Knicks need offensive help for Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle as Game 3 vs. Cavaliers looms
Knicks guard Jalen Brunson shoots against Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA first-round playoff series onTuesday night in Cleveland. Credit: AP/Ron Schwane
CLEVELAND — There is little doubt that the Knicks will arrive at Madison Square Garden Friday night with the requisite intensity necessary to take on the Cavaliers. But beyond the intensity and physicality, the Knicks need something else.
They need to make shots.
“We knew the challenge would be the intensity of the game,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after Tuesday night's 107-90 loss. “And so the physicality, the ball pressure, and then you got to make shots. When you get blitzed, trust the pass, make the second pass. You do that and see if you get a good shot and you got to make shots . . . It’s just your outlets. Part of that is the shot-making. You have wide-open shots, you’ve gotta knock them down.”
While Jalen Brunson didn’t have a typical game, shooting just 5-for-17 from the field, including 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, he still scored 20 points and did it under duress. Just as the Knicks attempted with Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs set out to blitz and trap Brunson, forcing him to move the ball and for the Knicks to scramble.
Too often they were too slow to move the ball after Brunson’s first pass, allowing the Cavs' ball pressure to harass lesser ball-handlers or for the shot blockers to recover. Or when they did get the ball to the open shooter it just didn’t fall.
RJ Barrett was 4-for-13 shooting and through two games is 6-for-25 from the floor, including 1-for-8 from three-point range. Immanuel Quickley recovered late with a 3-for-5 fourth quarter, but up until that point he was 1-for-8 in the first seven quarters of the series. Quentin Grimes is 1-for-6 through two games — all from three-point range.
Barrett, in particular, must find his form. The Cavs are forcing the ball away from Brunson and Julius Randle, and daring Barrett to beat them. And he has not. He has struggled from beyond the arc and his strength, getting to the rim and converting or drawing fouls, has been negated as he has seemed to back away from the shot-blocking tandem of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
“They were open,” Barrett said. “Good shots. Right around the basket. A shot I practice every day. Also, you can’t do the same thing all the time. You gotta switch it up. They have great rim protection, so you can’t just go at them every single time. So, just trying to switch it up. After that, I was able to actually drive and get some finishes.”
“Just keep trusting,” Thibodeau said. “Trust the game, trust your reads. If they’re blitzing, if you’re in the open floor and the second defender comes, just pass. Pass. If you’re open, you have an angle go to the basket. Attack.
“In Game 1, I looked at his shots. He had good shots. He had six assists in that game, he had four steals. If you’re not shooting well, just do some other things to help the team.”
One of the Knicks' strengths this season was that they weren't reliant on one star. Randle averaged 25.1 points and Brunson averaged 24. Barrett fell just short of giving them a trio of 20-point scorers. But on other nights it was Quickley or Josh Hart or Grimes providing the boost. Now, with the series tied 1-1 and heading home, they need that from them.
“I love how we fight,” Brunson said. “You’ve got to give them credit. They played really well. I’m never really disappointed in my teammates. We go out there and we sit together. If we win we win together. If we lose we lose together. I’m not disappointed in them at all. We’ve just got to be better.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
