The injury-riddled Cavs were once again 98-pound weaklings, bullied by the Broadway bigs

The 2022-23 Cleveland Cavaliers were the net rating darlings of the NBA, ranked second in the league in the metric thanks to plenty of blowout wins and a stifling defense. Heading into the playoffs, they were rated by some of the more analytically inclined as a major dark horse to win it all. Instead, the Knicks dispatched them handily in five games. They did it by dragging the Cavs down into the gutter. The series featured some truly butt-nasty basketball, which is exactly how Tom Thibodeau’s teams usually like to play. The Cavs could not adapt.

The Knicks’ 109-91 victory Tuesday night wasn’t a true litmus test for the future of the rivalry, as Cleveland was missing Darius Garland, Caris LeVert and Jarrett “Lights Too Bright” Allen. However, it was yet another sign that Donovan Mitchell & Co. haven’t quite mastered the art of gross basketball. The teams traded horrendous offensive possessions and rim-shaking clanks throughout the third quarter, but it remained clear throughout that the Cavs merely adopted the dark; Thibs and his crew were born into it, molded by it. 

If you’re going to win a game of aesthetically revolting gutter-ball, you need to dominate down low. And that, my friends, is where the Knicks have demonstrated their biggest advantage over Cleveland these past two years, including Tuesday. The Cavs were without Allen, but they still had their very highly regarded young pivot, Evan Mobley. The kid has a ton of talent, to be sure. He made the All-Defense team as a rookie last season, and dropped 33 points in his previous game. 

Unfortunately for him, those accolades don’t mean much to the duo of Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein. New York’s big boys handled Mobley the same way they handled him in the playoffs. It’s not enough to say that they simply overpowered him – though they certainly did. Nearly every time Cleveland’s guards got Mobley the ball near the rim or on the short roll, Mitch and iHart forced him into a mistake. They blocked him when he brought the ball up high. They stripped him when he kept the ball down low. He was rushed, panicked with every movement. Mobley must see those dudes in his nightmares.

Mitch and Hartenstein did far more than just take care of Mobley. Hartenstein’s line speaks for itself: 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists. As usual, Mitch’s impact went far beyond the numbers. Thibs used his center brilliantly in the second half to bottle up Donovan Mitchell in the pick-and-roll after Spida gashed the Knicks for 20 first-half points. Robinson blitzed the Cleveland ball-handler, then retreated expertly to cover the roll man. He forced Mitchell into some costly mistakes, and the Cavs’ offense ground to a halt. Mitchell only had six points in the second half. Stefan Bondy took notice.

RANT ALERT: I’ve noticed quite a bit of social media lamenting that the Knicks didn’t draft Pistons center Jalen Duren. That shit is insulting and infuriating. Mitch has been the Knicks’ best player so far this season. Hartenstein is the best backup 5 in the league. I can accept those who want to trade for Joel Embiid; dude is the reigning MVP. But Jalen Duren? Calm the fuck down.

This win wasn’t all peaches and cream. The starting lineup still has some kinks to work out. They aren’t passing enough. Even RJ Barrett, a major bright spot this season, fell prey to some disturbing bouts of tunnel vision in the second half after leading the team with 15 in the first. I don’t really blame RJ, though, since Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle were afflicted with the same myopia. The trio ended the night with four assists TOTAL: two for Randle, two for Brunson, and zero for RJ. Donte DiVincenzo managed six assists by himself in 15 minutes. Get your shit together, guys. 

The Knicks will take on these same Cavaliers tonight at MSG. Here’s hoping the game is yet another grimy New York W.