Numbers Don’t Always Tell The Story

Analytics. It certainly has been a buzz word in sports for a while now, but it seems to be in the news again after Cavs’ coach Kenny Atkinson made his comment after game three of the Eastern Conference Finals when he said if you look at shot quality, his team should be up two games to one.

That may stick with Atkinson for a long time and frankly why he said it is a mystery to us.

Look, this isn’t a piece to poop on analytics. Keeping track of certain things is very valuable and for a franchise to ignore the number would be foolish. However, in Atkinson’s case, the better way to evaluate those games were our eyes, and that metric tells us the Cavaliers got their butts kicked by the New York Knicks.

You have to use both to have success, which makes sense to us, but there are people and organizations that are slaves to the numbers.

Heck, we heard a former player on the Guardians’ telecast say that batting average kind of measures how lucky a hitter is. We guess players like George Brett and Wade Boggs just had a lot of good fortune. Every year.

We heard a perfect example of how analytics should be used pertaining to the Cleveland Guardians. The exit velocity shows Jose Ramirez is hitting the ball as hard as ever despite his numbers not being up to his normal statistics.

Since Ramirez has put up excellent numbers for a long period of time, seeing he is still hitting bullets should allay any fear that he is starting to decline at 33 years old. Conversely, last year people kept pointing out Nolan Jones’ exit velocity as justification that he should play despite a .211 batting average (yeah, we know) and a 600 OPS.

What’s the difference? Outside of Jones’ first year with Colorado, there is no evidence he is a good major league hitter. HIs OPS in the other three seasons are under 700. Past performance indicates that Ramirez should be just fine.

Jones’ history indicates his exit velocity doesn’t indicate any success at the big-league level.

In basketball, we keep seeing people assessing a player’s effectiveness by using +/-, which measures the scoring in the game at the time a player was on the floor. Again, with all of these numbers there is some use, but it should not be the sole judge of a player’s worth.

The darling of this statistic for Cavs’ influencers is Dean Wade. Wade is a very good defensive player, especially on the perimeter. He most definitely has a place in the NBA. However, Wade chooses to be a non-participant on the offensive end. When we were younger, we said players like him had an allergy to the ball, because they get rid of it so fast once they get it.

Apparently, Wade had the highest plus/minus of any Cleveland player in the post-season. Sorry, if you think that makes him super valuable, we wholeheartedly disagree.

In our coaching days, we used to tell players the last thing we looked at to determine who had a good game was the scoresheet. By watching the game, we knew who impacted the game positively. That hasn’t changed.

Numbers and statistics can tell part of the story, but there are things missed by analyzing them.

Should Cavs Look At A Major Move?

If the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office believes all of the analytics that Kenny Atkinson spoke about following Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals (we still can’t believe he said that out loud), then it is probably true the wine and gold won’t do more than a tweak to the roster going into next season.

And as we have addressed before, that’s a big mistake.

We are sure the front office believes it is making progress because they went a step further in the playoffs, going from a first round loss to a pair of second round defeats, and finally getting to the conference finals.

That’s one way to look at it.

The other is to recognize none of the series in which the Cavs lost over the last four seasons have been particularly close. The first three went five games before the sweep at the hands of the Knicks this year.

By the way, the last four seasons are the Donovan Mitchell era, which brings us to our point.

First, Mitchell is a phenomenal player. Since he has been a Cavalier, he’s made first team all-NBA (only the third Cleveland player in history to do so–Mark Price and LeBron James) and was second team once. He’s averaged at least 24 points per game every season in Cleveland.

And by all accounts has been a great spokesman for both the Cavaliers and the northeast Ohio area, going to high school games around town.

He’s also going to be 30 years old, 6’2″, and his contract runs out in two more years. The Cavs are expected to offer him a four-year deal worth $272 million this summer. That’s an average of $68 million per year, and they would be paying him that amount at 34 years old.

We would think very seriously about doing that. Not because Mitchell doesn’t deserve it, he’s arguably the second-best player ever to wear a Cleveland uniform. However, you have to wonder what kind of player he’s going to be in the last two seasons of that deal.

