Dylan Backer
The New York Knicks start their highly-anticipated Eastern Conference Finals matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, where they will hope to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Knicks’ frontcourt will be the difference maker vs. Cavs
New York certainly has the advantage coming in. Not only have they had nine days to rest, but they also will have home court advantage, paving the way for them to get closer to their ultimate goal.
For the Knicks to really take control of the series, they will be relying heavily on their frontcourt, in particular, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson. The two have been exceptional on both ends throughout the playoffs, and they will arguably be the biggest difference makers of this upcoming series.
Cleveland has a dynamic frontcourt with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, which is where the Knicks will need to use their size to their advantage. While they are unlikely to start both Towns and Robinson, expect those two to share the floor often.
Neutralizing Allen and Mobley will be key to this series, as their size and impact inside the paint was what propelled through a hard-fought seven- game series against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. Allen recorded 23 points and seven rebounds in Game 7 versus Detroit and Mobley scored 21 points, grabbed six rebounds, and recorded two steals and two blocks in the win.
Robinson and Towns have made a significant impact
Robinson has been a wrecking ball this postseason in his minutes. Against Philadelphia, his athleticism caused many problems for the 76ers, as they had no answer for him down low and on the glass. Robinson’s offensive rebounding prowess makes such a huge difference for New York.
Towns, meanwhile, has taken over a new type of offensive role that features him more as a facilitator, and the offense is thriving as a result. Towns is averaging 6.6 assists per game this postseason, which is more than James Harden, who is averaging 6.2 per game.
Those two players are going to make a huge difference, and how they perform could arguably be the deciding factor into the outcome of the series. Though the Knicks are heaving favorites against a Cavs team that had played two full-length series’, they cannot let their guard down.
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