2023 Eastern Conference | Round 1 | (4) Cleveland Cavaliers VS. (5) New York Knicks (Knicks lead 3-1)

jasonxxx102 · Post #41 » by **jasonxxx102** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:23 pm

I’m sure I’m the only one on this train and I’ve said it 100 times but this series really depends on the health of Okoro.

No Okoro Knicks in 6, with Okoro Cavs in 7

Jadoogar · Post #42 » by **Jadoogar** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:26 pm

AussieCeltic wrote:I think this is the toughest series for the Eastern Conference. I think the guards for both teams will cook, so it might come down to the Mobley/Randle matchup.

Cavs in 7!

I remember people were saying the same thing for the Knicks/Hawks matchup a couple years ago because on paper they looked evenly matched. Unless Randle has really improved, i'm predicting a similar result. Cavs are better defensively and should be able to contain Randle. I know brunson was great last year in the playoffs but i trust Mitchell/Garland more than the knicks back court.

Cavs in 5

mcfly1204 · Post #43 » by **mcfly1204** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:31 pm

jasonxxx102 wrote:I’m sure I’m the only one on this train and I’ve said it 100 times but this series really depends on the health of Okoro.

No Okoro Knicks in 6, with Okoro Cavs in 7

No offense intended, but you really want to state that the series is dependent on Isaac Okoro? He's a solid defender, but it's not even like we are talking about Bruce Bowen here. Regardless, I will still take Cleveland's 4 solid starters along with Rubio, LeVert, and whoever else we occasionally throw out there (Osman/Wade/Stevens) for matchup purposes. I would not be surprised to see Neto out there for short stretches of defense on Brunson just to provide another look.

bronxknicksfan1 · Post #44 » by **bronxknicksfan1** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:32 pm

Jadoogar wrote:
AussieCeltic wrote:I think this is the toughest series for the Eastern Conference. I think the guards for both teams will cook, so it might come down to the Mobley/Randle matchup.

Cavs in 7!

I remember people were saying the same thing for the Knicks/Hawks matchup a couple years ago because on paper they looked evenly matched. Unless Randle has really improved, i'm predicting a similar result. Cavs are better defensively and should be able to contain Randle. I know brunson was great last year in the playoffs but i trust Mitchell/Garland more than the knicks back court.

Cavs in 5

Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2021:
Elfrid Payton
Reggie Bullock
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Nerlens Noel

Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2023:
Jalen Brunson
Quentin Grimes
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Mitchell Robinson

The talent discrepancy from 2021 to 2023 is massive. Teams can’t get away with just double/triple teaming Randle all series and letting the rest of the team beat them. This team is much better than the 2021 team they rolled out.

Jadoogar · Post #45 » by **Jadoogar** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:34 pm

bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Jadoogar wrote:
AussieCeltic wrote:I think this is the toughest series for the Eastern Conference. I think the guards for both teams will cook, so it might come down to the Mobley/Randle matchup.

Cavs in 7!

I remember people were saying the same thing for the Knicks/Hawks matchup a couple years ago because on paper they looked evenly matched. Unless Randle has really improved, i'm predicting a similar result. Cavs are better defensively and should be able to contain Randle. I know brunson was great last year in the playoffs but i trust Mitchell/Garland more than the knicks back court.

Cavs in 5

Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2021:
Elfrid Payton
Reggie Bullock
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Nerlens Noel

Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2023:
Jalen Brunson
Quentin Grimes
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Mitchell Robinson

The talent discrepancy from 2021 to 2023 is massive. Teams can’t get away with just double/triple teaming Randle all series and letting the rest of the team beat them. This team is much better than the 2021 team they rolled out.

This Cavs team is also much better than that Hawks team. The aren't reliant on just one player and their defense is on another level compared to that 2021 Hawks team.

bronxknicksfan1 · Post #46 » by **bronxknicksfan1** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:42 pm

Jadoogar wrote:
bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Jadoogar wrote:
I remember people were saying the same thing for the Knicks/Hawks matchup a couple years ago because on paper they looked evenly matched. Unless Randle has really improved, i'm predicting a similar result. Cavs are better defensively and should be able to contain Randle. I know brunson was great last year in the playoffs but i trust Mitchell/Garland more than the knicks back court.