In our opinion, bigger players age better than smaller ones. Yes, we know about Stephen Curry and James Harden is still put up a bunch of points. Should the Cavs explore trades for Mitchell this off-season?

We know where the Cavs are in the NBA hierarchy, they were one of the last four teams standing this year, so moving on from Mitchell would be a step back in all likelihood. But it just might be the right way to go. Take a step back and not bottom out for another run at a title in a couple of years.

Another direction is what many talk about, going all in by dealing for someone like Giannis Antetokounmpo, dealing say Evan Mobley (as people have discussed), thus making Mitchell the second-best player on the team. That probably gives you a two-year window for a championship, and after you get it, you likely would have to rebuild.

Even doing that, the front office has other work to do. They need more versatile, longer players. They also need more depth at power forward and center.

Jaylon Tyson needs a bigger role. He seemed to get lost after the trade that brought James Harden to Cleveland. We also believe another young player who got lost in the last two months, Nae’Qwan Tomlin can be a contributor next season.

He’s 6’8″ and should fit in as a wing, especially if he can improve his shooting. And it doesn’t have to be three-point shooting, which frankly, we’d be fine if he never took another one of those. He’ll be 26 next season, and we believe he can be a wild card for Kenny Atkinson.

But the big decision is Mitchell. Most people believe it’s a no brainer. We think the front office should take a good long look.

Running It Back? Not A Good Idea For Cavs.

When Cavaliers’ president of basketball operations Koby Altman had his most season press conference, he didn’t give any indication about off-season moves, and that’s not a surprise. Since then, it has been reported the Cavs are going to run it back with pretty much the current roster in 2026-27, and if that is Altman’s intention, it’s a big mistake.

We have gone on ad nauseum about the team’s lack of size, both on the wings and up front. While people talk about the starting big men, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, there has been little behind them over the past few seasons.

And we aren’t just talking height either. Both Allen and Mobley are slender big men, the Cavs have no one with bulk. Over the past few years, the backup bigs have guys like Thomas Bryant. Tristan Thompson, Damian Jones, and Robin Lopez, players who really can’t be counted on in a playoff situation.

Remember, the Cavs did have Isaiah Hartenstein in the 2021 season and after he scored 8.3 points and grabbed six rebounds in 16 games, they let him walk via free agency. They didn’t recognize that he can play.

We have also talked about the lack of size on the wing. Most of the NBA have players who are in the 6’7″ or 6’8″ range who can create their own shot, but the wine and gold’s tallest wing that can do that is 6’6″ Jaylon Tyson. The rest seem to be one-dimensional three-point shooters (Max Strus, Sam Merrill) or defensive minded (Dean Wade).

When Caris LeVert was here, fans didn’t like him, most because he was not a good three-point shooter, which unfortunately is becoming the way players are evaluated these days. However, we liked that LeVert could create his own shot. And when you are late in the shot clock, that is a valuable thing.

On the current roster, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Dennis Schroder are the only players who can accomplish this and two of those players are under 6’3″. It can be done through quickness or brute strength. Cleveland has no one in the latter category.

Players who stand in one spot or only hang out on the perimeter are easier to guard because the defender/opponent kind of knows where they will be.

Somebody floated Zion Williamson as a possible Cavs’ target. Forgetting about his availability concerns (70 games are the most he’s played in a season), he would be a good get. If he gets the ball 15-20 feet away from the basket, you know he’s probably attacking the basket. He’s not shooting a three.

People talk about the “3 and D” players around the league, but to us, Altman has several three OR D players. Strus and Merrill are good from long distance but lack the size and quickness to defend bigger wings, like Mikal Bridges. The one replay where a lob pass from Bridges just gets over Merrill’s outstretched arms is a vision we cannot unsee.

And of course, Dean Wade has the size and ability to play on the defensive end, but he refuses (or is told to refuse?) to play on the offensive end of the floor.

Altman may want to run it back; that’s the ego of people in his position. The reality is the NBA is always changing and what succeeded three years ago is passe today.

In the game of basketball, more often than not, going big is a good way to go. Let’s see if the Cavaliers learned that lesson in the last four series they were eliminated in.

