Part two of the LeBron James-Cleveland Cavaliers saga is set to premiere on October 30 when Dan Gilbert’s franchise unleashes its new look roster that features not just one, not two, but three All-Stars on its lineup against the New York Knicks. Will the new era of Cavaliers basketball open up with a bang? Or will the Knicks play the part of the spoilers? Read on for a detailed preview of this game, which is also part of our list of must-watch NBA games this coming season.
You can also check out our in-depth preview of the opening night matchup between the Rockets and the Lakers here.
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New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview
[sc:NBA240banner ]The Triangle has arrived at Gotham and whether that’ll make The Garden Eden again depends on how well new coach Derek Fisher will be in employing it and how his players are going to fit in that scheme. Let the second-guessing come later, though. As for now, the only thing that’s sure for the Knicks is that they can flat out put up points on the board, an assessment that has a lot to do with Carmelo Anthony’s decision to stick with New York.
With Anthony still in tow, the Knicks have one of the best scorers in the league to run their offense around. Anthony was second in the league last season with 27.4 PPG on 45.2% field goal shooting.
Only a few perimeter players can match up well with LeBron James on offense and the Knicks should be thankful that they have one in Anthony. A blockbuster deal that brought Jose Calderon to the team should also see the Knicks improve their ball movement and therefore their offense. The Knicks finished 28th in the league last season in assists with 20.0 per game but with Calderon, a better table setter than Raymond Felton, other talented scorers like J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert will see their amount of touches increase, especially in a motion-driven offense like the Triangle.
Packaged with Calderon in the trade was Samuel Dalembert, who’s a less gifted player on offense than Tyson Chandler but is on par when it comes to rim protection, having averaged 1.2 BPG with the Dallas Mavericks last season. If Dalembert can hold his own against Kevin Love and limit the Cavs big man’s rebounds, then it will help power the Knicks’ offense. See, the Knicks averaged 105.4 per 100 possessions last season, which means New York is efficient at turning possession into points.
The Knicks are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games.
The triumvirate of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and LeBron James is so formidable on paper it isn’t even funny. No team will find it funny too when they get matched up against this version of Cleveland, including the Knicks who’ll come into town looking to spoil the debut of the newly formed threesome.
James alone is a world of headache on offense and on defense for opposing teams. He’s third in scoring last season with 27.1 PPG and the only non-frontcourt player inside the top 5 of field goal percentage with a 56.7% clip from the floor while playing for the Miami Heat. James also led the Heat in rebounding (7.1 RPG), assists (4.8 APG), and steals (1.8 SPG). There’s no one on the Knicks’ roster that can effectively stop James on a one-on-one set up and even if New York throws an extra defender at him, James, being a talented passer, can easily dish out dimes to open teammates. The mismatch doesn’t just end on James, however.
There’s also practically no guard in New York’s lineup who can stay in front of Irving. Not Jose Calderon and certainly not Pablo Prigioni, who has ugly memories of guarding the Cavs point guard. Irving was the Cavs’ leader in points (20.8 PPG) and assists (6.1 APG) last season.
Then there’s Love, who’s a tremendous rebounding machine and a big man with a deft touch from the outside. He finished third in the league in rebounding last season with the Minnesota T’wolves, hauling down 12.5 RPG. What separates Love from other great rebounders, though, is his ability to ignite fast breaks by throwing excellent outlet passes. With Love gobbling up boards and heaving long passes in Minnesota, the T’wolves were able to become one of the best teams on the open court, averaging 16.0 fast break points per game last season.
Acquiring serviceable bench pieces in Shawn Marion and Mike Miller, meanwhile, have given the Cavs solid rotation guys. Cleveland was ninth last season in bench scoring with 34.5 PPG.
