The New York Knicks were better on the road than at home during the regular season and that spilled over to Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series with an upset in Cleveland. The teams play Game 2 on Tuesday with the Cavs favored on the NBA odds.
Knicks vs. Cavaliers, Game 2 | 2023 NBA Playoff Expert Analysis
How to Bet New York at Atlanta NBA Odds & TV Info
When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Cavs -5 (total 213.5)
Why Bet on New York?
The Knicks took Game 1 by a score of 101-97. Julius Randle returned from a sprained left ankle and had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes. The biggest play he made came with the Knicks clinging to a 99-97 lead with less than 10 seconds left in regulation. Knicks guard Jalen Brunson missed a 22-foot jumper with 9.1 seconds left, but Randle gobbled up the rebound and then Knicks guard Quentin Grimes was fouled a few seconds later and iced the game with two clutch free throws.
“He’s a presence,” Brunson said of Randle “It may not be shooting. … Obviously, he can do all that, but the offensive rebound was huge, the little things that he has committed himself to do has been fantastic. It helps us — some of the things that he does, it may not go in the stat sheet, but it’s big time.”
Brunson shot 11-of-24 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line to finish with 27 points. After being limited in the first half by foul trouble, Brunson put the Knicks on his back after halftime. Cleveland really couldn’t find an answer for Brunson defensively, with Isaac Okoro, Donovan Mitchell, and even Cedi Osman all being called upon.
Josh Hart logged 32 minutes off the bench and had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Hart had an injury scare during the fourth quarter, as he sprained his left ankle after attempting to collect a rebound. He would remain in the game after the ensuing timeout and, hit a critical 3-pointer on the next possession.
Hart led the way for the Knicks bench that outplayed its Cavalier counterparts, outscoring (17-14) and out-rebounding (10-5) Cleveland’s reserves by himself. Isaiah Hartenstein (eight points, five rebounds) and Obi Toppin (9/4/1 with one 3-pointer) also gave the Knicks good minutes off the bench, while Immanuel Quickley struggled and went 0-of-5 from the field. Hart is questionable for Tuesday.
The Knicks’ bench dominated the Cavaliers’ reserves across four meetings and it overwhelmed them again in Game 1. It was 37-14 in favor of coach Tom Thibodeau’s second unit on Saturday, and that was with Quickley having a nightmarish evening. All four members of the bench had positive ratings, led by Hartenstein’s plus-19 in 22 minutes.
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Why Bet on Cleveland?
Donovan Mitchell finished with 38 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the loss. With Saturday’s game being the first postseason game for many of his teammates, including Cleveland’s other four starters, Mitchell was very assertive offensively. Darius Garland took a back seat offensively, finishing with 17 points and five turnovers in 43 minutes.
Jarrett Allen shot 6-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the foul line to finish with 14 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Allen and Evan Mobley (8/11/2/1) combined to grab 25 of the Cavaliers’ 38 rebounds on the night, but the Knicks were able to grab 17 offensive rebounds. Those extra opportunities, and the second-half mastery of Jalen Brunson, proved to be the difference in Game 1 of this series. Mobley shot 4-of-13 from the field, which hasn’t been the norm for a player who made 55.4% of his attempts during the regular season.
In Game 1, Cleveland held the Knicks to 101 points on 37-88 (.420) shooting from the field and 8-29 (.276) shooting from beyond the arc and swiped nine steals. During the regular season, the Cavaliers were 25-3 when holding their opponent to 101 points or fewer (15-1 at home).
When trailing 0-1 in any series, the Cavs have gone on to win six series in their postseason history. Since 2009, the Cavs are 16-5 in Game 2s of any playoff series (25-21 all time). Cleveland is also 23-7 at home in the postseason in their last 30 home playoff games since 2016.
In his five games this season against the Knicks (including postseason), Mitchell is averaging 33.0 PPG, 7.6 APG, 4.8 RPG and 1.6 SPG in 39.8 MPG, including shooting 28-63 (.444) from beyond the arc. Game 1 against the Knicks was Mitchell’s 40th career playoff game. He scored 1,143 points in his first 40 postseason games, the 8th-most by any NBA player in their first 40 postseason contests. Mitchell also made the 2nd-most three-pointers for a player in their first 40 playoff games with 135.
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Game Trends
- Knicks are 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 games following a ATS win.
- Knicks are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 Tuesday games.
- Cavaliers are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games overall.
- Cavaliers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games.
- Knicks are 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings.
Expert Prediction
Cavs 107, Knicks 104
Donovan Mitchell goes off For 38 Points In Game 1 vs Knicks!
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