Our next match up features two teams who have suffered a lot of pain in their respective histories. One franchise has not won a championship since 1973, while the other is still waiting for their first ring. They’re united in their hatred of this man, who caused both franchises much misery during his reign of dominance. They’ve both been around long enough, however, to field competitive all-time franchise teams, each of whom can advance in our tournament. Who would win the battle between the All-Time New York Knicks vs. All-Time Cleveland Cavaliers? Each team holds several key advantages.
New York’s Advantages
Depth: The Knicks have been around for 24 more years than the Cavaliers, and this difference is reflected in their respective benches. Every Knicks bench player was a multiple-time all-star with the team (other than Walt Bellamy, who’s a Hall-of-Famer), while the Cavs only have two players off the bench with these credentials (Terrell Brandon and Zydrunas Ilgauskas – neither of whom is a future Hall-of-Fame player). The Cavs’ starters will play heavier minutes than their counterparts, and may wear down over the course of the series.
Rebounding: New York features six players who averaged a double-double in scoring and rebounding on their team, while the Cavs don’t feature any. While part of this is due to generational differences (see below), the Knicks should maintain an advantage in this area.
New York’s Question Marks
Two-Center Lineup: How will Willis Reed and Patrick Ewing co-exist alongside one another? Both are natural centers, even though each has experience in a twin towers lineup (Reed with Walt Bellamy, and Ewing with Bill Cartwright). Expect Dave DeBusschere and Harry Gallatin to get plenty of minutes alongside each starter, with Willie Naulls occasionally mixed in as well.
Cleveland’s Advantages
James-Price Two-Man Action: What a perfect pairing. LeBron James is the one of the great playmakers ever, and Mark Price is one of the great shooters ever. In addition, Kyrie Irving, Terrell Brandon, and World B. Free are all capable shooters who should play well off of LeBron.
Multiple Points of Attack: Cleveland has multiple ways they can attack an opponent and initiate their offensive sets. They have three players in their starting lineup who can play point guard (Price, Irving, and James), and a great passing center in Brad Daugherty. Expect this offense to thrive, especially when the starting unit is on the floor.
Cleveland’s Question Marks
Depth: How many minutes can James play while guarding one of New York’s multiple perimeter threats? LeBron has averaged 39.9 minutes per game for his Cavaliers career, but that type of workload isn’t ideal when guarding Bernard King and Carmelo Anthony.
High Usage Scorers: James, Irving, and Free are all high usage players who are accustomed to having the ball in their hands. Each will have to adjust to not having the ball every possession, and Coach Lenny Wilkens will have to design an offense that emphasizes ball movement over one-on-one play.
X-Factor
When adjusting for era, will the Knicks maintain their statistical advantage on the glass? Rebounding percentage is not available in the basketball-reference.com database prior to the 1970-71 season, so it’s difficult to compare the raw totals of several of the Knicks’ pioneering big men to their modern-day counterparts. However, in the latter stages of Reed’s career, he still held an edge in this category over Larry Nance’s career total, as Ewing did over Daugherty. DeBusschere’s mark from 1971 on eclipses the total of Nance and Hot Rod Williams. While Naulls and Gallatin are difficult to contextualize, the Knicks should still maintain their advantage on the glass, even without major contributions from these two.
Results
In the words of sports writer Bill Simmons, “God hates Cleveland.” The Knicks have a deeper, more physical roster, and wear the Cavs down over the course of the series. Walt Frazier, the Knicks’ Mr. Clutch, wreaks havoc on the Cavs’ talented backcourt, and leads the team to victory.
New York wins, four games to two.
Next Round
New York faces the All-Time 76ers team.