Cavs in 5

Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2021:
Elfrid Payton
Reggie Bullock
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Nerlens Noel

Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2023:
Jalen Brunson
Quentin Grimes
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Mitchell Robinson

The talent discrepancy from 2021 to 2023 is massive. Teams can’t get away with just double/triple teaming Randle all series and letting the rest of the team beat them. This team is much better than the 2021 team they rolled out.

This Cavs team is also much better than that Hawks team. The aren't reliant on just one player and their defense is on another level compared to that 2021 Hawks team.

Tough to say that when this Cavs team hasn’t proven anything yet and that Hawks team made ECF run. And this Knicks team is also much better than that Knicks team from 2021. Randle is better than he was in 2021. And the Knicks are 3-1 against that Cavs defense this year, so maybe Cavs should be worried about the Knicks top tier offense.

mcfly1204 · Post #47 » by **mcfly1204** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:45 pm

bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Jadoogar wrote:
bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2021:
Elfrid Payton
Reggie Bullock
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Nerlens Noel

Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2023:
Jalen Brunson
Quentin Grimes
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Mitchell Robinson

The talent discrepancy from 2021 to 2023 is massive. Teams can’t get away with just double/triple teaming Randle all series and letting the rest of the team beat them. This team is much better than the 2021 team they rolled out.

This Cavs team is also much better than that Hawks team. The aren't reliant on just one player and their defense is on another level compared to that 2021 Hawks team.

Tough to say that when this Cavs team hasn’t proven anything yet and that Hawks team made ECF run. And this Knicks team is also much better than that Knicks team from 2021. Randle is better than he was in 2021. And the Knicks are 3-1 against that Cavs defense this year, so maybe Cavs should be worried about the Knicks top tier offense.

Is it tough to say? I mean Atlanta's second best scorer in 2021 was Bogdan Bogdanovic...

TOStateofMind · Post #48 » by **TOStateofMind** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:45 pm

cavs in 5

Jadoogar · Post #49 » by **Jadoogar** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:48 pm

bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Jadoogar wrote:
bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2021:
Elfrid Payton
Reggie Bullock
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Nerlens Noel

Knicks playoff starting lineup in 2023:
Jalen Brunson
Quentin Grimes
RJ Barrett
Julius Randle
Mitchell Robinson

The talent discrepancy from 2021 to 2023 is massive. Teams can’t get away with just double/triple teaming Randle all series and letting the rest of the team beat them. This team is much better than the 2021 team they rolled out.

This Cavs team is also much better than that Hawks team. The aren't reliant on just one player and their defense is on another level compared to that 2021 Hawks team.

Tough to say that when this Cavs team hasn’t proven anything yet and that Hawks team made ECF run.

Yea that sounds nice when you remove the context. They destroyed a weak Knicks team (your words) and then the sixers had one of the biggest mental collapses in history.

bronxknicksfan1 · Post #50 » by **bronxknicksfan1** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:55 pm

mcfly1204 wrote:
bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Jadoogar wrote:
This Cavs team is also much better than that Hawks team. The aren't reliant on just one player and their defense is on another level compared to that 2021 Hawks team.

Tough to say that when this Cavs team hasn’t proven anything yet and that Hawks team made ECF run. And this Knicks team is also much better than that Knicks team from 2021. Randle is better than he was in 2021. And the Knicks are 3-1 against that Cavs defense this year, so maybe Cavs should be worried about the Knicks top tier offense.

Is it tough to say? I mean Atlanta's second best scorer in 2021 was Bogdan Bogdanovic...

John Collins - 17.6ppg
Bogdan - 16.4ppg
Capela - 15.2ppg
Gallo - 13.3ppg

…that Hawks team was deep and had put it together by the playoffs. Easy to forget.

jasonxxx102 · Post #51 » by **jasonxxx102** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 1:57 pm

mcfly1204 wrote:
jasonxxx102 wrote:I’m sure I’m the only one on this train and I’ve said it 100 times but this series really depends on the health of Okoro.

No Okoro Knicks in 6, with Okoro Cavs in 7

No offense intended, but you really want to state that the series is dependent on Isaac Okoro? He's a solid defender, but it's not even like we are talking about Bruce Bowen here. Regardless, I will still take Cleveland's 4 solid starters along with Rubio, LeVert, and whoever else we occasionally throw out there (Osman/Wade/Stevens) for matchup purposes. I would not be surprised to see Neto out there for short stretches of defense on Brunson just to provide another look.

