Recap Playoff Game 4 | Cavs Lose 93 – 102

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Five things from Cavs/Knicks GM 4

1 – Donovan Mitchell had a terrible game.  

Not a bad game, a terrible game.  Mitchell failed to make the team better, had more turnovers than assists, and did not give a good effort throughout the game.

Mitchell somehow only scored two points in the second half, TWO?!?!?!   It looked like, at one point in the second half, he checked out.  Bickerstaff mentioned he thought some of Mitchell’s shots went in and out; that is being kind.  Mitchell would have had a hard time throwing the basketball in an empty bathtub, let alone the basket.

Mitchell is the leader and face of the organization, and for him to play that poorly in a playoff game is going to haunt Mitchell for a while.  

I am a huge Mitchell supporter and will be after this game, but this performance is unacceptable. He knows it; we all know it. Good on Mitchell for taking the blame for the loss, as that is not an easy spot.

2 – Mobley and Allen had a tough day also.

This duo was not as bad as Mitchell, but they had some runner-up moments.  

Let’s start with Allen.  At times on offense, it looks like the ball has poison ivy on it when Allen receives a pass, he fumbles the ball constantly looking nervous.  Allen also brings the ball down low to make it easy for defenders to knock it away.  Allen is a center and rebounded the ball four times in the game. Playing 40 minutes as a center, I find it impossible only to have four rebounds, but Allen somehow did it; kudos. He was bad in the paint, allowing the Knicks to do whatever they wanted to in the paint. 

Mobley actually played his best game of the series so far, with twelve points, and seven rebounds while fouling out.  Gulp.  My issue with Mobley in this game is at times will disappear on the offensive side of the floor, and yes, he does defend, but his lack of scoring and rebounding make it a moot point.  He does not impact the game outside of slowing down Randle, and he did a great job limiting Randle to only seven points.  Outside of that, there’s only a handful of plays he makes that are memorable.  

Next year Mobley needs to make a big step forward offensively and in rebounding. 

3 – where was the energy and sense of urgency?

Remarkable how the Cavaliers could come out with such little sense of urgency.  Where was the killer edge, diving for loose balls or maybe one hard foul?  Nothing in this game.

4 – The lack of a wing showed up in this game.

It has shown up all year, but I thought the lack of a wing was an eyesore, particularly in game four. I will say I thought LeVert and Okoro actually played well, but they are not wings.  One more big body would have gone a long way in this game and in the series.

5 – JB

JB is not a bad coach, but he is having a bad series.  He needs to bring in assistants, next season, who will help with energy, diagramming set plays out of timeouts, and in-game situations.  At times during the playoffs, it seems like the game is going too fast for him.  

Overall

Very tough weekend in NYC for the Cavs.  Maybe this needed to happen for the Cavs to make bigger strides next year because outside of that promising learning lesson, this has been a gut punch.  Game 5 is on Tuesday at the Rock, yippie.

Down 3-1 Need That 2016 Mojo!

The Cavaliers are on the verge of elimination from the NBA playoffs, losing to the New York Knicks 102-93 in Game 4. In the first half, the Cavs struggled, allowing the Knicks to build a 15-point lead while shooting just 31 percent from the field. Although Cleveland managed to take the lead in the third quarter, New York quickly regained control of the game.

Darius Garland had a slow start but kept the Cavs in the game with 21 points in the second half, shooting 8-for-11 from the floor. However, it was not enough to secure a win. On the other hand, Donovan Mitchell struggled in Game 4, scoring only two points in the second half after scoring 12 in the first.

As our team’s best player and All-Star starter, Mitchell’s performance was below par, and the Cavaliers needed more from him in Game 4. Despite their efforts to defend Jalen Brunson, the Knicks player scored 29 points, including shooting over 50 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, RJ Barrett and Josh Hart contributed 45 points combined.

Down 3-1 and returning home, the Cavs face an almost insurmountable task. However, as the 2016 playoffs showed, anything can happen.

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