) and Allen (1.2) both blocked more than one shot per appearance.
Edge: Even
Cavaliers’ ability to get paint points vs. Knicks’ interior defense
The Knicks missed Robinson’s inside presence when he was sidelined for several weeks following January thumb surgery, and he finished sixth in the league with 1.8 blocks per game.
Backup center Isaiah Hartenstein also has contributed defensively in the second half.
The Cavaliers were a few notches above the Knicks (12th) in paint points with 52.7 per game.
Edge: Knicks
In transition
The Knicks tied for 25th in steals with just 6.4 per game, and they were 15th again in transition points. Mitchell noted recently that the Knicks seemed to play “faster” and less in half-court sets with Randle replaced by Obi Toppin in the lineup late in the season. Hart also likes to push the ball whenever in the game. The Cavaliers were 24th in the league in transition points with just fewer than 20 per game.
Edge: Knicks
Depth/bench
Much of this category for the Knicks depends on Randle’s availability, but their four-man second-unit — largely Quickley, a viable Sixth Man candidate, and most recently, Toppin — have filled in effectively all season.
Hart’s arrival in February gave them versatile dimensions they didn’t have previously, and Hartenstein has improved as the season has gone on.
Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, going up for a shot during a recent game against the Wizards, is a viable Sixth Man of the Year candidate.NBAE via Getty Images
Cleveland’s primary depth players — namely Okoro, LeVert and Cedi Osman — also are solid contributors.
Edge: Knicks
Coaching
Clearly, factions of fans believe Tom Thibodeau is too stubborn with his rotations and heavy minutes, but his decision to bench high-priced veterans Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose and since-traded Cam Reddish in November and December resulted in a 37-22 finish to secure his second playoff berth in three seasons.
Cleveland’s J.B. Bickerstaff has taken a 22-win team in 2021 to 44 and 51 wins the past two seasons.
Edge: Even
Intangibles
The Cavaliers boast the player the Knicks failed to obtain last summer in the 26-year-old Mitchell, the Westchester County product who said of motivation to face his hometown team that he “wouldn’t want it any other way.”
The Knicks need the Garden to rock like the 1990s. They also will need to grab at least one win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to advance, and their 24-17 road mark was their best record away from MSG since 1996-97.
Edge: Knicks
Predictions
Peter Botte
Win or lose, the deeper Knicks will be far more competitive than they were against the Hawks two years ago.
As long as Julius Randle is back alongside Jalen Brunson by Game 2, the Knicks’ road success this season will help them win the one or two they’ll need in Cleveland to advance.
Knicks in 7
Zach Braziller
A healthy Randle would’ve changed this, perhaps enabling the Knicks to steal one of the first two games in Cleveland. But he won’t be himself early in this series, and the Knicks will be fighting an uphill battle the entire way.
The best player — Donovan Mitchell — is the difference in a memorable seven-game battle.
Cavaliers in 7
Mike Vaccaro
If the Knicks were 100 percent healthy, this pick would be Knicks in six.
But since their two best players, Brunson and Randle, will both be various stages of hobbled, it’s hard to see how they can squeeze out four wins.
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