Trading Garrett Just Another Typical Browns Move

Just when you think it can’t be any tougher to be a Cleveland Browns’ fan, they give you another reason to be irritated.

Of course, they will still monopolize the sports media in northeast Ohio because people in this area can’t help themselves. We don’t have a solution except to stop talking about them or stop buying tickets and merchandise, but as we know, both of the sports talk stations in the area are “Home of the Browns”, so there’s that.

The team traded the best defensive player in the history of the franchise in Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams for Jared Verse, a first round pick in 2027, a second rounder in 2028, and a third round choice in ’29. Likely, all of those picks will be lower because unlike the Browns, the Rams are a successful organization. They actually win football games.

For the Browns and their ownership, it’s yet another excuse to not win in 2026. No one expects a playoff appearance after trading a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a surefire Hall of Fame player.

Verse is a good player, getting 4.5 sacks as a rookie, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024 and followed that up with another 7.5 sacks last season. He’ll be 26 years old this upcoming season and along with Carson Schwesinger, gives Cleveland the last two best rookie defenders.

But really, we are of the belief that trying to improve by dealing your best player, particularly a great player such as Garrett, is never a good idea. We know the “draft choices are everything” folks will disagree, but what are the odds that Verse or any of the draft picks involved becomes anywhere near the player Garrett is? Slim if not zero. How exactly does that make you better?

It always comes back to the Browns’ quarterback obsession. They are convinced the only way to get a great quarterback is to stink and get a high draft pick, even though if you look at the best QBs in the NFL, there aren’t many who came into the league that way.

They had the first pick in the draft in 2018 and took Baker Mayfield, who has been a solid starter and if entering his ninth year as the Browns’ starter. Oh, that’s right, they traded him after four seasons.

Let’s remember how many people spoke glowingly of the quarterbacks who were to be available in the 2026 draft, and in the end, only two were taken in the first round. What’s to say that won’t happen again in next spring’s draft?

And we would add, why not get to the point where you are a good QB away from being a playoff team and then go out and trade future picks to get the guy?

So, over the last six years, in order to find the QB they so desperately want, they have made probably the worst trade in NFL history and traded the best defender in Browns’ history. We have written about the other successful teams around the league and the path they’ve taken to contend for and win Super Bowls.

Find another story that mirrors the Browns.

As for the argument that the Browns had to deal Garrett because he didn’t want to play here, whose fault is that? The front office has put together mostly mediocre teams and in the past few seasons had a top of the league defense accompanied by an offense that couldn’t score more than 17 points per game.

Maybe the Browns will surprise people and contend for a playoff spot this year. A more likely scenario is they will come up with a new reason (we have a rookie QB?) for not being able to win in 2027.

Altman’s Presser Said Little, But His Moves Over The Years Say A Lot

Press conferences these days are really becoming obsolete. In today’s world, teams want to control the narrative, so they give the press very little, be it after games and after seasons.

We get it, let’s say after a Browns’ loss, we found it laughable that fans and media alike were angry when Kevin Stefanski didn’t come out and say, “our wide receivers can’t catch a cold”. As for Todd Monken? Well, we don’t know yet.

That’s why we believe little of what Cavaliers’ President of Basketball Operations Kobe Altman said in his post-season comments on Friday. And if Altman was telling the truth, then we would think his job will be in jeopardy following next season.

We have been a frequent critic of the way Altman has constructed his roster. When J.B. Bickerstaff was let go following a five-game series loss against Boston in the conference semi-finals in 2024, we felt the blame shouldn’t be put solely on the head coach.

Altman gets a lot of credit among fans because he built the Cavs back up pretty quickly after LeBron James departed for Los Angeles following the 2018 Finals. After three terrible seasons (19, 19, and 22 wins), Cleveland was back in the play-in tournament in 2022 with a 44-38 record, with a team led by Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Lauri Markkanen.

But if we look at individual moves, how good has Altman been? His first big move was trading Kyrie Irving to Boston with the big prize being the Nets’ unprotected first round pick in 2018.

