![]() Same for Mitchell, who after barely getting any sleep, awakened to the harsh reality that his first season in Cleveland ended so painfully. That’s my job to box people out, to make sure that they don’t get the rebound, and I feel like I let my team down in that sense.” “We all know the elephant in the room - the Tyrannosaurus rex in the room - is the damn offensive rebounds,” Allen said. He’s considered part of Cleveland’s core along with Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, but Allen’s inability to keep Robinson from grabbing offensive rebounds - he had 11 alone in Game 5 - is a major concern for the Cavs going forward. “Even for me,” said center Jarrett Allen, who was roughed up by New York’s Mitchell Robinson, “the lights were brighter than expected.”Īllen didn’t speak to reporters following Game 5, which ended with some Cleveland fans booing and others muttering under their breaths while bolting from their seats inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.Īllen, though, was the first Cavs player to meet with the media after his exit meeting with Bickerstaff and general manager Koby Altman.Īlways refreshingly candid, the 7-foot Allen acknowledged he needs to work on his game and body in the offseason. The Cavs mistakenly thought they were ready. It took a pummeling by the Knicks to drive home his point. Bickerstaff had spent months preparing his team for the postseason, warning that things would be different, more physical, more intense. So were the Knicks, who destroyed Cleveland on the boards, outhustled them to loose balls, and virtually stole their lunch money shortly after a tip-off.Ĭoach J.B. The stage was too big, too overwhelming, for the young Cavs. In the end, the team’s flaws - postseason inexperience, a top-heavy roster, an inferior bench, and a general lack of toughness - were exposed by the New York Knicks, who dominated the Cavs in five games like an older brother pushing around his younger sibling on the home driveway in a game of 1-on-1. INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) - The constant, thumping sound of bouncing basketballs, lively chatter, and squeaking sneakers on the floors inside the Cavaliers’ training facility were replaced by an eerie stillness and silence on Thursday.Ĭleveland’s offseason arrived sooner than expected and may include more change than anticipated.Īfter waiting five years to get back into the NBA’s postseason, the Cavs’ return lasted 11 days. ![]() Cavaliers were eliminated by the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
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