Nearly midway into the 2023-24 NBA regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been one of the Eastern Conference's more polarizing teams. After last season's strong, albeit disappointing campaign and a stellar offseason, the Cavs are only a few games above .500 and are struggling through a two-game losing streak.
Many were hoping, Cleveland included, that the Cavs would emerge as one of the Eastern Conference's elite units, joining the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks at the summit. Instead, due to a combination of injuries and inconsistency, Cleveland is climbing the mountain, hoping to meet Milwaukee or Boston. Unfortunately, the Cavs aren't alone on this climb and are battling with the likes of the Orlando Magic, the Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.
Overall, Cleveland is 2-5 against the teams they stuck with, with more opportunities to find out where they belong still coming this year. Unfortunately, after New York made a power move to acquire OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors, the Knicks may already be a few steps ahead of the Cavs, even with one regular season contest between both squads.
Knicks jump Cavs
It's already a bit of a bitter pill for Cleveland, considering that they saw their season end at the hands of New York last year and are still dealing with the Knicks today. But, when they acquired Anunoby to trade starting spots with RJ Barrett, New York may have made a power move big enough to ruin things for the Cavs if both teams meet again during the postseason.
On paper, Anunoby makes an already stellar New York defense close to elite with his defensive abilities both on and off the ball. That under Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is an upgrade over what Barrett gave New York. But the fact that Anunoby is also capable of hitting three-pointers at a much more consistent rate on an even heavier volume is what puts this acquisition over the finish line for the Knicks.
Moreover, it also gives them a degree of separation from the Cavs, making things even more worrisome if both sides met again in the playoffs. On paper, Anunoby could help negate Donovan Mitchell, who hadn't performed well when Anunoby was still with the Raptors. A postseason tilt between Cleveland and New York with Anunoby now in the picture could really force the Cavs to lean on Darius Garland and Evan Mobley to create all over on offense.
Considering how small Garland and Mobley were when asked to do so last year against the Knicks, that could make anyone queasy. But, in the short term and for the remainder of the regular season, the race to the summit between the Cavs and Knicks could be over before both can hit the stretch run.
New York is already 1-0 in the Anunoby era and is nipping at the heels of a Cleveland team struggling with health and consistency. Already on tough sledding, things could get much worse as things advance, and the Cavs could see their season come to an end to, once again, come at the hand of the Knicks. The bitter pill becomes even more tough to consume.
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