That trade was a bust as the two players acquired from Boston, Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas were both moved during the season and the draft pick, which people figured would be a top five choice, ended up being 8th because the Nets performed better than expected.

The Nets’ coach that year? Yes, it was Kenny Atkinson. And instead of getting a player like Deandre Ayton (1st), Jaren Jackson Jr (4th), or even 3rd overall pick Luca Doncic, Cleveland picked Collin Sexton with the pick.

As for Allen, yes, Altman picked him up in ironically, a James Harden transaction, where the Cavs gave up a second-round pick for a then 21-year-old center who averaged 11 points and nine rebounds per game in his third year in the league. We think any GM in the sport would have done that.

After drafting Sexton, he doubled down the following year, picking another small guard, Garland with a top five choice. Garland has been one of the better players in that draft, but it is the duplication on position that is the issue. And the lack of size.

He drafted a defense first wing in Isaac Okoro with another top five pick the following year, which is frankly his worst selection. We wanted Obi Toppin, but Dino Avdija, Devin Vassell, and Tyrese Haliburton were still on the board.

The next season it was Evan Mobley, who has been an all-star and Defensive Player of the Year, yet people are wondering now about his progression as a player. In his fifth season, his scoring average has always been between 15.0 and 18.5 and his rebounding always hovers around 9.0 per contest.

His signature move is the trade for Donovan Mitchell, in which Markkanen was the biggest (literally) piece going to Utah. The trade for Mitchell, no doubt a proven scorer in the NBA, boosted Cleveland to a 50 win team and the least number of wins for the Cavs since Mitchell arrived has been 48.

But then we have the playoff performances. In each of the last four seasons, the series that sent the team home have been blowouts. Five games to the Knicks, Celtics, and Pacers, and this year’s sweep in the conference finals.

And most often the reason can be pointed to a lack of size on the roster despite what the “analytics” tell them.

Does Altman correct that problem this summer? That should be the focus on what the Cavaliers do this off-season. Or maybe he is like Bickerstaff, a guy who can rebuild, but can’t get you over the top.

Some Thoughts On The Cavs Following The Sweep

So, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ season came to a thud in the Eastern Conference finals, getting swept by the New York Knicks, including home losses by 13 and 37 points.

There were a lot of crazy things said toward the end of the series angering both fans and the media, both local and national, so there was a lot of speculation that Kenny Atkinson would lose his coaching gig as a result.

To be honest, we are glad Dan Gilbert and the front office took a deep breath and looked at the big picture and decided to keep Atkinson in place, and he kept president of basketball operations Koby Altman as well.

The Cavs did win 116 regular season games over the past two seasons under Atkinson’s guidance, and they did advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2018. We cannot erase that accomplishment.

However, the things we have talked about concerning the roster over the past several seasons came to bear in these playoffs, even though they won two series.

We are hoping both Altman and Atkinson are staying because there is an understanding that the current roster is not geared to winning in the playoffs and in Altman’s case, he knows the league continues to evolve and he needs to get more size both in the post and on the wings.

Today’s NBA requires more players who can play on both ends of the floor, can create their own shots and guards and small forwards are getting taller every year.

If that’s the understanding, the roster will have to go through a series of changes.

Atkinson took heat during the season for his four guard lineup, and we agree the coach could have done a better job spacing out minutes for his big men, but the reality is out of the top nine players on the roster, six of them are guards, and we are talking about the roster after the trading deadline.

To be fair, Altman did bring in Thomas Bryant and Larry Nance Jr. in the off-season, but the coaching staff didn’t believe they were playable during the post-season. Bryant played just 41 minutes in the 18 playoff games and Nance just five. We felt both could have helped more during the regular season.

There is no argument about getting bigger, versatile players who can create their own shot. The Cleveland roster has too many players who are one-dimensional. Dean Wade is a very good wing defender that apparently refuses to play offense. Sam Merrill is a three-point shooter and though he’s a better defensive player than given credit for, if his shot isn’t falling, why should he get minutes?

Toronto’s length gave the Cavs troubles. The Knicks’ versatility was a problem. That’s what Altman and the front office have to combat this summer. They definitely need another big man to back up Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, assuming no trades involving them, and some bigger wing players.

