Donovan Mitchell Needs More Help From the Rest of the Cavaliers

The biggest takeaway from the first day of the NBA playoffs was how well New York’s defense contained Cleveland’s secondary scorers.

The NBA playoffs are officially underway in perhaps the best weekend of the season. Let’s get into what we learned.

The Big Takeaway

The Knicks’ defense may have been the most impressive unit of the day on Saturday. New York held the Cavaliers to a 102.1 offensive rating in its Game 1 win. In the regular season, the Cavs were eighth in the NBA with a 115.5 offensive rating. Outside of Donovan Mitchell, who scored 38 points, nobody else for Cleveland could sustain offense. Evan Mobley missed a bunch of shots in the paint. And the bench was especially bricky, with Caris LeVert, Ricky Rubio, Dean Wade and Cedi Osman combining to shoot 4-of-13.

All season long the biggest question for Cleveland was who would be the fifth player next to Mitchell, Darius Garland, Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Isaac Okoro started and missed all four of his three-point attempts. Osman closed and did hit a couple of shots, but he is not scaring the Knicks on either end of the floor. 

New York was able to dominate the paint because of its disregard for Cleveland’s shooters. The Knicks put two on the ball in pick-and-rolls, and could rotate aggressively to Mobley and Allen when they caught the ball in the lane. New York was more than willing to cheat off the corners. Okoro often either missed or hesitated. Cleveland’s starting five had an offensive rating of 100 in Game 1—21.6 points per 100 possessions worse than their mark during the regular season. The Knicks, who were not stout defensively this year, deserve credit for coming in with an aggressive game plan and executing it at a high level. They trapped Cleveland’s guards and dared everyone else to make them pay. The Cavs couldn’t do it.

Donovan Mitchell scored 38 points for the Cavaliers in Game 1, but only two of his teammates reached double figures against New York’s stout defense :: Nick Cammett/AP

And yet with all that said, Cleveland’s core actually played well enough to win. The Cavs were a plus-15 in the roughly 32 minutes Mobley, Allen, Garland and Mitchell played together. The bench was a disaster, and J.B. Bickerstaff already played an incredibly tight rotation. He may not be able to trust anyone outside of LeVert, who wasn’t very good himself.

Lastly, New York’s offensive rebounding also played a massive role down the stretch. Cleveland’s inability to rebound late in the fourth with Mobley and Allen both on the floor was inexcusable. Those two did not match the physicality of Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson. If they grabbed some defensive boards down the stretch, the Cavs still could have pulled out Game 1. Overall, the Knicks’ physicality was impressive. It’s not sexy, but if there’s one city that can appreciate winning with defense and rebounding, it’s New York.

One Thing You May Have Missed

If you watched Game 1 between the Sixers and Nets, then you know Philly dominated from the three-point line. The Sixers shot 21-of-43 from deep on Saturday, a robust 48.8% from outside. You’ll basically never win a playoff game giving up that type of shooting from three. Philly was plus-24 from beyond the arc, a major factor in the win. What was important was not only the number of the 76ers’ makes, but also the number of Nets’ attempts. Brooklyn shot only 29 threes, nearly five less than their regular season average of 33.8.

That sounds like a small number, and yet it makes a big difference, especially when Philly shot about 10 more attempts than their average. The Nets may be comfortable letting the Sixers launch as opposed to single covering Embiid. On the other end of the floor, they have to figure out how to generate their own threes. Mikal Bridges played very well attacking Philly in drop coverage, especially when he forced a switch onto Tyrese Maxey and James Harden. The Sixers were willing to give up those midrange jumpers and floaters, though, if it meant Bridges didn’t collapse the defense and kick out to the perimeter. It’s much easier said than done, but if the Nets are to have any hope in this series, tilting the three-point math—even if it’s only attempts—back in their favor will go a long way.

I Am Calling B.S. on …

Trae Young’s reputation as a playoff killer. Young shot 5-of-18 and 1-of-5 from three against the Celtics in a blowout loss, finishing with 16 points. Look, the Hawks are overmatched here. And I’m not saying Young is a bad playoff performer. Only that he maybe earned a reputation that was a little inflated during a conference finals run that looks more like a fluke with each passing season. Even if Atlanta loses in a sweep, Young can’t go out with a personal whimper for the second straight postseason.

What You Need to See

There was one brief moment Saturday when all felt right with the world, and that was when De’Aaron Fox LIT THE BEAM: