New York's massive Game 1 comeback was built off attacking James Harden to a historic level. What can Cleveland do for a Game 2 counter?
Stephen A.: Jalen Brunson destroyed James HardenHow much blame does Kenny Atkinson deserve for Cavs' loss? The New York Knicks didn't need complex stratagems or tactical trickery to pull off their 22-point fourth-quarter comeback to steal Tuesday's Game 1 from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Instead, the Knicks' approach was simple, effective and exposed to the entire basketball-watching world. That was a blunt statement toward Cleveland guard James Harden. But it was no less vicious than the Knicks' treatment of the former MVP and future Hall of Famer throughout their historic comeback. They were relentless in seeking out Harden on the defensive end, and they took advantage of Cleveland's inability to stop Jalen Brunson from scoring on Harden.
This brutally successful tactic poses a thorny question for Cleveland as it enters Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals . It also gives New York a blueprint to torch the Cavs' defense the rest of the series. The Knicks didn't start attacking Harden from the opening tip. In fact, they didn't target Harden with any picks in the first quarter, and they did so only six times through the first three quarters, according to GeniusIQ tracking.
But in the fourth quarter, facing a large deficit and a dwindling clock, the Knicks' offense used the man Harden was guarding -- typically Mikal Bridges or OG Anunoby -- to set a screen a whopping 16 times. No guard had been screened more often in any playoff quarter in the tracking era . New York targeted Harden with 27 picks overall, the most he had defended in a single game in his 17-year career.
Harden, incidentally, should be familiar with this single-minded approach. Out of 42 previous instances in the tracking era in which a guard had defended at least 10 screens in a quarter, more than half involved the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry. A large portion ofThat approach made sense: Curry's teammates included ace defenders Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala. Prime Harden's best chance to score was to target their smallest defender, Curry.
Beginning with 8:30 remaining in regulation on Tuesday, the Knicks manipulated the matchups to switch Harden onto Brunson for 10 consecutive possessions. It stalled the first two times: Brunson passed to Karl-Anthony Towns, who missed a driving layup, and Brunson kicked out to Bridges, who bricked an open 3-pointer. New York scored 18 points on the next eight possessions, 13 from Brunson alone. He beat Harden with floaters, pull-up jumpers and a crossover, behind-the-back dribble into a momentous 3-point splash.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me eight times in a row, shame on the Cavaliers' defensive principles for allowing such a streak. While the Knicks forced Harden to defend screens at an unprecedented rate, they didn't force him to actually defend Brunson every possession. Yet Cleveland was perfectly willing to cede the switch, even as Harden repeatedly got beaten.
For instance, during the final play from that 10-possession run, Bridges' screen didn't even make contact with Cavs forward Dean Wade before the two Cleveland defenders switch. At that point, the Cavaliers' 22-point lead had fallen to five points, and coach Kenny Atkinson called a timeout to change tactics. From then on, Cleveland mostly doubled Brunson -- but while that stopped his individual scoring, it opened lanes for Bridges and Anunoby, which helped New York tie the score.
Finally, with the Knicks down by two points in the last 30 seconds after a clutch Harden bucket at the other end, New York went back to what had worked all quarter. Cleveland once more switched even before Bridges' screen made contact, and Brunson scooted around Harden for an easy score-tying floater. New York coasted in overtime from there. Harden isn't typically a disastrous screen defender.
In the regular season, opponents scored 1.00 points per pick against Harden that led directly to a shot, foul, turnover or shot one pass away, per GeniusIQ. The overall league average was 0.99. But in Game 1 against New York, that number was 1.53. When Harden switched, it was 1.80.
Harden simply isn't equipped to match up against Brunson one-on-one in space. The alternatives aren't very appealing. The Cavs can't hide Harden on the least threatening offensive player, because Donovan Mitchell also needs someone to guard.
Doubling didn't work down the stretch in Game 1. Nor do the Cavaliers want to send extra help and get in rotation against the Knicks' offense, which would generate open 3s. The best option might be for Harden and Wade to more actively fight through screens, rather than concede the switch so passively.
They can force Bridges and Anunoby -- who don't typically screen with the frequency of Knicks big men Towns and Mitchell Robinson -- to actually set firm picks or else stick with their initial assignments and make the 6-foot-2 Brunson score over the more agile Wade. Generally, guards are more likely to switch than bigger defenders. Leaguewide this season, guards switched 45% of the time when defending screens, as compared with 30% for forwards and 13% for centers.
That's in part because guards are typically better suited to defend the ball handler. But in Game 1, in this specific matchup, Brunson exposed Harden as poorly suited to that task. Whether the Cavaliers can figure out and execute a better plan in Game 2 could dictate whether they steal a win in New York or return home down 0-2 for the second series in a row.
Picks Knicks Offense Eastern Conference Finals Cavaliers Versus Knicks
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Knicks' OG Anunoby cleared to play in Game 1 against Cavs in Eastern Conference finalsThe Knicks announced that Anunoby has been cleared to play and will start in Game 1.
Read more »
‘We were attacking Harden’: Knicks, Brunson go after Cavs veteran in stunning comebackThe Cleveland Cavaliers blew a 22-point lead to lose Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to the New York Knicks in overtime on Tuesday night, and James Harden’s struggles at each end of the court played a big part in the collapse.
Read more »
Cavaliers shrug off concerns about Harden as they try to even East Finals against the KnicksJalen Brunson against Donovan Mitchell was the matchup splashed across the screens to hype the Eastern Conference finals.
Read more »
GAME BLOG: Western Conference Final Golden Knights V. Avalanche, Game 1Welcome to Ball Arena! Stay tuned for all of the action!
Read more »