Easily the most compelling first-round series in the East, the Knicks vs. Cavaliers has lived up to its billing so far, with each team winning one game apiece before the series shifts to Madison Square Garden.
New York is dealing as a slim favorite to win Game 3 at home, though Cleveland is coming off a convincing win in Tuesday’s Game 2 and is still the clear betting favorite to win this series outright.
Here’s how we’re betting Friday’s contest, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
(via BetMGM)
(8:30 p.m. ET on ABC)
I was high on the Cavaliers coming into this series, and even after a tightly contested series-opening loss, I still held firm in my belief in the higher seed in this matchup.
Sure enough, Cleveland proved itself as the better team on Tuesday, when it scored a 17-point win that wasn’t even that close.
And I’d be surprised if we didn’t see an outright win on Friday.
The biggest issue for the Cavaliers in Game 1 was an overwhelming advantage on the glass for the Knicks, who grabbed 11 more rebounds and finished with a whopping 17 offensive boards – tied for the fourth-most by a Cleveland opponent all season long.
Unsurprisingly, that regressed to the mean on Tuesday, with the Cavaliers winning the rebounding advantage overall (43-36) and staying competitive on the offensive glass.
This time, the Knicks’ scoring woes proved to be their undoing.
Julius Randle (22 points) and Jalen Brunson (20 points) both shot 40% or worse from the floor in Game 2, as the team finished a meager 36.7% from the field and 24.1% from deep.
One of New York’s biggest issues coming into this series was a lack of elite shot-creators or reliable outside shooters, and we’ve seen that come to fruition in each of the first two games.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers’ cadre of offensive talent finally came alive in Game 2 – building a lead as big as 29 points before letting off the gas late.
After finishing with just one assist overall and zero shot attempts in the fourth quarter, Darius Garland was far more aggressive on Tuesday, leading his team with 32 points and six triples while finishing 10-of-11 from the charity stripe.
That helped take the pressure off Donovan Mitchell, who added 17 points and 13 assists on stellar efficiency.
Even big man Evan Mobley, who was virtually non-existent in Game 1, chipped in 13 points and 13 rebounds, all while helping limit Randle to one of his worst overall outputs of the season.
So did Jarrett Allen (9 points, 10 rebounds), who led his team with three steals and three blocks to just two fouls.
I’m just not sold on home-court advantage playing as big of a role here as this line suggests, nor is this the type of spot that coaxes desperation from one side and disinterest from the other – like, say, a team coming home down 0-2 in the series.
Instead, this feels like a spot for the Cavaliers to once again assert their dominance in this matchup, led by two elite shot-makers who aren’t dependent on their home environment in the way role players tend to be.
If Garland remains as aggressive as he was in Game 2, this game should be Cleveland’s to lose.