Knicks Face Critical Rotation Decisions If Slow Starts Continue vs Cavaliers in Playoff Series

Kenny Atkinson was able to comprehend the thoughts that Mike Brown was having.

Before the first game of the 2026 Eastern Conference finals, the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers fielded a question about a significant decision that his counterpart on the bench of the New York Knicks had made two rounds earlier. This decision was the decision to dramatically reorient his offense, shifting from a version that was primarily based on Jalen Brunson creating with the ball in his hands to the more motion-heavy approach that Brown had attempted to implement at the beginning of the season, with Karl-Anthony Towns serving as the playmaking hub at the top of the court.

The New York Knicks went on a rampaging run that resulted in seven consecutive victories and a second consecutive appearance in the conference finals. This high-octane offense would now become Cleveland’s problem as a result of the tactical modification that was implemented. In light of this, what was Atkinson’s reaction to the change? This idea that necessity is the mother of invention is true.

Just before the first game, Atkinson made the following statement: “Down 2-1, we gotta change something, something’s not working — I get it.” “Atlanta possesses some remarkable iso defenders.

“There are instances when it’s like, you know, you have to be confronted with that situation first, right? And at that point, you are thinking, “Oh, man, we really need to make a change.”

The Cleveland Cavaliers are plagued by a multitude of issues, including Donovan Mitchell’s ability to score, James Harden’s ability to make plays, Evan Mobley’s growing flexibility, Jarrett Allen’s growing physicality on the boards, and credible shooters everywhere. Nevertheless, Brown was confronted with a particular challenge at the beginning of the first quarter: Cleveland was not going to provide the Knicks with their favorite defensive matchups in this game. On the other hand, not just yet.)

Why the Knicks got off to a slow start

Atkinson began the series by cross-matching, placing power forward Mobley on Towns and center Allen sliding over onto forward Josh Hart. This is an alignment that we discussed in our series preview, and it is one that numerous teams have utilized against the Knicks ever since Tim Thibodeau’s tenure. The goal of this alignment was to defang New York’s more dangerous offensive weapons by funneling shots to Hart, who was a shaky shooter at times. During the regular season, he shot 41.3% from three-point range, but he entered the conference finals in the 2026 playoffs with a record of just 11-for-40 from deep.

After the first game, Brown made the following statement to Josh: “You know, we faced this coverage all year.” In addition, we had a strong performance during the course of the year, and we were able to overcome it in Atlanta.

Nevertheless, the Knicks had a difficult time getting off to a good start when they faced it in Game 1 against Cleveland. Mobley’s ball pressure, the Cavaliers’ seamless switching off-ball screens to take away backdoor cuts, and Allen sagging off Hart to park himself in permanent help position near the paint were all factors that prevented the Knicks from finding anything clean on their opening possession. As a result, the Knicks settled for a contested late-clock pull-up three-pointer by the returning OG Anunoby. New York went straight to Towns as the high-post hub.

New York swiftly set up a counter on its next possession, putting the ball in Hart’s hands to lure Allen into the play and out from the paint while running an off-ball action with Brunson and Towns. This was done as a method of seeking another entry point into the two-man game that was responsible for the destruction of the Hawks and the 76ers. Towns was able to make a clean catch as a result of this, but Mobley’s powerful closeout (and, one could argue, an uncalled foul) led to another failed three-point attempt without a paint touch taking place before it.

Brown came up with another counter on the subsequent trip. He used Hart as the screener in an inverted pick-and-roll with Towns on the handle. This move was intended to lure Allen into the action and away from the paint, as well as to weaponize Towns’ unique ability to drive the ball for a man of his size. Mobley, who was named the Defensive Player of the Year the previous year, dug into Towns’ dribble, which caused him to lose possession of the ball and resulted in a mistake that allowed the Cavaliers to be out of the game in transition.

A minute later, with Cleveland once again covering up all of the Knicks’ off-ball activity while Towns surveyed the situation from the top of the floor, New York ending up having to settle for a late-clock three-pointer. This time, Hart made a dare-you try, and Allen was about ten feet away from him. It was clearly audible.

As soon as Mobley went out with 6 minutes and 42 seconds remaining in the first frame, Max Strus, who stands at 6 feet and 5 inches tall, checked in. He immediately took over the Towns assignment and continued with the cross-match. During the subsequent offensive possession of the Knicks, Towns drove hard at the smaller defender, going left, getting into the paint, and getting to a runner. Allen, who had left Hart unguarded in the far corner, had calmly slid over and swatted away, which resulted in another Cleveland fast break.

The New York Knicks had scored an average of 137.4 points per 100 possessions from the fourth game of the series against Atlanta to the end of their sweep of Philadelphia. This was an astounding rate that would rank as the most efficient offensive in the history of the Basketball Association. However, by the time they were nearly halfway through the first quarter of a game against the highest-ranked defense in the NBA during the regular season, they had only scored four points on two of eleven shots.

It is possible that the poor start was to be expected on account of the nine-day break that New York had between series.

Following the conclusion of the first game, Towns stated, “Yeah, I mean, to be real, there was definitely rust.” We were a team that had not participated in a postseason game for quite some time, as was evident to everyone.

Brown stated, “We just started the game off with a two-for-19 performance from the three-point line.” “And it wasn’t just Josh; we had some pretty good looks from the right people, and you know, if those go in, the mojo is a little bit different,” the speaker continued.

The precise form of the struggle, on the other hand, made it appear as though perhaps those long-standing concerns with the starting lineup of the Knicks, as well as the offensive problems that were brought about by Hart’s inconsistent shooting, were rearing their ugly heads once more. Throughout the entirety of Game 1, they proceeded to do so.

