In 2022, Donovan Mitchell hoped to get traded to the New York Knicks. The Cleveland Cavaliers ultimately swooped in and snagged him instead, and ever since, the two teams have been on somewhat parallel paths as the Eastern Conference’s perpetual bridesmaids.
They’re always in the mix. They’ve each had golden opportunities, with the Cavaliers winning 64 games a year ago to secure home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs and the Knicks stealing that home-court advantage after Cleveland’s surprise elimination. Both were knocked out by the Pacers last season, and both have changed coaches within the past two years to address postseason disappointments.
Both teams are probably happy with that decision now. Cleveland is now in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time with this core. The Knicks were here a year ago, but weren’t playing at nearly the level they are now. Neither team has had a better chance to reach the NBA Finals than they do now. Here’s what you need to know going into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Knicks vs. Cavs: Game 1 info
- Time: 8 p.m. ET | Date: Tuesday, May 19
- Location: Madison Square Garden — New York
- TV channel: ESPN | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
- Odds (via FanDuel): Knicks -6.5 | O/U: 217.5
Game 1 prediction
The Cavaliers are coming off of a seven-game war against the Detroit Pistons, which was preceded by a seven-game war against the Toronto Raptors. Those are two of the most physical defensive teams in basketball. Cleveland is probably exhausted. The Knicks just got a second All-Star break. More than that, in fact. The All-Star break created an eight-day gap between games for New York, and Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns had to participate in the weekend. The Knicks haven’t played a game in nine days. They are quite possibly better rested right now than they have been all season.
Rest vs. rust is a pretty common debate in the NBA, but the numbers overwhelmingly support rest. According to Lev Akabas of Sportico, there have been 65 playoff series that began with one team having a five-day or greater rest advantage over their opponent since 1984. The team with that rest advantage is 48-17 in those series and 42-23 in Game 1s. The average point-differential in those games is +6.8, which is right around the point spread for this game.
The Knicks have won their last seven games by 185 combined points. The rest advantage is overwhelming. They’re at home. I’m predicting a comfortable Game 1 victory. The Pick: Knicks -6.5
