Summing up... Cavs' zone defense: Pretty good. Cavs' transition defense: Pretty bad.

Landry Shamet has somehow surpassed the "Fred VanVleet after having a kid" level of playoff shooting.

OK. So now the Knicks have led by 20+ in the first 14 minutes of each of their 3 close-out games.

The Cavs are the first team in these playoffs to keep the Knicks from leading by 20+ in the 1st quarter a close-out game. (The Cavs have now trailed by double-digits in 12 of their 18 playoff games.)

More blue in the building than there was for Game 3. Not nearly Game-4-in-Philly level, though.

Cavs trail by 14 early in the 3rd. They're -18 w/ both Harden & Mitchell on the floor.

The Cavs have trailed by double-digits in 11 of their 17 playoff games. Spurs: 5/14 Knicks: 3/13 Thunder: 2/11

Josh Hart leads the Knicks with a postseason career-high 26 points as New York extends its win streak to 9 straight 🗽 John Schuhmann breaks down 4 takeaways from the Knicks’ Game 2 win before they head to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday at 8pm/et on ABC. ➡️ nba.smart.link/s9unt3ldl

Cavs' EXPECTED effective FG%... Game 1: 54.9% Game 2: 52.8% Cavs' ACTUAL effective FG%... Game 1: 48.9% Game 2: 44.4% its-a-make-or-miss-league.gif

Josh Hart's usage rate tonight was 31.9%. That's the highest of his career (650 total games).

Low-scoring, but been a slow-paced game. Cavs' efficiency (49 on 44, 111 per 100) is in the middle between their most efficient loss & least efficient win. As was the case in Game 1, they've missed some great looks from good shooters on the weak side of the floor.

Difference between Cavs' wins & losses in the playoffs has been all about offense... 120.7 points scored per 100 poss. in their 8 wins. 102.5 scored per 100 in their 7 losses. Their least efficient win: 116.2 per 100. Their most efficient loss: 108.3 per 100. www.nba.com/stats/team/1...

8 of the Cavs' 15 playoff games have been within 5 points in the last 5 minutes. They've scored just 64 points on 71 clutch offensive possessions, 90.1 per 100. Donovan Mitchell is 5-for-23 (1-for-8 from 3) in the clutch. www.nba.com/stats/player...

Shamet 3 goes out and in. Merrill 3 goes in and out.

Wow. What a great challenge by the Cavs. (I think Hart traveled, too.)

Allen was getting toasted by Brunson. Cavs adjusted & had him switch. Better results.

Knicks were due for some shooting regression. Seem to be taking care of that early in Game 1.

Didn't think the two best blocks in an Spurs-Thunder game would come from Devin Vassell.

2 only ties. 3 beats you. Maybe it was a "stay at home" call no matter what. Still, if he helps, it's not going to be an easy pass.

I think he's gotta help in that situation & trust his teammates to rotate behind him.

First 2 rounds: Thunder have the best offense we've ever seen. First 5 minutes vs. the Spurs: OMG, how are they gonna score?

Final #NBA Power Rankings of the season! Plenty of notes & numbers on the 4 teams that remain... www.nba.com/news/power-r...

Knicks-Cavs preview w/ lots of notes & numbers... www.nba.com/news/2026-nb...

We took a circuitous route, but we got the Eastern Conference finals matchup that most of us predicted back in October, when it felt like Cleveland & New York were head & shoulders above the rest of the conference.

In addition to having won their last 21 games they've led by 10+, the Cavs are 26-0 this season when leading by 20+.

The Cavs won the 1st quarter for just the 2nd time in their last 9 games. 9-point lead is their biggest after the first quarter in their 14 playoff games. (They've won their last 21 games they've led by double-digits.)

Either the Cavs or the Pistons will be the 6th team to win 2 7-game series in the first 2 rounds since the 1st round went to a best-of-7 format in 2002-03.

The Cavs have trailed by double-digits in 8 of their 13 playoff games.

Biggest jumps in effective FG% from the regular season to the playoffs among 86 players w/ 50+ playoff FGA. 3 Knicks in the top 6.

Paige no-look dime.

L2M report says end of regulation of Cavs-Pistons was a correct no-call... "Allen (CLE) and Thompson (DET) legally step to the same spot while pursuing the loose ball [before either player has possession], and both lose their balance from the marginal contact." official.nba.com/l2m/L2MRepor...

Cavs by quarter in the playoffs... 1st quarter: -16, -7.6 per 100 poss. 2nd quarter: - 10, -3.5 per 100 3rd quarter: +63, +22.7 per 100 4th quarter: - 27, -10.9 per 100

Pretty huge 12 minutes coming up in Detroit.

Inspiration for my next pick-up run.

Teams that have swept the first 2 rounds of the playoffs since the first round went to a best-of-7 format in 2003 (24 years)...

Cavs decided tonight that halftime would be when they flipped the defense switch.

NBA coach rankings re: time spent sitting on the bench during a game... 1. Kenny Atkinson ... 30. J.B. Bickerstaff

Takeaways from NYK-PHI on Sunday include a lot on the Knicks' 3-point shooting & historic point differential through 2 rounds. Also, the Sixers' stat I cite at the start & end of every season... www.nba.com/news/knicks-...

Through 3 quarters, I have the Knicks at 121 points on 70 possessions, a rate of 172.9 per 100. The most efficient game (regular season, Play-In or playoffs) for any team in the 30 years of pbp data is 161.7 per 100.

Halftime... Paint: Sixers +12 Mid-range: Sixers +2 Free throws: Sixers +4 Knicks up 24.

The Sixers have outscored the Knicks by 16 points in the paint (+10), at the line (+2) & from mid-range (+4). 3-point range: Knicks 42, Sixers 6.

43 points on 22 possessions (1.95 per) for the Knicks in the 1st quarter. Including a stretch of 35 on 14.

The Sixers need 5 Paul Georges on defense.

Pistons got much better (& much more) shots today, but the Cavs, in the words of Paul George, shot the **** out of the ball. www.nba.com/inside-the-g...

Let's go!!! #Hokies

Sixers should probably spam Maxey/Towns as much as the Knicks spam Brunson/Embiid.

Anunoby's absence should have allowed Philly to put PG on either Brunson or Towns w/ little consequences, & they haven't done it.

Knicks are just putting Embiid into pick-and-roll with Brunson & it's working almost every single time.

Good time to hack Robinson, IMO.

Knicks have scored 44 points on their last 25 possessions. 1.76 per.