After the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 7 win over the Detroit Pistons, Kenny Atkinson said that his team’s biggest tactical adjustment was to keep the ball away from Ausar Thompson, who is, obviously, an elite perimeter defender. But the New York Knicks have multiple elite perimeter defenders to throw at the Cavs, giving them a clear game plan: Unleash the hounds.
OG Anunoby (health-willing). Mikal Bridges. Josh Hart. Even a guy like Jose Alvarado. The Knicks are lined with pests on the defensive end, all of whom should be able to get into the space of Cleveland’s star players, bothering them on and off the ball. For as great a defense as the Pistons have, they didn’t exactly have that luxury. It was Thompson, and then a steep fall-off.
And part of that is because Detroit’s best perimeter defenders struggle to stay on the court because of their offensive limitations. New York doesn’t have that problem. As long as the Knicks have their best defenders keep up the pressure, they will be in a good spot.
Cavs won't be able to play offensive keep-away against the Knicks
Thompson is one of the best defenders in the NBA. It makes sense that Atkinson would want to keep the ball away from him. But the Cavs won’t have that luxury against the Knicks.
Nobody on the Knicks’ roster was in the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting like Thompson. He’s a special talent. But they have plenty of guys who can cause problems on the defensive end, all without worrying about the other side of the ball.
Kenny Atkinson on the Cavs' adjustments:
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) May 18, 2026
"The tactical adjustment we made was avoiding [Ausar] Thompson. We were just like, if he's near the ball, throw it to someone else." pic.twitter.com/jEcjGg4tkj
For as great a defender as Thompson is, he’s quickly building a reputation for being unreliable on the offensive end. As a result, JB Bickerstaff has to make some tough personnel decisions.
But Anunoby has been great on offense. Bridges can hold his own (usually). And Hart’s rebounding and three-point shooting bursts help him stay on the floor.
Plus, with those three guys on the court pestering Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, it’s going to be hard for Atkinson’s Cavs to simply move the ball away from the good defender.
Obviously, Atkinson was likely oversimplifying things. But Cleveland’s game of keep-away will be much more difficult with Anunoby, Bridges, and Hart helping out Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Especially when you consider the fact that the lineup will almost certainly be able to score a lot more points than anyone the Pistons tried to roll out.
Atkinson is walking into a very different series, and he’s going to have to do a lot more than just ‘avoid the best defender’ against the Knicks.
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