The Cavs defense, if you swap Okoro for Lamar Stevens, drops to 119 and the offense drops to 117. Both the offense and defense are significantly better with Okoro on the court. That also allows you to maximize Caris off the bench as a ball handler. The offense suffers significantly when Caris is on with Darius/Mitchell.

Swapping Lamar for Isaac is a 12 point net rating swing in the wrong direction. I haven't checked but I'm not sure there's another guy on the team with that big of a gap

Okoro unlocks the best Cavs lineups. He's the most under appreciated player on the roster. We got to see exactly what happens when he's not on the floor over the last few games. He's the best POA defender on the team by far and an elite on-ball defender that the Cavs don't have the depth to replace

Ballerhogger · Post #52 » by **Ballerhogger** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:00 pm

Is randle good to go? Right now cavs in 6

bronxknicksfan1 · Post #53 » by **bronxknicksfan1** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:03 pm

Jadoogar wrote:
bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Jadoogar wrote:
This Cavs team is also much better than that Hawks team. The aren't reliant on just one player and their defense is on another level compared to that 2021 Hawks team.

Tough to say that when this Cavs team hasn’t proven anything yet and that Hawks team made ECF run.

Yea that sounds nice when you remove the context. They destroyed a weak Knicks team (your words) and then the sixers had one of the biggest mental collapses in history.

So let’s not remove context now. Cavs are 1-3 against the Knicks. They’ve struggled to defend the Knicks backcourt. Garland struggled against the Knicks backcourt defense. Julius Randle gave a fully healthy Cavs frontcourt 36 points in their last matchup.

All in all, Cavs won’t have an easy time this series.

mcfly1204 · Post #54 » by **mcfly1204** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:04 pm

bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
mcfly1204 wrote:
bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
Tough to say that when this Cavs team hasn’t proven anything yet and that Hawks team made ECF run. And this Knicks team is also much better than that Knicks team from 2021. Randle is better than he was in 2021. And the Knicks are 3-1 against that Cavs defense this year, so maybe Cavs should be worried about the Knicks top tier offense.

Is it tough to say? I mean Atlanta's second best scorer in 2021 was Bogdan Bogdanovic...

John Collins - 17.6ppg
Bogdan - 16.4ppg
Capela - 15.2ppg
Gallo - 13.3ppg

…that Hawks team was deep and had put it together by the playoffs. Easy to forget.

Playoffs... Bogdanovic was the second leading scorer for Atlanta in the 2021 Playoffs with 14.1ppg.

Post #55 » by **Froob** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:05 pm

Cavs in six

HoopsterJones · Post #56 » by **HoopsterJones** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:09 pm

Donovan Mitchell will be the difference in this series. Will be a dog fight though that will go at least 6 games. I expect the Cavs to advance.

bronxknicksfan1 · Post #57 » by **bronxknicksfan1** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:10 pm

mcfly1204 wrote:
bronxknicksfan1 wrote:
mcfly1204 wrote:Is it tough to say? I mean Atlanta's second best scorer in 2021 was Bogdan Bogdanovic...

John Collins - 17.6ppg
Bogdan - 16.4ppg
Capela - 15.2ppg
Gallo - 13.3ppg

…that Hawks team was deep and had put it together by the playoffs. Easy to forget.

Playoffs... Bogdanovic was the second leading scorer for Atlanta in the 2021 Playoffs with 14.1ppg.

Okay, playoffs. Cavs haven’t done anything yet, so tough to say if they’re better than the 2021 Hawks.

TimeisIllmatic · Post #58 » by **TimeisIllmatic** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 2:45 pm

Cavs in 6. Too much scoring power.

yoyoboy · Post #59 » by **yoyoboy** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:13 pm

I can’t make a prediction until I know if Okoro will play or not. We need him to be able to neutralize Brunson.

If he doesn’t play, I’m 60/40 between Knicks in 6 and Cavs in 7 respectively. If he does play, I feel comfortable with Cavs in 6. Knicks will bring a fight either way though.

SK21209 · Post #60 » by **SK21209** » Mon Apr 10, 2023 3:23 pm

Feels a little silly to be basing predictions of this series on Isaac Okoro’s availability when the Knicks’ best player might be out

Who wins Game 4?