Final Analysis Here | Knicks vs. Cavaliers in a historic series

It doesn't always happen, but the two top favorites to win the Eastern Conference at the beginning of the season, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, will be fighting for their ticket to the Finals. The Achilles injuries of Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum seemed to paint a bleak picture in the East, almost obliging these two franchises with multimillion-dollar projects (the Cavs being the most expensive team in history, to say the least) to dominate. 

However, during the regular season, things were different. Both the Knicks and Cavs were quite inconsistent, especially in the first part of the campaign, and ended up in third and fourth place, respectively. It was the Detroit Pistons who clearly dominated the table, and a revamped Boston Celtics clinched the second spot. Thus, these two teams were the Eastern favorites for the playoffs, but they ended up falling short.

The Celtics surprisingly lost to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Pistons were defeated by the Cavs in the seventh game. Therefore, the Knicks and Cavs will finally have the opportunity to prove their worth as projects created with one goal: winning. 

The Knicks were the first to advance to the Finals, starting the postseason with some doubts but ultimately sweeping the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers, only losing one game and arriving well-rested. 

The turnaround of the Knicks

They brought in Mike Brown for Thibodeau to add depth to the roster, involve more players, and enhance defense in crucial moments without compromising offensive talent. During the regular season, there wasn't much change, with the Knicks showing the same defensive flaws and unconvincing offense. However, during these first 2 series in the playoffs, we finally witnessed the best version of the New York team.

Brown seems to have unlocked the potential of players like Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride, or Mitchell Robinson and provided both depth and balance with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. 

The resilience of the Cavaliers

It's not been a brilliant playoffs run for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They needed seven games to defeat the Raptors and Pistons to secure their spot in the Eastern Finals, but they made it. The key here is James Harden. He's the difference maker compared to the team that struggled last year. We see the same strengths and weaknesses in the rest of the team: the same with Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Jarett Allen, and company.

The difference is Harden, who can dictate different game rhythms that benefit Ohio's team and probably, in a crucial moment of the series against Detroit, tilted the balance, wore out, and outsmarted a team that, beyond Cade Cunningham, lacks offensive talent and managed to win the series. 

Predicting what will happen between the Cavs and Knicks in these open Finals, with two teams strong in attack and showing defensive flaws that are hard to conceal, is challenging. The well-rested Knicks are the favorites.

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