{"id":195709,"date":"2026-05-19T14:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=195709"},"modified":"2026-05-19T14:36:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T18:36:59","slug":"cavaliers-game-1-ecf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/19\/cavaliers-game-1-ecf\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Keys to Help the Cavaliers Secure a Game 1 Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Making it to the Eastern Conference Finals is monumental for the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>. The ECF is a promised land the Cavaliers have not reached since LeBron James<\/a> took them there in 2018. Now, they’re storming back three years after trading for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the Cavs flashed potential in recent years, they were also limited to second-round exits in that span. Facing eventual NBA Finals teams in both years, the Cavaliers did not seem to have the necessary pieces to get over the hump. However, their opponent in this series appears to be the most finals-worthy candidate from this wide-open Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks<\/a> have taken full advantage of the absence of title contenders like the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers this postseason. Both of the Knicks’ series thus far have been comfortable for them. This is despite their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks stretching to a deceptive six games.<\/p>\n

So what cards must the Cavaliers play to secure a Game 1 victory?<\/p>\n

Two Keys to Help the Cavaliers Secure a Game 1 Victory<\/h2>\n

Get The Bigs Going Early<\/h3>\n

Both Jarrett Allen<\/a> and Evan Mobley<\/a> showed up big time in Game 7 against the Detroit Pistons<\/a>. This was after a difficult Game 6, where the Cavaliers could have closed the series. The Cavaliers shot just 39% from the field, with more turnovers (20) than assists (15).<\/p>\n

Allen and Mobley combined to attempt 20 shots in Game 6. On average, both bigs combine for at least 18 shot attempts in the Cavaliers’ postseason wins.<\/p>\n

Mitchell, who is still the Cavaliers’ primary ball handler, will have his own role in helping both Allen and Mobley find their rhythm. Mitchell had eight assists in Game 7 against the Pistons, which is a postseason high for him. While he did have an amazing second-half performance in Game 5 against Detroit, Mitchell has also had his fair share of difficulties offensively, playing against the second-best defense in the NBA. The Knicks’ defense<\/a>, suggested to be better than what they are given credit for, has already marked Mitchell as their primary target. This means that moving the rock will be important for the Cavaliers to stay on top.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

More Than Just the Stars<\/h3>\n

With just ten players on the hardwood at any given time, one or two can be the game changers for a single team. Luckily for the Cavaliers, they have exactly the sort of personnel that can swing the game in their favor. Both Mitchell and James Harden<\/a> are prolific scorers who attract the defense’s attention, despite the latter’s playoff struggles.<\/p>\n

However, a team becomes top-heavy when it is too dependent on its star players. And while this has been a concern for previous iterations of the Cavs, this is not something that holds their current group back.<\/p>\n

Sam Merrill<\/a> had the highest scoring game of this series in Game 7, scoring 23 points with five 3-pointers. Averaging 8.1 points per game in the playoffs, Merrill has been key for the Cavaliers off the bench. He is incredibly efficient as a catch-and-shoot scorer. However, he is not a volume shooter, and the team needs him to take more threes. This will help stretch the floor and keep the defense guessing, even when players like Mitchell and Harden are cold.<\/p>\n

Max Strus<\/a> is another such player. His offensive impact has been limited, scoring single digits in nine of his 14 playoff games this season. Strus, however, did not have a lot of time to re-acclimate to NBA basketball, making his season debut on March 15 after breaking his left foot during the offseason.<\/p>\n

However, the 6’5″ wing has managed to impact winning in other ways. Strus has had eight postseason games with at least five rebounds, giving Cleveland more opportunities for second-chance points.<\/p>\n

The Last Word On Knicks vs Cavaliers Game 1<\/h3>\n

While the Knicks are favorites to win this series, Cleveland definitely has things in their favor that makes this an intriguing matchup. Harden has largely been consistent as the second option for this team. He has had just two games with less than 15 points, with both of them against the Pistons. Bouncing back in Game 1 against the Knicks will help the Cavaliers keep it close, if not win outright. There will be a ton of pressure for Mitchell to perform his best as he reaches the biggest stage of his career yet.<\/p>\n

As the Knicks attempt to make their way to the NBA Finals, this Cavaliers team led by Mitchell and Harden may prove to be its biggest barrier — and perhaps, even their downfall.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Ken Blaze-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making it to the Eastern Conference Finals is monumental for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The ECF is a promised land the Cavaliers have not reached since LeBron James took them there in 2018. Now, they’re storming back three years after trading for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell. While the Cavs flashed potential in recent years, they were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5724,"featured_media":196150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,9,62,12,3],"tags":[50432,900,444,1478,2619],"class_list":["post-195709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-cavaliers","category-nba","category-knicks","category-news","tag-2026-nba-playoffs","tag-donovan-mitchell","tag-james-harden","tag-max-strus","tag-sam-merrill"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5724"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195709"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":196155,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195709\/revisions\/196155"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}