We thought De’Andre Hunter would be the latter, but he just didn’t work out.

They also need some tougher players, not physically, but mentally. Players who can handle the playoff atmosphere. There were far too many games in the playoffs where there didn’t seem to be a match of the opponent’s intensity.

The defense also has to improve. We have asked over the last half of the season who is responsible for coaching the defense, and we still don’t know. What we do know is it wasn’t very good. The Cavs allow a very high percentage of three point makes, and a lot of that is there are a lot of wide-open looks from long distance.

So, the management stayed the same, but you would think there has to be better results in the 2026-27 season or there could be a complete cleaning of the people running the wine and gold.

One should hope for a busy summer for the Cavaliers.

Don’t Discount The Guardians’ Pitching Either

Our concerns about the pitching staff of the Cleveland Guardians were based on a lack of depth. And it could be a problem down the road.

Right now, the Guardians are the only Major League team to have used just five starters, so having pitchers at the AAA level to pick up the slack hasn’t been needed.

The front office should be looking to improve in that area though. Cleveland just called up Logan Allen, who would seem to be the primary depth piece, from Columbus, but Allen hasn’t pitched well at AAA, he sported a 5.45 ERA when he was sent to Cleveland in a weird move on Sunday, and after throwing four innings last night, he will likely be sent back today.

Early in the season, it seemed like the “pitching factory” had a bit of a malfunction. Tanner Bibee had a few bad starts, including last night, and Slade Cecconi was getting hit hard, but as usual, Carl Willis and his staff righted the ship and since May 11th, the Guards have allowed more than four runs in a game just once.

Cecconi is the only starter with an ERA over 5 (5.15), but in his last three starts, he’s allowed just five runs in 16.1 innings and in his last five starts, he has a 4.00 ERA.

Steven Vogt’s team apparently refuses to score with Bibee is on the hill and that’s why he is 0-6 on the season, but with a respectable 3.75 ERA.

Gavin Williams and Parker Messick have emerged as aces. Williams, after his phenomenal performance Friday night vs. the Phillies, is 7-3 with a 3.25 ERA and leads the AL in innings with 69.1 and is second in strikeouts with 84. Better yet, in his last eight starts, he was walked two or fewer hitters. That’s been the issue with him, throwing strikes, and he seems to have taken care of that.

Messick, still a rookie, came close to a no-hitter early in the season against the Orioles, and is 6-1 and his 2.24 ERA ranks 4th in the American League. He has fanned 70 hitters, good for 6th in the AL.

And the fifth member of the rotation, Joey Cantillo ranks 10th in punching hitters out with 51 Ks in 56 innings.

Don’t forget the bullpen, which took a little while to sort out. Cade Smith has a couple of shaky outings to begin the season but has been dominant recently and leads the league in saves with 18 and has whiffed 37 in 25.1 innings.

Hunter Gaddis began the year on the IL, but over the last couple of weeks, he’s looked like the pitcher fans are accustomed to seeing. Eric Sabrowski has allowed just seven hits in 21 innings, striking out an incredible 39 batters. Unfortunately, he had to go on the IL with elbow inflammation. Colin Holderman, a free agent signee in the off-season, is being used more and succeeding in high-leverage situations.

As for the rotation depth, keep your eye on Rorik Maltrud in Columbus. Maltrud is a 26-year-old right-hander and has a 2.82 ERA in eight starts with the Clippers. He’s never been an innings eater though, his high in innings in any season has been 104.

We aren’t saying he’s the next guy, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him making a couple of spot starts with the big club.

As the summer starts, it looks like the Cleveland Guardians’ pitching is in a good spot. We still worry about the depth in the rotation, but the strength of the organization is still just that.

Improved Offense A Huge Development For The Guardians

Memorial Day has always been a time for Major League Baseball teams to self-evaluate. Back in the day, the holiday meant about one quarter of the season had passed. Today, since the regular season starts at the end of March, a third of the regular season has been played.

