Getty Donovan Mitchell lost his latest game to the Knicks.
The New York Knicks picked up an important win by dispatching the Donovan Mitchell-led Cleveland Cavaliers, and in the process of doing so they picked up their 11th win of the season.
Of course, this is a matchup that gets a lot of attention because of Mitchell not being traded to the Knicks, despite many people around the league, fans included, thinking that was a foregone conclusion.
Quentin Grimes played 40 minutes in the game, and he was a player who was talked about a lot in trade talks, but the Knicks ultimately held onto him and saw Mitchell get traded to the Cavs.
After the game, Grimes acknowledged the matchup was something a lot of players were looking forward to.
Grimes Calls It a “Must-Win”
The young Knicks guard has been working his way back into the rotation after starting the year with an injury, but he showed just why he was worth keeping in the win over the Cavs.
While he shot just 2-8 from the floor, he chipped in defensively with two steals and a block. If his shot comes around, he can prove to be a valuable 3-and-D type player that is coveted around the league.
“It’s kind of just what everybody knows, just everything that was going on with the chatter over the summer,” Grimes said. “And adding how we lost the last game. This was kind of a must-win for us for sure. I think people are lying if they say they’re not coming in with an edge and a chip on their shoulder.”
While it’s early into the season still, this could be an important win for the Knicks as they showed they can beat one of the tougher teams in their conference. Grimes will need to chip in more offensively to have more success going forward, but this is definitely a good start.
RJ Barrett, another player who came up in the trade talks before being extended, finished with 15 points on 5-13 shooting, so he’ll need to find a way to improve that efficiency before it’s too late.
Knicks Have a Battle Ahead
The win over the Cavs is a big one as the Knicks are able to hold onto the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference, which is important because that’s the cutoff for being a play-in team.
As it stands right now, the Knicks look like they’ll have to battle for that spot, despite having both the Magic and Pistons as near-guarantees to finish at the bottom of the conference.
The Bulls, Wizards and Hornets are in the hunt behind the Knicks, and those teams will be the main competitors for New York. The Bulls are surprising as they were the number one seed at one point during last year, but they have struggled out of the gate this time around.
When fully healthy, the Hornets are expected to be better, and the Wizards also can’t be count out fully with Bradley Beal and former Knicks cornerstone Kristaps Porizingis on the roster.
On paper, it looks like the Knicks have the necessary talent to lock down at least the 10th seed, but it’s far from a guarantee at this point.