The Cleveland Cavaliers have found themselves on the brink of elimination, and many people are asking the same question: Where did it all go wrong? The situation Cleveland is in was avoidable to say the least, and they will be kicking themselves for the missed opportunity. All it took was one single quarter, one single moment, and now the Cavaliers are just one game away from starting their offseason earlier than they had planned. The worst part about all of this was that it occurred in the first game of the series, and you’re probably thinking, “How could the first contest of a series decide everything?”
The season slippage began in the fourth quarter of Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals series against the New York Knicks. With just a little over seven minutes to play in the final quarter of the game, the Cavaliers were up 93-71 over the Knicks. A 22-point lead in the final period is what separated Cleveland from going up one game on the road in the conference finals. What happened next was a major New York run, started by Jalen Brunson, that the Cavaliers could not contain. The Knicks’ tear provided a glimpse of what Cleveland’s season would essentially come down to.
Cleveland’s offense got stagnant, players didn’t make the right reads, defense didn’t stand true, and the coach didn’t use timeouts to limit their run. Before you know it, it was a tied game. The Cavaliers headed to overtime, and that’s where the Knicks took advantage. New York managed to pull off the impossible, a 22- point comeback win in the fourth quarter, the Knicks’ largest fourth quarter comeback ever. This set the tone for the rest of the series, as Cleveland hasn’t looked as confident as it did in Game One, with New York now leading three-to-zero.
Who knows what this series could look like if the Cavaliers didn’t blow that lead in game one? Even if Cleveland only won that one game, it still would have a chance to tie it up in game four. Now the Cavaliers have to pull off something that has never been done before, coming back from down three-to-zero. A historic rally is highly unlikely with the way Cleveland is playing right now. Will the Cavaliers show some life and extend this series, or will the Knicks make the NBA Finals for the first time in the Brunson era?
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