The Cleveland Guardians are on a hot streak right now, winning seven of their last eight and 10 of their last 12 contests, sitting at 31-23. That puts them on a pace to win over 90 games and would seem likely to be playing some post-season baseball.

An improved offense has been a key component to their good start. After finishing in the bottom three in all of baseball in runs scored a year ago, they are 16th this season. A key factor in this improvement has to be patience.

We aren’t talking about the patience in developing players; we are discussing patience at the plate. Last season Cleveland hitters ranked 20th in drawing walks. This year, they are 3rd. They were 29th in on base percentage in 2025 and currently are 11th in the same category this season.

The improved offense plus a pitching staff that still ranks 7th in the majors in ERA equates to their 31-22 record, although a year ago at this time, the Guardians were at about the same place. They were 29-24.

We were skeptical about the Guardians’ success coming into the season because they did not really add a bat to the roster, outside of Rhys Hoskins, and depending on rookies to make big differences is always risky.

The current league average in OPS throughout MLB is 707. As of today, Steven Vogt’s squad have seven hitters over the league average. Last year? They had three, Jose Ramirez, Kyle Manzardo, and Steven Kwan.

Two of those three, Kwan and Manzardo, have gotten off to slow starts and currently sit below than number, although Manzardo is closing the gap.

The difference has been the rookies, Chase DeLauter stepped right into the lineup and because of his approach, very selective at the plate, he has been consistent. Right now, he has the over 800 OPS the best hitters have, over .350 on base and over .450 slugging.

Another rookie, Travis Bazzana, has also contributed nicely, getting on base at a ,391 clip.

Two other players who have been with the Guards the past couple seasons have also blossomed. We have long championed Brayan Rocchio as being the Cleveland shortstop of the future and he is showing that thus far.

Solid defensively as always, Rocchio has a .376 on base average and has mixed in 12 extra base hits, and sorry for the younger fans, also ranks second on the team in RBIs with 27 behind only DeLauter.

The other is Angel Martinez, who is just a little more plate discipline away from being an all-star player. Martinez is slugging .476 and is third on the team in extra base hits behind Ramirez and DeLauter. And he seems to be learning more and more from Ramirez.

His strikeout to walk ratio needs improvement, as he has fanned 35 times and his six walks are the lowest figure on the team. He has stolen eight bases and takes the extra base often, like Ramirez. He is earning the right to be in the lineup most days in Vogt’s everyone plays rotation.

Getting men on base is the opposite of making outs. Keep doing it, and the Guardians’ offense will continue to pick up. If it continues, it could be a fun summer at Progressive Field.

Can Cavs Rebound After Devastating Loss

Our first thought after Tuesday night’s Game 1 collapse by the Cleveland Cavaliers was how do they come back from that? With a 22-point lead over the New York Knicks with just under eight minutes to go in regulation, two things came into play: First, Cleveland had no answer for Jalen Brunson, and two, they couldn’t make a shot.

Brunson scored 15 points in the fourth, making 7 of 9 shots as the Knicks hit 59% from the floor, and perhaps even worse, made just 5 of 17 from the floor, and no player in a Cleveland uniform made more than one shot from the field.

The problem for us was the lack of adjustments. If James Harden is making shots, then he is worth having on the floor, because he was who the Knicks were targeting on the defensive end. But he wasn’t, making just one of six, in addition to dribbling the clock down so the Cavs took a lot of bad shots down the stretch.

And we know Kenny Atkinson trusts Harden because of what he has done in the league and his veteran status. But when New York made it a single digit game, he needed to be on the bench, in favor of either Max Strus, Dean Wade, or even Keon Ellis.

Harden isn’t the Cavs’ best player so there isn’t a need to defer to him. The Cavaliers needed to win the game. Simple as that. And besides, it’s not as though Harden wouldn’t start tonight.

And Atkinson should be called out for doubling Brunson when the score got closer under three minutes to go. After Evan Mobley hit a three, the Cavs still had a 97-89 lead with 3:09 remaining. After OG Anunoby split free throws, followed by a weird loose ball foul on Sam Merrill, New York’s next four field goal attempt were threes.