The downstream repercussions of how Cleveland exploited Hart’s presence essentially cratered New York’s overall offensive ecology. Despite Hart’s best efforts to contribute in other areas, including seven rebounds, four assists, a steal, tough on-ball defense, and several smart takes that occurred during transition, the team’s overall offensive ecosystem was severely damaged. A defensive effort that restricted the Knicks starting lineup to just 80 points per 100 possessions in its 18 minutes and the Knicks to a horrifying 68.8 points per 100 with Hart on the floor in Game 1 was mainly responsible for the Cavaliers’ dominance in the middle quarters, which the Cavaliers used to establish a 22-point advantage.

Following that, in the fourth quarter, Brown played a card that he had been keeping hidden: Landry Shamet replaced Hart in the starting lineup.

All went smoothly.

Landry Shamet, game-changer

It is not only the fact that Shamet made three three-pointers during the historically astounding 44-11 outburst that earned the Knicks a victory in Game 1 (although they were good). It is because the Knicks fielded a lineup with five credible and dangerous shooters, including Shamet, who had a career 3-point shooting percentage of 38.6%, shot 39.2% during the regular season, and had gone 10-for-23 from deep (43.5%) through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Towns, Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges were also on the court. As a result, there was no vulnerable point that could be exploited to allow Allen to load up defensively, and there was also no secure location where a weaker defender could hide. As a result, Brown had established the conditions necessary for Brunson to resume his hunting activities.

In the first game, the five-man unit consisting of Brunson, Towns, Bridges, Anunoby, and Shamet scored 44 points in 12 minutes on 15-for-20 shooting. This resulted in an offensive rating of 176, which is a level of efficiency that threatens to burn your computer in flames when you type it.

According to what Brown said after Game 1, “The game is about adjustments.” In the final stretch of the game, we made a change, and it was a stroke of good luck that we were able to come back and win.

For the record, Atkinson reaffirmed his statements made after Game 1 that he had confidence in Harden’s ability to maintain his defensive composure and that he and his coaching staff had made some adjustments to the way they covered Brunson pick-and-rolls. During Cleveland’s walkthrough on Wednesday, he informed the media that the Cavaliers’ proprietary internal analytics rated New York’s fourth-quarter shot quality as “in the first percentile.” He also stated that he considered the decision between letting Brunson go one-on-one and sending a second defender at him to be a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” kind of proposition.

We did not, for example, adhere to the analytical approach, in which you would say things like, ‘Live with it, live with it, live with it.’ We began to double-team, and as you probably already know, we were harmed as a result of the double-team. Therefore, if you are on either side of the fence, you are correct,” Atkinson added with a chuckle. “And you know, the coach, especially when you lose, you are wrong, regardless of which side you take,” the coach said.

Brown was provided with a challenge by the Cavaliers, and he made a change, and he was correct in his decision. There are two major questions that need to be answered before the second game of the series, which will take place on Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on ESPN: If Brown decides to keep Hart in the starting lineup, will Cleveland stay to its script, despite the fact that Brown has a ready-made adjustment in a five-out look with Shamet or Deuce McBride coming off the bench? And, assuming that is the case, how quickly will Brown get to it if New York’s offense once again gets off to a poor start before beginning its game?

Hart, on the other hand, anticipates continuation of the same.

During the practice session that took place in New York on Wednesday, Hart stated to the reporters, “I mean, probably the same game plan.” According to them, this was the strategy that allowed them to achieve a score of twenty or whatever.

He also anticipates being able to deal with it more effectively.

I took pictures, and they were good shots; but, I was unable to make them. I am working on improving that. He laughed and remarked, “It is obvious that I would have liked to have been able to make them.” On the other hand, I will proceed with my shooting. Due to the fact that I am putting in a lot of effort to improve my shot, I am going to continue shooting them with confidence. And then, if they don’t go in, then I’ve got to find a way to battle that, whether that’s getting guys in [dribble handoff] and quick actions while the big is in that drop, and get them open shots.”

If he does not, however, Brown may find himself in a situation that is comparable to the one that his predecessor was in during this round of the playoffs the previous year. He will have to weigh the obvious value that Hart brings to the game in all other areas of the game and as an emotional bellwether for this Knicks team against the necessity of avoiding slow offensive starts during a time of the year when the margins between winning and losing, advancing, and having your season end in heartbreak can be razor-thin.

In May of last year, it was only after Thibodeau found himself in a 2-0 deficit with Games 3 and 4 being played away from home that he decided to make a move and send Hart to the bench. At the three quarter mark of the first game, Brown went there. He’s tended to be a touch quicker on the draw with shake-ups and changes throughout his first season on the Knicks’ bench; if he believes that Hart needs to once again join him there (or if Hart, once again, calls for it himself), the veteran forward insists he’ll do what’s best for the team.

On Wednesday, Hart stated, “Obviously, that is always difficult, watching it on the bench — obviously, I want to be out there, I want to help my guys win.” Watching the game from the bench is always difficult. When it comes to me, however, I don’t have any ego attached to it at the end of the day. This is the way I approach this game, and that is exactly how I handle it, man. I approach it with incredible humility. Neither do I own an ego.

I have stated this for the past year, as well as for the past few years: I am here to assist these gentlemen. This is the gift that God has bestowed upon me: the ability to serve these individuals and to ensure that they are in the best possible position to achieve success. I will always prioritize the success of the team over the success of that individual.

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Knicks Face Critical Rotation Decisions If Slow Starts Continue vs Cavaliers in Playoff Series