The Land Before Time: Pregame Thoughts for Cavs vs Knicks

The Land Before Time: Cavs Pre-Game Thoughts

April 2, 2025 vs New York

What’s the longest you have ever been away from home? It kind of stinks to be away for so long. You miss your bed. You get out of your routine. That first night back in your bed always comes with some relief. It can't be much different for professional sports teams, whose players and personnel thrive on routines and consistency.

Well, that hasn’t been the case lately for the Cavs. Yesterday the Cavs had their first practice at home SINCE THE ALL-STAR BREAK. That means it's been roughly 50 days since they have enjoyed a practice where they feel most comfortable. That’s wack! Especially when you consider that practice days aren’t just a couple of hours of drills and shootaround. The athletic training staff is helping players recover. The players are relaxing in the locker room, taking advantage of their own rehab facilities, and everyone gets to go to their own bed at the end of the day. Yes - practice days at your home facility are crucial for a team going through the grind of an NBA regular season!

The other piece of the Cavs recent stretch that probably deserves more discussion is the tinkering with lineups and minutes in clutch time. Against San Antonio last week, Isaac Okoro played just four minutes in the fourth quarter after being a key piece in holding the Spurs fast-paced offense to just 49 points in the first half. The same thing happened in Portland for Ty Jerome, who played four minutes in the fourth after scoring 25 points in the first three quarters. Ditto for Max Strus in Los Angeles, who played only four minutes in the fourth despite having a season-high 24 points.

Now, read that last paragraph back one more time. Notice anything?

In each of these cases, the player in question played just four minutes in the fourth quarter. There is a clear trend of the Cavs going to their end of game lineup with about 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter and making minimal substitutions after. The Cavs end of game lineups over the last 10 games are not evidence of Kenny Atkinson making poor choices, but rather thought-out, pre-planned decisions about what lineup he wants to see end that particular game.  

In the game following his 24-point performance against the Clippers, Max Strus played the final 6 minutes. In the game following his great performance against San Antonio, Isaac Okoro played the final 8:55 of the fourth, putting in a +8 performance over those minutes.

Clearly, the Cavs coaching staff is looking at different things and making pre-meditated decisions about how they want to close these final regular season games. All this is in service of the team’s ultimate goal - playoff success that leads to a championship. We might be mystified by some of these moves in the moment, but if the coaches get the dividends that the current research is searching for, we will be admiring the genius of it all for years to come.

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