4 Biggest playoff obstacles Knicks need to prepare for against Cavaliers
After what has felt like an eternity of waiting for the New York Knicks and Cavaliers to tip off in the playoffs, there’s only one day left until the two teams will take the court at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for Game 1.
The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 51-31 record, four games ahead of the 47-35 Knicks. Cleveland was predicted to be one of the top teams in the East after trading for Donovan Mitchell, but New York was projected to be a play-in team. Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle helped the Knicks avoid the play-in tournament altogether, which has played to their benefit as Randle recovers from a sprained ankle.
Cleveland is the favorite to move on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but if New York has proven one thing this season, it’s that it shouldn’t be counted out. Or maybe the Knicks should be counted out because that’s when they do their best work.
Overcoming the Cavaliers won’t come without its challenges. Regardless of how well the Knicks may play in the first-round series, there are a series of obstacles that New York will need to conquer to survive and advance.
4 obstacles the Knicks will need to overcome in playoff series versus Cavaliers
4: Cavaliers homecourt advantage
Because Cleveland finished as the No. 4 seed, the Cavaliers have homecourt advantage over the Knicks in the first round. If the series goes to Game 7, that pivotal contest will be held in Cleveland.
New York finished the regular season with a 23-18 record at home and a 24-17 record on the road. The Knicks started the season by struggling in games played at MSG, but that changed as the year wore on.
Although the team had nearly an identical record at home and on the road, the playoffs are a different beast. New York may not have homecourt advantage, but it does have the advantage of calling Madison Square Garden home. Remember how rowdy MSG was two years ago? Expect that same environment but multiplied by 100. The Cavaliers haven’t made it to the playoffs since 2018 when LeBron was still in town, so Cleveland is going to be rocking as well.
The good news is that homecourt advantage didn’t affect the Knicks in 2021 when they were the No. 4 seed and lost to the No. 5 Hawks, winning only one game.