What Went Wrong For Cavaliers In Loss To Knicks?

The Cleveland Cavaliers' inconsistent play is what plagued them against the New York Knicks.

The New York Knicks just have the Cleveland Cavaliers number and no matter what the wine and gold do, they just can't seem to get the upper hand on this team. This has been the case going back to last season and in the playoffs.

But let's just focus on just Sunday night. What led to the 98-107 loss for the Cavaliers?

It's pretty simple. The Cavs played an inconsistent brand of basketball on both offense and defense. There were moments in the game where Cleveland looked like the better team and others where they looked outmatched and underprepared. 

This is what it came down to for head coach J.B. Bickerstaff as he analyzed his team's performance.

"I thought we played in spurts," said Bickerstaff following the game. 

"We had a good second quarter and fourth quarter effort-wise. But again, to come out of halftime and give up 36 points to a team that was down as many guys as they were, that's disappointing. Defensively, we've got to be better than that and what it came down to was a lot of one-on-one. Holding your man and them attacking our paint and creating for each other."

To translate what J.B. said into numbers, the Cavaliers had an offensive rating of 136.7 in the second quarter when they outscored the Knicks 34-23. However, the roles reversed in the third quarter when Cleveland's defensive rating jumped to a staggering 161.3.

Mar 3, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) loses the ball while defended by New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and guard Miles McBride (2) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / © David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Consistency is key and it's turning into an issue for this Cavaliers team. Yes, they had players out. It would've been great if Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert played. But the Knicks were without their top players too. The Cavs need to be able to execute their game plan no matter who is or isn't on the floor.

Echoing what Bickerstaff said to close out his presser, "We can't pick and choose when we're gonna be at our best."