Getty Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks drives past Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jalen Brunson outplayed Donovan Mitchell in the first round of last year’s Western Conference playoffs for his coming-out party.
Now playing for different teams, Brunson and Mitchell forged a rematch in what Charles Barkley believes to be the most exciting first-round series in the Eastern Conference.
It’s Brunson’s New York Knicks against Mitchell’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
Will it be a Déjà vu or Mitchell get his revenge?
A Western Conference scout familiar with both undersized but talented guards thinks it will be different this time. But he couldn’t pick a winner. Because that’s how evenly matched up both teams are from Brunson-Mitchell down to their supporting cast.
“I feel like there’s a little bit of a rivalry there,” the Western Conference scout told Heavy Sports. “There’s so much talk of Jalen [Brunson] outplaying [Donovan] Mitchell last season and he really dominated like the [Utah] Jazz could not guard [Brunson] in the playoffs.”
Brunson waltzed around the Jazz defenders last year, averaging 27.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 48.4% overall and 36.4% from behind the arc. In Games 1 to 3, where Doncic wasn’t available, Brunson lit up the Jazz with 24, 41 and 31 points to lift the Mavericks to a 2-1 series lead.
Mitchell tried to keep in step with Brunson, averaging 25.5 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds, but he shot poorly in the series — 39.8% from the field and 20.8% from deep.
“I think this year will be a bit different because obviously, Jalen had Luka [Doncic] next to him last season, whereas Mitchell also has a very different lineup next to him — there are the two bigs Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley — very versatile, very good defenders, but not liabilities on offense like they can score.”
Mitchell only had Rudy Gobert, a traditional big, next to him in Utah.
“Gobert is more of a dunker, finisher at the rim, and he could get played off the floor because you could stretch him out and then open up all that space in the paint,” the Western Conference scout told Heavy Sports.
It’s precisely how the Los Angeles Clippers in the Orlando Bubble and the Mavericks exploited in the last two playoffs to beat Mitchell and his former team. Despite Gobert being a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, his defensive impact was limited in the painted area, unlike Mitchell’s new teammates.
“[Allen and Mobley] can defend multiple positions,” the Western Conference scout told Heavy Sports. “So, the setting is a little different, but it’s definitely a good matchup. I can’t say which team has the upper hand.”
The Cavaliers’ lack of playoff experience as a team could work against them. They went to the play-in last season, but it does not count in the scout’s book.
“Whereas New York being together a little bit more, some of the guys have experienced playoffs,” the Western Conference scout said. “I think it will be a good series. I can’t really pick a winner.”
Make Donovan Mitchell Go Solo
Mitchell returned this season with a chip on his shoulder. He is having an MVP-caliber season and a cinch to make one of the All-NBA teams.
Against the Knicks, he’s averaging 31.8 points and 5.5 3-pointers, tied for second-best against any team this season.
Clearly, Mitchell is always hyped about playing against his hometown team, which he thought was where he was headed in the offseason until the Cavaliers snatched him from the Knicks’ clutches in a blockbuster trade.
It also shows how porous the Knicks’ perimeter defense is. They are allowing 13.0 3-pointers per game, the fourth-most in the league this season.
“I wonder if they will let Mitchell shoot 25 shots per game,” the Western Conference scout told Heavy Sports. “Take away the shots from everyone else and let him beat them by himself. History will say Mitchell has not led a team to the conference finals or the NBA Finals being the lead scorer. So maybe, Knicks will say, ‘Okay, give us your best shot. We’d rather have you score 40, and everyone else has 30.'”
The Western Conference scout referenced the Houston Rockets winning against a red-hot Kevin Johnson in the Western Conference semifinals in 1994.
“I’ve seen that only for many, many years ago. Houston was playing Phoenix, and this is 90s basketball,” the Western Conference scout said. “So the theory was let Kevin Johnson shoot only once but don’t let him get the rest of the team involved. He got 40. The Rockets still won. You give up something to gain something.”
Phoenix took the first two games in that series with a balanced offense. Houston came back to win the next three games despite a back-to-back 38-point effort by Johnson in Games 3 and 4. The Rockets won in seven games.
“I think [the Knicks] would rather see that and [Mitchell] taking mid-range shots and Cavs throwing lob dunks and getting the crowd energized. Because it’s all relative, and then if Mobley is playing well scoring, and so is Allen, and they’re more incentivized on the defensive end. They’re like, ‘Okay, I’m involved on that end.’ The big man wants to be fed.”
It could also apply to the Knicks, especially with Mitchell Robinson, who ranted on his Snapchat last month that he’s “tired of just doing cardio on the court.”
Cavaliers Prepare for 2 Different Versions of Knicks
With Julius Randle’s status for Game 1 still up in the air, the Cavaliers are mapping out schemes to play a Knicks team with or without their All-Star forward.
“[Randle] is a big piece, so playing with him and without him are kind of two different games,” Mobley told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “With [Randle] on the floor, they’re definitely dynamic with him and [Jalen] Brunson, and then with him off the court, it’s mostly Brunson doing a lot of playmaking and stuff like that, so it’s different games basically.”
Randle had been a limited participant at Knicks practices and still hasn’t been cleared to do contact drills.