Who are the biggest X-Factors ahead of Cavs-Knicks?
The NBA Playoffs tip-off Saturday, with one of the most intriguing first-round series taking place in the No. 4/5 portion of the Eastern Conference between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the New York Knicks. Who could be the biggest X-Factors from their series? Let’s dive into a couple of worthy candidates below!
New York Knicks
Biggest X-Factor: Immanuel Quickley, G
Both the Knicks and Cavs match up fairly well against other. Both teams have explosive scoring guards in Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell. The Cavs had the NBA’s best defense while the Knicks were a top-10 offense.
Both teams also had very productive benches throughout the season, which I think would be the ultimate difference maker for the Knicks, should Julius Randle be less effective due to his ankle injury.
The Knicks will need a reliable scorer outside of Brunson, who’s rightfully had his fair share of success against Cleveland this season, averaging 25.3 points and 6.0 assists on 56.6 percent true-shooting in three games.
That’s where Quickley, arguably the league’s sixth man of the year, comes into play. The Knicks were 8.5 points per better per 100 possessions with Quickley on the floor — most of that effectiveness came on the defensive end, but the Cavs don’t have enough reliable point-of-attack defenders to check Quickley consistently.
In their three meetings this season, Quickley averaged 10.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 25.2 minutes on a below-average 49.9 percent true shooting. But if Randle isn’t 100 percent healthy, what better spark could the Knicks ask for than a scoring outburst from their third-year guard?
Other candidates: Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart
Cleveland Cavaliers
Biggest X-Factor: Jarrett Allen, C
Surprisingly enough, one of the biggest advantages the Knicks have over the Cavaliers — from an X’s and O’s standpoint — is on the glass. The Cavaliers were a poor rebounding team all season, regardless of Evan Mobley and Allen.
Cleveland sported the bottom-third rebounding team all season, ranking No. 20 in offensive rebounding rate, defensive rebounding rate and total rebounding rate. The Knicks, conversely, was a top-3 offensive rebounding team this year, rostering two of the league’s most potent offensive rebounders in Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Possessions won’t be in abundance in this series, as both teams are two of the slowest-paced teams in the league. The offenses can be impactful, but they’re more methodical with their attacks than the average team.
That’s where Allen comes into play. You could argue the same about wunderkind Evan Mobley, Cavs were a much better defensive-rebounding squad with Allen on the floor. Per Cleaning the Glass, Cleveland’s defensive rebounding percentage was raised a team-most 4.5 percentage points when Allen was on the floor — ranking in the 97th percentile among bigs. Its offensive rebounding rate also spiked by 3.8 percent (84th percentile).
Outside of Allen and Mobley, the Cavs would rely on Robin Lopez off the bench for the backup 5 minutes, or maybe even Lamar Stevens or Cedi Osman if they really want to get funky.
Regardless, their frontcourt rotation — especially after the departure of Kevin Love — is slim pickings. The Knicks will be noisy on the offensive glass and will likely try to get Allen in foul trouble. As long as he’s able to stay on the court and impact the game on the glass, the Cavs should be in good shape.
Other candidates: Evan Mobley, Caris LeVert
***
Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch
Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube
Check out the Vendetta Shop
Click here for more NBA content
