It’s unfortunately here. Do or die. The Cavaliers are on the brink of elimination since they’re down 3-1 to the Knicks. One more loss in this series, and they’ll be going into the offseason wondering what in the world happened. But I’ll tell you exactly what has happened through the first four games of this series: Hard work has beaten talent. Correction: Hard work has taken talent out back behind the woodshed and thumped it mercilessly!
The Cavaliers have been exposed. They’re inexperienced when it comes to dealing with the unique animal that is high-pressure Playoff basketball. And the veteran coach has run circles around the young up and comer. Tom Thibodeau has shown exactly why he belongs in this profession. He has a team that isn’t as talented as their opponent, playing with a hunger, swagger and desire I wish the Cavs had shown in this series. The only time Cleveland played on that level was Game 2, an impressive Cavalier victory. If Cleveland had played like that for the entire series, the situation may very well be reversed, with Cleveland up big, and on the verge of possibly facing Miami in the Eastern Semis. But alas, that’s not where we currently are.
Forget advancing to the next round. Toss that out the window. The season is on the line, and 48 minutes away from ending prematurely. The Cavaliers have to get it done tonight. And they can. How? Let’s take a look at the Keys to Victory.
Effort, Effort, Effort!
I would say this is probably the biggest reason the Cavaliers are losing this series as badly as they are. New York has just outhustled them overall. And that’s extremely concerning. Effort is just one of the things you can’t really coach. Sure, you can motivate a team to have better effort on a given night. But when it comes down to it, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and everyone else, just has to find a way to dig deep and get it done. It’s on them. Screw unlucky bounces (and there were plenty of those in the fourth quarter last game), screw questionable officiating if it happens, screw all the haters. Good teams just find a way to get it done. Period. The Cavs were tantalizingly close to tying the series in the fourth quarter, until New York just got a bunch of lucky breaks. Every shot seemed to fall, and every crucial rebound went their way late in the game.
Luck is luck. Sometimes it’s just not a team’s night. But extra effort definitely has an impact on whether or not a team is more likely to get those lucky breaks. And even if a team doesn’t get a lucky break, high effort and high energy can sustain them until the next opportunity shows up during the game. And if and when it does? They’ll be ready to pounce on it. The Cavaliers just need to bring extra effort tonight. If they don’t? They may as well not even walk out of the locker room, and stay home for the offseason. If a team cannot show up focused, energized, and angry on their own home floor, what’s the point?
Earth to Donovan Mitchell: There’s a game to play!
11 points. That was all Donovan Mitchell had to offer last game. 11 measly points from the guy who is supposed to be the unquestioned leader of this team. Remember how Donovan Mitchell pulled Darius Garland aside and tuned him up after the Cavs lost Game 1? I think it’s about time for the Cavs coaching staff, and perhaps Darius Garland himself, to return the favor, and tune up Donovan Mitchell in return! For as much as I was defending him after Cleveland lost Game 1, that’s how much I’m disappointed in him before Game 5. We’re in the later stages of this one, and he’s largely disappeared in this series. Inexcusable and totally unacceptable from him.
I like him a lot. He’s a freak athlete, and so far, he has been worth what the Cavaliers have given up for him. But he has not done what he is supposed to do here in the Playoffs when it matters the most. He needs to score at least 25 tonight. If not? He’ll have all offseason to stew over why he didn’t.
Get the crowd into it!
Yes, our starters need to do their job. Yes, the bench needs to score at least 25 points. But hear me out: The Cavs are going to need the crowd to win this one. People sometimes underestimate how much of a “6th man” a home crowd can be. But when they’re at full strength and full volume, there are few crowds louder in the entire league than a bunch of riled up, crazy Cleveland fans!
The Cavaliers need to get off to a fast, commanding start to get their fans excited. Not just by hitting big shots, but by getting up close and personal with the Knicks, and getting physical with them. Basketball is usually a finesse game. But Cleveland is known for being a tough, hard-nosed blue-collar city. The Cavs will need to “ugly this one up” in order to get a capacity crowd of 19,432 on their feet. And then once the crowd is into it? Feed off their energy and enthusiasm! Every dunk. Every three. Every tough defensive stand. The Cavaliers need to feed off the crowd’s reaction to all those things. Hopefully they whip them into such a frenzy, that the noise threatens to blow the roof off the place!
And hopefully after the smoke clears, the Cavaliers will still be alive to fight another day on Friday for Game 6 in New York! But none of that happens if they don’t get the job done tonight. Right here. Right now. It’s time to hold the line. This has gone far enough. Tonight the Cavaliers play for their postseason lives. It’s time to see if they can summon a heavy dose of that Game 2 magic.
It all tips off at 7 on NBA TV and Bally Sports Ohio. GO CAVS!
Picture Credit: ESPN
