The Knicks schedule isn’t letting up quite yet.
After starting their season with an opening-night trip to the 2024 champion Celtics and a home opener against a Pacers team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season, the Knicks are readying to see the undefeated Cavaliers in Game 3 of the year on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Cleveland, which has won three straight games to start the season, features a deep rotation with six players regularly scoring double-digits and Donovan Mitchell as the head of the snake.
“They were very good last year as well,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Any team when you have Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt, it’s very dynamic. And then of course, you’re talking about Jarrett Allen and [Evan] Mobley up front. And then they adjust and they got [Dean] Wade, they got [Georges] Niang, they got guys. [Sam] Merrill, who can spread the floor and shoot threes.
“So it’s a team that’s very potent offensively. They can play fast, they can bring it down off the dribble and the bigs on the boards, you’re concerned about that. And so you have to be strong in every area. You have to finish your defense, you have to finish your offense against them. [They] have shot-blocking — they’re a very good team.”
With just two games of data for the Knicks to work with, no stats can be taken with anything more than a grain of salt, but it was a much improved showing against the Pacers compared to the opening-night loss in Boston.
The Knicks had all five starters in double-digits, with Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns both recording double-doubles in a blowout 123-98 win.
“There were several sequences in which I thought our defense was really tied together,” Thibodeau said. “I thought OG [Anunoby] was really disruptive, his activity was through the roof. I thought Josh’s all-around game was huge for us. Jalen [Brunson’s] Jalen. And then the bench guys are good as well.
“It’s a very potent offensive team. We’re being tested right away by some of the best offenses in the league. Cleveland falls into that category. We’re gonna have to be tied together in that game as well.”
When reserve Ariel Hukporti checked into the win over Indiana, cameras appeared to catch Deuce McBride impressing on him the importance of using those minutes to earn Thibodeau’s trust.
“It’s not only my trust, it’s his teammates’ trust,” Thibodeau said. “It’s everyone’s trust. I think for any player who’s coming into the league, the first thing is to learn how to be a pro and you come in initially, you’re learning a completely different league… It starts with practicing well first, then once you do that, it’s taking the next step, which is applying it to game situations. It’s not easy.”