4 Things the Knicks Need to Do to Win Game 2

Four keys to the Knicks going up 2-0. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

While Knicks fans ride the highs of what will likely be remembered as the greatest Knicks comeback of all-time, the coaches and players will be looking ahead at Game 2 knowing they need to play better.

After the first three quarters of Tuesday night's game, New York learned the hard way that they missed the mark on a few things. So, what exactly do the Knicks need to do to fend off a Cavaliers team that should come in angry, and motivated to wash the taste of defeat out of their mouths?

Adjust how much, and when, Josh Hart or Landry Shamet plays

This is not an indictment on Hart. I've seen multiple conversations surrounding Hart's overall abilities, and that isn't fair. He remains one of the Knicks' most pivotal players.

What they cannot do though, is play Hart at the risk of making things more difficult for their best players. That's exactly what playing Hart with the starters, and doing so for significant portions of the game, can do against the Cavaliers. As expected, Cleveland went with a ghost coverage, which is when a defender ignores a player.

We saw Jarrett Allen leave Hart wide open, and act as an additional help defender. That meant whenever Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, or Mikal Bridges got into the paint, they were not only seeing the usual help defender, but also Allen too.

Contrary to belief, this doesn't mean that Hart has to be benched for the entirety of the series. I do think though that Mike Brown needs to be very careful how, and when he uses Hart. Given Shamet's shooting, and defense on Donovan Mitchell, he's the strongest candidate to replace Hart were there to be a starting lineup change (something I'd advocate for).

Him playing more minutes than he did, especially in the first half of last night's game, should help slow down Mitchell a bit more. This also gives the Knicks a more reliable and consistent shooting threat, which will open things up even more for Brunson. I don't see Brown pulling the plug on Hart, but the priority, regardless of if Hart starts or not, is to find moments where his presence on the court makes more sense.

That begs the question: where can he thrive? And maybe more importantly, where can he hurt the team the least? The answer to both of those questions likely lies in moments where the Cavaliers do not play double bigs.

When Evan Mobley and Allen are both out there, they can clog the paint with two legitimate big men, both of whom are good defenders. If there's only one of them out there though, similar problems arise, but it's not nearly as lethal.

If Hart can also spend more time out there, without both Brunson and Towns, he can serve as the ball-handler and they can likely survive those minutes. And in turn, that way, Brown is still giving Hart some quality minutes, and allowing him to impact the game, but without his deficiencies getting in the way of Brunson or Towns.

Stop blitzing James Harden

Much of the conversations surrounding the Knicks' struggles were centered around their lack of offense. Their shot creation, shot making, and decision making frustrated a lot of fans.

But what was equally as confusing, and frustrating was there determination to continue blitzing two defenders to James Harden and trapping him near halfcourt.

This would have made sense eight years ago, but in the year 2026, Harden is no longer the kind of threat you need to do that to. Harden is turnover prone, can overdribble, and is still an offensive weapon, but there is absolutely no reason to defend him like the All-NBA player he used to be.

If you are Brown and the Knicks, you must live with Harden having the ball in his hands. If he makes a play against your set defense, that's one thing. But to give one of the greatest playmakers of all-time the go-ahead to set his team up to play four on three basketball just makes no sense.

Further confounding that decision was the fact that the Knicks opted into this coverage despite there being multiple capable shooters on the floor. Kenny Atkinson and the Cavaliers made the smart decision to put their two best shooters on the strong side, making the Knicks' job of tag the roller, and getting back to shooters incredibly difficult.

The Cavaliers showed they can counter it, and do so with ease. And if anything, they'll likely be even more prepared for it were the Knicks to go to it again for some reason. The Knicks saw very little success with this strategy, and they did go away from it late in the game, so hopefully Brown has seen enough and will not be bringing back this head-scratching move.

Keep the game close

This is far from the most advanced analytical breakdown, but two things are true right now: the Cavaliers are fatigued, and the Knicks are very good at giving themselves a shot. Obviously the Knicks, and their fans would like nothing more to continue blowing teams out.

The physical, and mental stress of games like last night aren't easy on the players. And the fans likely preferred the team's 30-point victories over seeing their average heart rate hover around 140 bpm, while they pull their hair out and pace back-and-forth in their house at 11:00pm.

But look at the only two losses this team has suffered in the playoffs: a pair of one-point defeats in games they did not play particularly well. There's also Games 2 and 3 in the 76ers series, which were close for large portions of the second half.

The Cavaliers, to their credit, have won two Game 7's, and both were on the road. They are battle-tested, and haven't been particularly bad in crunch time either.

But given the fatigue factor, the Knicks' tendency to will themselves to comeback wins, and the mere fact that they still roster the best player in the series, New York just need sto keep the game close. When they do, they have often at least given themselves a chance.

Win the war inside

The Knicks dominated the Cavaliers on the offensive boards the last time these two met in the playoffs. Last night, it was a different story. The Knicks still ended the game with nine more rebounds overall, but grabbed two less offensive rebounds on the night.

That being said, the Cavaliers did still give up four offensive rebounds to Towns and Mitchell Robinson, with the latter doing his damage in just 14 minutes. The Knicks went with Anunoby boxing out Allen during their fourth quarter run, and he did an amazing job of limiting the Cavaliers to just one board. This also allowed Towns to do an exceptional job defending Mobley, and the actions he was involved in, during the fourth quarter.

Because of their defensive intensity, their improved rebounding down the stretch, and their own physicality on the offensive end, they imposed their will inside when it mattered most. While shooting variance will always be a thing in the NBA, New York's chances of winning Game 2, and the series, will be higher if they can continue this trend going forward.