The first make was with Cleveland up by seven. You should be defending the three, not allowing an open look. They missed with the Cavs up six, but on the next possession, they allowed another three point make and then another up three.

Defend the long range shot and if the Knicks are going to score, give them twos.

We also don’t want to hear the fatigue excuse. Cleveland was dominating this game, and there were plenty of opportunities to get some rest for the primary players. Jaylon Tyson didn’t even play. Ellis played just five minutes.

If the Cavs were tired from back-to-back seven game series, they should have gone into the contest with a plan to dust some guys off the bench and give them some court time.

We do want to single out Mobley, who has showed he can raise his game. He was outstanding with 15 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks. And even Dean Wade decided to shoot the ball, hitting 3 of 5 threes and scoring in double figures for the first time since game six of the first round.

But the big question continues to be, can the Cavs come back from a devastating defeat. Yes, they did win game seven against the Raptors after the RJ Barrett shot to win the game. And they came back after getting blown out on their own floor in game six against Detroit.

This could be different. They dominated the Knicks for 40 minutes. Unfortunately, this isn’t college and the pro game is 48 minutes. Can they pick themselves off the mat again?

Cavs Pull It Off, Now Get Ready For The Knicks

It was the one outcome we didn’t figure was possible. We thought it was possible for the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Detroit Pistons, but we surely did not foresee a blowout win.

Kenny Atkinson’s squad returned the favor from Friday night, dominated the Pistons in a 125-94 win and advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2018.

The opponent will be the New York Knicks, who started the questions about this basketball team a few years ago when they beat up Cleveland in a five game first round series win.

What it made us think is why can’t the Cavs play like that more often? Cleveland came out and Donovan Mitchell got his big guys involved early. Evan Mobley had five points, four rebounds, and three assists in the first quarter, while Jarrett Allen scored six. And the cherry on top was the wine and gold knocked down 6 of 13 from long distance, including a halfcourt buzzer beater by Mitchell at the end.

The Cavs also needed someone to step up off the bench and Sam Merrill, who we admit we would have lessened his minutes before the game, turned out to be that guy, showing we don’t know as much as we think we do.

Merrill hit his first two threes, which we have seen before, but he kept it going, ending with five makes in eight attempts and 23 points. Cleveland only made 32.4% from three, but Merrill had the hot hand.

We also have to mention the impact Mobley made in this series. We have always wondered about the physicality with Mobley, but for the series, he scored 15.9 points, grabbed 7.4 boards, and perhaps most surprisingly, dished out 4.9 assists, second on the team to James Harden. He shot 52% from the floor and more importantly was a force inside, blocking 19 shots.

He looked like the player Cavs’ fans have been hoping for since Cleveland became a playoff team.

So, now the wine and gold go from one former coach in J.B. Bickerstaff to another in Mike Brown, now the head man with the Knicks. It is important to point out the Knicks won just one more regular season game than the Cavaliers, finishing at 53-29.

But they have had an easier road in the playoffs, winning the first round in six games and sweeping the 76ers in the semi-finals. The don’t have a big height advantage in the starting lineup, with just one player over 6’7″ in Karl-Anthony Towns, but they do play physical on the perimeter with 6’5″ Josh Hart and 6’7″ OG Anunoby. And of course, their star is 6’2″ Jalen Brunson, who we would say, plays a lot like Harden.

The two teams met three times, but only once after the trade deadline. Opening night saw the Cavs drop a 119-111 decision with Anunoby scoring 24 and Brunson getting 23. On Christmas Day in New York, the Cavs blew a big lead, up by 12 after three quarters before losing by two, 126-124. Mobley came off the bench that day, his first game back after an injury.

Mitchell and Brunson each had 34 points.

In the lone game at Rocket Arena, Cleveland won 109-94 behind 23 from Mitchell and 20 from Harden.

Can the Cavs beat New York and get to the Finals without LeBron James for the first time in team history? Sure, the Knicks are far from a perfect team, they have flaws like the Cavaliers. But the Cavs have to play with the same energy, physicality, and attention to detail as they played with in both Game 7s.

That seems to be a tall task for this group although we don’t know why.