Trap Game? Cavs Not Overlooking Knicks After Big Win In Boston

The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to keep their perfect home record intact when they host the New York Knicks on Sunday night at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. At 4-1, Cleveland is off to its best five-game start since 2016-17.

The Cavs are coming off a big come-from-behind win over the Boston Celtics on Friday and have a much-anticipated rematch on their home floor later this week. While it may be easy to point to a win over the reigning Eastern Conference champs as an early-season statement win, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said it doesn't mean anything if the Cavs lay an egg against the Knicks.

New York (3-2) arrives in Cleveland looking for their first road victory of the season. They lost their first road game in an overtime decision in the season opener before rattling off three-straight home wins. They dropped a 119-108 decision on the road Friday night to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Sunday evening is the first matchup between the two clubs as the Cavs took all three games last season.

Back Court Duo

The Cavs feature a dynamic back-court that was huge in a win over the Boston Celtics Friday night, but it's not the duo most people anticipated when the season tipped off.

Caris LeVert has slid to the No. 2 guard position in the absence of Darius Garland as Donovan Mitchell has assumed primary ball handling responsibilities. The pair racked up 82 points, scoring 41 each as the Cavs battled back from 15 points down to force overtime and knock off the Celtics.

LeVert was brilliant. He's asked to fill a variety of roles depending on lineups but had his best night as a Cavalier on Friday against the Celtics. LeVert recommitted to conditioning in the offseason and he looked as fresh as ever dumping in 11 points in overtime to help the Cavs put it away.

Mitchell and LeVert joined LeBron James and Kyrie Irving as the second Cavaliers teammates in franchise history to each record 40+ points in a game during the regular season or playoffs. Jame and Irving did it in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

3 And D

The Cavaliers lead the NBA in three-point percentage, shooting 65-156 (.417) so far this season. It's Cleveland's best start from beyond the arc in a team's first 5 games of a season since the 2011-12 season (44-104 3FGM, .423).

The Cavs have four players shooting at-or-above 40-percent from deep in Dean Wade (56.3) LeVert (55.2) Cedi Osman (41.7) and Mitchell (40.5). Kevin Love is right behind them canning 39-percent of his triples.

The Knicks come in 25th in the NBA in 3-point shooting efficiency. Cleveland is only allowing 100 points per 100 possessions, ranking 2nd in the NBA in defensive efficiency.

Cleveland ranks second in the NBA this season in opponent points per game (100.8) and lead the Eastern Conference in points off turnovers per game (21.0). The Cavs were fifth in the NBA last season in opponent points per game (105.7).

Garland Still Working His Way Back

Point Guard Darius Garland practiced on Saturday afternoon but Bickerstaff said Garland didn't take any contact.

Garland was listed on the team's official injury report as OUT ahead of the Knicks game as of 8 p.m. Saturday evening and looks like he will miss his fifth straight game as he recovers from a lacerated eyelid.

He's been visible on the team bench in recent home games wearing protective eyewear and was present at practice Saturday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Bickerstaff said Garland will be fitted for goggles when the swelling in his eye goes down but he wasn't wearing any during the brief period that the media was allowed to watch.

The Cavs continue to proceed with caution with their All-Star point guard and are clearly in no rush to get him back on the floor before he's ready. Bickerstaff said he wanted to make sure Garland was comfortable moving around with the goggles and is capable of seeing and receiving passes.

Starters Set?

With Garland still on the shelf for now, the Cavs have reshuffled their starting lineup and have gone with a starting five of Mitchell LeVert, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen for the last two games.

Isaac Okoro has struggled to find any form of consistency on the offensive end of the floor and had more fouls (3) than minutes played (2:35) in the 1st quarter Friday night against Boston.

Okoro's minutes have fallen off a cliff, dropping from 26 against Chicago in the second game of the season to just five on Friday night against Boston. He scored just two points again and has eight total points in five games this year.

Wade canned 3-of-4 triples in his first start against the Magic and scored 12 points. He's been solid on the defensive end of the floor and his ability to catch and shoot has been a drastic compliment to what Okoro brings to the lineup offensively.