Cavaliers 95, Knicks 93: "I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them."
The Knicks couldn’t complete a comeback in Cleveland, with free throw shooting and late game execution plaguing them in their loss in the second game of a back-to-back. Luckily, optimism abounds surrounding the team’s young players.
"I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them." -Andy Bernard
Originally projected top-5 in the lottery, a feel-good, surprising team making its way into the East’s playoff race behind a top-5 2019 draftee and an elite power forward?
Knicks fans know better than anyone outside Cleveland what an out-of-body experience this year must be like for Cavaliers fans, enjoying an exhilarating storybook season with zero expectations coming in.
The life of a Knicks fan, though, means the good old days must always expire — generally, expeditiously. New York and Cleveland have traded places this season, in both the wins and the vibes department.
Sadly, there would be no Clyde Frazier to bolster the vibe check this night, either.
On the anniversary of Carmelo Anthony’s 62-point record-breaking performance at Madison Square Garden, there would be no euphoria on this forgotten Monday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. What the night lacked in historic scoring explosions it more than made up for in blown leads, fake comebacks, and heads scratched vigorously enough for scalp soreness.
Of course, it would be a different tune, a different echoing around within the brain tonight if one, maybe two, possessions go differently. Such is the nature of basketball, and sports. If the Knicks finish with three more points, we’re talking about the number of times they stormed back into this game, generally on the back of Quentin Grimes.
New York has debatably squeezed more hope out of their past two 25th-overall draft picks than they did out of a decade in the lottery, following up Immanuel Quickley with Grimes this past offseason, creating a pair with parallels as impressive as they are eerie:
While Quickley struggled with his shot this night during a 1-10 performance — including a missed 35-footer with just over a minute to play — Grimes was a flamethrower, going 4-6 from deep. His threes came in bunches, including back-to-back treys at the end of the third quarter to single-handedly cut the deficit in half.
While his volume shooting has been encouraging, perhaps Grimes’ best skill has been his defense, which has ranged from solid to game-changing all season — more the latter of late. At 6-foot-4 with a 6-foot-8 wingspan, he has the frame of a small wing, but his on-ball top-of-the-key defense has flashed the lateral mobility, hustle, and smarts of an all-defensive point guard. This night, he cut off Darius Garland drive after Darius Garland drive, navigated Evan Mobley screen after Evan Mobley screen, and simply was a one-man wrecking crew at the point of attack, keeping New York’s defense afloat on a night it surrendered six threes to Kevin Love with late switches and poor pick-and-pop closeouts. Garland finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, but was 6-19 from the field and had six turnovers, while mostly defended by Grimes, who finished with a +21, the highest mark for a player on either team.
Thibs noticed it, too, and for all the backlash the coach takes — much of it deserved — over his dogmatic, vet-favored rotations, he closed the game with Grimes alongside Quickley in the backcourt, opting for the young guards in lieu of not only his starters (neither Kemba Walker nor Evan Fournier had the juice on either side of the ball tonight, a not-uncommon occurrence), but his security blanket in Alec Burks, who played only 18 minutes and only returned to throw the inbounds pass on the final play of the game.
About that inbounds pass — it’s hard to see what the plan was when the highest-leverage shot of night is a 38-foot airball from the team’s walking Regression to the Mean.
Randle wasn’t quite as abhorrent as he’d been on many nights this season, but he seemed a clear negative on both ends — outside of a Super Saiyan stretch at the beginning of the second half when he recorded multiple steals, he spent most of the game not realizing quickly enough to rotate to help at the rim or not caring quite enough to press up onto Love, who outscored him in a game in the year 2022. He had a bizarre offensive performance as well; at times looking like an unstoppable bowling ball to the hoop; other times so tentative it literally caused a turnover — he recorded two up-and-downs on the night.
Randle’s restore-the-feeling running mate had an uneven performance as well, though one that left a mostly positive aftertaste. The bad is still bad — RJ Barrett’s free throw shooting remains worse than a question mark; his 5-10 tonight in a 3-point loss was more than enough to expose one’s hair follicles, made all the more frustrating on the heels of his 7-7 performance Sunday. However, the quick decision making, driving, penetrating, freight train to the basket kept chugging, on its way to 8-12 from 2-point range tonight, one of the best inside-the-arc outings of Barrett’s still-young career.
Let’s all take a few steps back. Is this 23-25 Knicks team contending for a championship? No, and not even the most optimistic of Knicks fans had set such sights entering the season. This night changed very little, outside the slowly disintegrating hopes to return to the playoffs. At large, the themes of the season remain the same, and were case studied on this night: an unwatchable disappointment on the part of Randle; tantalizing and maddening inconsistency from Barrett; lower-bound outcomes from both free agent additions; silver linings from Grimes. It’s likely the same themes remain next game, next week, next month. The Knicks may creep their way back into the postseason picture; they may return to their familiar confines in the lottery once again. Multiple players may be traded before the deadline. In the end, it’s the smaller threads — the growing confidence from young players, signs of flexibility from the head coach — that we desperately grasp onto in hopes the Knicks may eventually right this ship’s trajectory.
Notes
Both Jarrett Allen and Mitchell Robinson were out tonight, bringing nostalgia for the Allen/Mitch debates of old across town. In Allen’s place, Ed Davis — OAKAAK, who New York once traded twice in a matter of days to net themselves three second round picks.
Evan Mobley is an absolute destroyer. When he wasn’t busy locking up Julius Randle, he was switching onto Kemba Walker for 10-plus seconds and forcing ridiculous-looking turnovers that led directly to transition layups. He is going to be — heck, maybe he already is — an All-NBA-caliber defender for a very long time.
Isaac Okoro showed some really nice things for Cleveland. He fought on defense and showed a solid transition game. He’s really improved this season, and has all the tools to be an ideal NBA wing long-term if his shooting continues coming around. An embarrassment of young riches for Cleveland!
The Knicks take a 1-1 record out of this back-to-back, and head to Miami on Wednesday for yet another tough test against one of the East’s elites this year. Will they fare better than tonight against Cleveland?
