What to Watch For - Cavs v. Knicks
Posted November 25th, 2008 by Michael Curry
What to Watch For tonight as the Cavaliers stray their vagabond shoes into the Big Apple.
1. Will the Knicks’ players be ready to unleash a little pent up aggression against LeBron and the boys after a week of stories about how it’s okay that they stink, because it will help bring LeBron to New York?
When the Cavs were in New Jersey last week, there were some rather thoughtful columnists saying that the best thing the Nets could do to woo LeBron would be to actually win a game against him, showing him that there was talent in New Jersey to build upon. The Knicks gave up any thought of that last Friday, when they sent their two best players out of town and replaced them with Taco Bell food.
But while the Cavaliers head into Madison Square Garden with a significant talent advantage and coming off of two days rest, don’t be surprised if the Knicks show a little fight, getting chippy as the fans shower LeBron with applause and thin-crust pizza and sub-prime mortgages and whatever else New York is teeming with these days. Remember, the Cavaliers actually lost in New York last season - even with LeBron wowing the crowd with 31 points and 6 steals - when David Lee and the now-departed Jamal Crawford combined for 43 points and powered the Knicks to an 18-point victory. Don’t be surprised if these two teams get on each other’s nerves very early tonight, with some jawing and some shoving and other extracurricular activities throughout the night.
Fortunately, Isiah Thomas is no longer around to tell his players to go after the opposition, like he did when he incited a small brawl two years ago when the Nuggets were in town.
2. Keep an eye on diminutive Knicks point guard Nate Robinson. Robinson is out to a hot start, averaging 15.3 points per game and shooting 41% from beyond the arc, and he averaged 18 points per game last season against the Cavaliers. Robinson, like Tyronne Lue and many other small-but-superquick guards, has a history of making life difficult for the Cavs, and he could be a factor tonight. And at least twice tonight he’s going to grab a rebound that he can’t possible reach (even though those might be his only two rebounds of the night. Serious, dude looks tiny at 5′9″). And if anyone is going to throw a sucker punch tonight, it’s going to be Robinson and his Napoleon complex leading the way.
3. The Cavaliers have to avoid getting into a running game with the Knicks, who will be constantly pushing the ball in new Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system. D’Antoni, who made his name with the 7-Seconds-or-Less Phoenix Suns, will be looking to exploit a shaky Cavalier transition defense that had its hiccups against teams like Chicago and Indiana a few weeks ago. Despite the talent disadvantage, the Cavaliers must remain disciplined tonight, imposing their will upon the Knicks, rather than allowing the Knicks to dictate the pace of the ballgame. You will know the Cavaliers are in trouble if they start settling for long jumpers instead of exploiting the very weak interior defense of the Knicks.
4. Knicks forward Al Harrington, acquired in that Friday trade for Jamal Crawford, will sit out tonight with a sore back. Cuttino Mobley, who the Knicks added from the Clippers in exchange for Zach Randolph, is also out as there are apparently some issues with his physical. Is anyone else still flabbergasted the Knicks made these trades and people are happy? At the very least, it means the Knicks are shorthanded tonight, which means that a focused Cavalier team will make quick work of New York and head right back to Cleveland for tomorrow night’s matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yeah, the schedule-makers have been much nicer to the Cavaliers to start this season.
5. More Than a Game, the documentary about LeBron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High School team has been sold to Lionsgate, and is tentatively scheduled for a Fall 2009 release. If you have a few minutes, go back and take a look at my thoughts from the Toronto Film Festival screening this Summer. In short, I loved it.
Go Cavs.
