The New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers will be among the first Eastern Conference teams to tip off their seasons.
If all goes according to plan for the Knicks and Cavaliers, they’ll be the last two teams in the conference still tipping off next spring, as well.
The two teams will begin the path they hope directs them to a long-awaited return to the NBA Finals when New York hosts Cleveland in a battle of longtime rivals Wednesday night.
Both teams are expected to contend for the Eastern Conference championship after successful if ultimately disappointing seasons last year. The Cavaliers finished first in the East with a 64-18 record before falling in five games to the Indiana Pacers in the conference semifinals.
The Knicks finished third in the East at 51-31 and reached the conference finals for the first time since 2000 before suffering a six-game loss to the Pacers.
Three days after the Knicks were eliminated, they made one of the more surprising moves of the offseason by firing head coach Tom Thibodeau. He was ousted despite going 226-174 and reaching the playoffs four times in five seasons — as many times as the Knicks made the postseason in the 19 years before his arrival.
Mike Brown — who coached the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007 before directing the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings to the playoffs — was hired to replace Thibodeau on July 7. He understands the championship-or-bust expectations placed upon him.
“I love being in a position where you feel expectations,” Brown said. “To me, that means there is something of importance that you’re doing and you enjoy. We know what our job is at hand.”
The Knicks, who return all five starters as well as sixth man Miles McBride, haven’t won the NBA title since 1973. But with the last two Eastern Conference champions both weakened — the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton and the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum are expected to miss all and most of the season, respectively, with Achilles injuries suffered last spring — the window is wide-open for New York as well as Cleveland.
The Knicks added depth by signing veterans Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, each of whom averaged at least 26 minutes and 11 points per game last season. The returning quintet of OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns all averaged at least 35 minutes per game.
Hart did not practice Tuesday due to a back injury.
The Cavaliers responded well to their surprise coaching change last year, when Kenny Atkinson replaced J.B. Bickerstaff following three straight winning seasons. Atkinson directed Cleveland to just the third 60-win season in franchise history — and the first without LeBron James on the floor — and earned NBA Coach of the Year honors.
But with starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley and sixth man De’Andre Hunter battling injuries against the Pacers, the Cavaliers suffered three lopsided defeats among their four losses despite a yeoman’s effort from Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 34.2 points in the series.
Like the Knicks, the Cavaliers spent the summer adding around their returning core in hopes of taking the final step into championship contention. Garland, Mitchell and Mobley are back alongside fellow starters Jarrett Allen and Max Strus. Key reserve Dean Wade also returned and has been joined by Lonzo Ball, who was acquired from the Chicago Bulls in June. Ball re-established himself as a solid backup last year after missing the previous two seasons with left knee injuries.
Strus will be sidelined until late November after suffering a broken foot during the summer. Garland is recovering from right toe surgery while Hunter is day-to-day with a right knee injury suffered Oct. 14.
While the win-now pressure might not be as pronounced as in New York, the Cavaliers are aware of the urgency that lies ahead. Cleveland has made the playoffs the last three years, but has gone just 11-15 while failing to get beyond the second round.
“We have a lot to prove,” Atkinson said. “We’ve got to make that jump. We know our record the last three years in the playoffs. Just facts. How do we get better these next (few weeks) and the rest of the regular season?”
