Cavaliers spent months reacting to the playoff loss to the Knicks; they're still learning
CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers are still learning lessons from the New York Knicks.
Ever since the clock ran out on the Cavs in the first round of last year's playoffs, while the Knicks celebrated after a five-game series, Cleveland has been adamant that it would take that schooling and not allow it to happen again.
Much of this season, then, became about the adapted Cavs sizing up the rest of the Eastern Conference. It has been about whether they added enough shooting, or if they are now tough enough to avoid being outmuscled again, or if they can really turn the corner and win their first playoff series without LeBron James in three decades.
They won't know those answers until they get into a seven-game series in the playoffs. But this two-game stretch in their schedule with back-to-back home games against the Knicks and then the clear No. 1 seed in the East, the Boston Celtics, acts as a de facto midterm.
And the Cavs are still taking notes they hope to carry into the playoffs.
Cleveland lost 107-98 to the Knicks Sunday night. At times, Sunday night's game looked eerily similar to the playoff series debacle when the Cavs couldn't buy a 3-pointer, and other instances when offensive rebounds led to back-breaking baskets by the Knicks.
Now, there might not be as much to glean from the loss considering the Cavs were without Donovan Mitchell (who arguably has had his MVP case strengthened considering how the offense has fallen apart without him), and the Knicks were without several starters to begin with and then lost Jalen Brunson 47 seconds into the game. In many ways, the film from this game can be thrown out compared to what each roster would look like when healthy.
But it did remind the Cavs that, at some point, they'll need to proverbially punch other teams in the mouth. And after a season of success with pushing the tempo, it reminded them that they cannot afford to let up for even a second.
"Effort. You just got to want it," said Isaac Okoro after the loss. "At the end of the day, that's all it takes is effort."
That was also the first word that came out of Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff's mouth after the game.
"Effort. That simple," Bickerstaff said. "[The Knicks] set the tone with the first play. They got an offensive rebound on the first possession. So we've got to better understand how important it is to us."
Cavaliers fighting for No. 2 seed in East heading into game against Boston Celtics
In reality, it was just another game in an 82-game slate. But a loss to the Knicks, which basically transported the Cavs back to last April? It'll only worsen the sour taste that was left after the playoff exit, particularly considering it's no secret the Cavs directly responded with the offseason decisions that were made, including the additions of Max Strus, Georges Niang and others.
The Cavs spent the offseason trying to diversify their offensive attack. They've spent the regular season trying to show what they did was enough to get over that mountain of expectations.
"They did a great job of taking away what our strengths were because of the way that they shrunk the floor, and because we were pretty predictable," Bickerstaff said before the game, referencing how the Cavs front office responded to the Knicks series. "We were really good at it, but you knew where our attacks were coming from. So it did open our eyes a little bit that we needed to diversify that and be a little bit hard to find and difficult to guard, and come at you from different points of attack.
"So, again, you try to learn from everything, and we took that as a learning lesson."
The Cavs were also taking notes Sunday night. Next up is a battle with the Celtics, the hottest team in the NBA and the clear-cut top seed in the East. It's another chance to go to school as they try to absorb every nugget of knowledge they can for how to best prepare for the playoffs.
With luck, the Cavs have their pencils sharpened and are ready to go. Class begins at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter and Threads at @ByRyanLewis.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavaliers still learning from playoff loss to Knicks
