Knicks look to pick up their first win against a top three team
It’s impossible to talk about the 2024-25 Knicks without bringing up their record against the consensus top three teams, also known as the Thunder, Cavaliers, and Celtics, and rightfully so. Despite entering the season prematurely crowned as potential contenders, they’re currently 0-7 against those teams and have been blown out on national television on multiple occasions in those games.
That has led to many fans and analysts dumbfounded at times. Because as their record suggests, this Knicks team, despite their flaws and shortcomings, has been a good, dare I even say great, team against the other 26 teams. They’ve swept the season series against the Nuggets and Grizzlies, have split the season series against the Rockets, and are 2-1 against the Pacers and come into tonight with a 48-27 record, which gives them the fourth-best record in the league. And regardless of a team’s struggles against their superior, a .640 winning percentage and a top-five record in the league is good.
But as was mentioned earlier, it just hasn’t been good enough for most people. Now, a win tonight won’t magically or instantly flip the narrative. New York won’t be heralded as a team that can consistently beat the elite teams in the league, and a 1-7 record against such teams is still nothing to be proud of. But a win tonight would serve as a much-needed confidence booster. The players may not outwardly admit it, and the press may not be impressed by it, shoot, even the fans may just say pin it on being one game. Yet, there’s no doubt that a win would at least plant the seeds of confidence in all of those aforementioned groups that maybe, just maybe, this team can win, or at the very least, compete with the best of the best.
Just how hard of a task will it be though? Well, Cleveland does still hold the best offensive rating in the league by a wide margin, has the eighth-best defensive rating in the league, and has the league’s second-best net rating in the league. And as if beating the Cavaliers in Cleveland on the second night of a back-to-back when the opponent hasn’t played a game since Sunday wasn’t difficult enough, the Knicks will have to do so with Jalen Brunson out, and with Karl-Anthony Towns, Cameron Payne, and Deuce McBride all having missed last night’s game as well.
That isn’t to say that tonight’s game is completely unwinnable, though. The Cavaliers, despite spending the overwhelming majority of the season as a top-two team in the league, have faltered a little bit down the stretch. Over their last 10 games, they are just 20th in defensive rating and eighth in offensive rating, and their net rating of 1.6 is just 14th in the league, three spots lower than the Knicks’ net rating of 4.6. A lot of those struggles did come amid a four-game losing streak they suffered in mid-March, where they lost to the magic, the Clippers, Kings, and Suns. And they have since righted the ship, winning four of their last five during a relatively easier stretch of the schedule that has included games against the Jazz, Trail Blazers, and Spurs. But it’s clear that this team is beatable.
Prediction
Tonight’s game should be an interesting one because the Cavaliers have not faced this version of the Knicks before. They are clearly a better team without Jalen Brunson, but without him, they have found new and different ways to win basketball games. Cleveland is good enough, and well-coached enough, to make the necessary adjustments, but with OG Anunoby playing likely the best two-way basketball of his career, Towns getting some much-needed rest last night, Bridges having a solid stretch as well, and Mitchell Robinson finally looking healthier, and more dominant, New York has the chance to, what people would say, “do the funniest things ever” and finally beat a top three team in the league, and do so without their captain, and best player.
That being said, the Cavaliers have had two full off days to not only rest but prepare for this Knicks team, while New York will be less than 24 hours removed from a win against a 76ers team that kept themselves in the game for longer than some would have expected. I do think that the Knicks, with their improved defense and a motivated Anunoby, keep this game close and give fans some semblance of confidence that they can compete with this team. But given the Cavaliers’ freshness, health, and depth, I think they outlast the Knicks in the end. Cavaliers take it 120-115.
Game Details
Teams: New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers
Location: Rocket Arena, Cleveland OH
Date and Time: Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 7:00 PM ET
Broadcast: ESPN
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky