Following their first loss in three games to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Knicks lost their second in a row on Sunday, this time falling to Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 121-108.
This was not a surprising loss, as we know how talented this Cavaliers squad is. However, there were far too many unacceptable moments to justify this loss.
The Knicks are currently at the beginning of a very rough stretch on their schedule, meaning they need to take any win they can get. To lose in the fashion they did is just flat-out not good at all. On Wednesday, the Knicks will face off against their rival, the Atlanta Hawks. This is a must-win game if New York wants to remain in a good position as the team goes through this tough stretch.
Regardless, this game had some promising moments, but for the most part, the Knicks were simply outplayed.
3 takeaways from the Knicks’ disappointing Sunday night loss to the Cavaliers
3: Donovan Mitchell made the Knicks regret not going all in on him
I’m not saying I would have given up the house for Donovan Mitchell, however, he certainly felt slighted by their reluctance to trade for him.
Against New York, Mitchell dropped 38 points, 12 assists, three rebounds, and two blocks while shooting 12-for-20 from the field and 8-for-13 from the field. Mitchell was truly dominant without his backcourt partner Darius Garland.
The Knicks had absolutely zero answers for Mitchell all night. Whether it was on the perimeter or in the paint, it didn’t matter. Mitchell scored with ease.
I can’t even blame the Knicks, as Mitchell was literally unstoppable. Personally, I’d have to say that starting out the game by having Evan Fournier guard him wasn’t a good idea at all, but we’ll get into that later.
The Knicks have had trouble slowing down their opponent’s best players this season, with Ja Morant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Mitchell all having masterclasses against the team.
This isn’t surprising, as this Knicks team is really not built to be sustainably good on defense, which makes me want to hope the team will have a solution for this. Whether it is a trade or a change in the rotation, something needs to happen to fix New York’s defense.
2: The starting lineup struggled yet again
This was another rough game for the starting lineup, as outside of RJ Barrett, almost every player struggled on both sides of the ball. I’m not saying that Barrett was perfect defensively, as he had moments of poor play. However, he was undoubtedly the best all-around player in the starting lineup against Cleveland.
Outside of Barrett, Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson wasn’t necessarily terrible, but for how much the team is paying him, Brunson must be more consistent.
In this game, Brunson dropped 16 points, seven assists, and three steals while shooting 8-for-19 from the field and 0-for-3 from behind the arc. Again, not necessarily terrible, but he must be better.
As for the rest of the lineup, Julius Randle struggled yet again, shooting 5-for-13 with four turnovers, seven assists, and five fouls. Mitchell Robinson was in foul trouble yet again and shot 2-for-6. While Evan Fournier was efficient from the field, he was his usual self on the defensive side of the ball, which is terrible.
This starting lineup has not really meshed well together to start the season so far. While the bench has been good, a team cannot rely on its bench for sustainable success as the season goes on.
It will be interesting to see if Tom Thibodeau decides to make a change to the starting lineup, as we have seen how stubborn he is to do so. However, if the Knicks continue to lose with the starting lineup playing poorly, the front office could force his hand.
1. The Knicks’ perimeter defense was abysmal and cost them big time
The Knicks’ defense has been rough to watch all season, however, this game was easily the worst we have seen so far.
Outside of Donovan Mitchell being dominant, the Cavaliers were tremendous from three, shooting 23-for-50 as a team. The Cavaliers’ perimeter shooters of Dean Wade and Kevin Love put on a show, hitting six and eight threes, respectively.
Obviously, this Cavaliers team is full of three-point shooters, but the Knicks’ inability to close out and affect their opponents’ three-point shooting has hurt them so far.
As the season goes on, the Knicks will eventually regain one of their best defenders in Quentin Grines, so we can expect to see a boost in the team’s perimeter defense.
However, until the time comes, New York will need to play better on that side of the ball. We have seen the team play well offensively, as prior to the Cavaliers game, the team ranked third in points per game.
It is uncharacteristic to see a team coached by Thibodeau play so well offensively, yet struggle defensively. In all honesty, it is not out of the picture to expect a resurgence from this team on the defensive side of the ball.
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