Kendrick Perkins says Cavs have something Knicks don’t: ‘They check all the boxes’

Perhaps an underrated contributing factor in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ historically strong start to the 2024-25 regular season has been their depth. Players like Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen drive the bus for Cleveland, but the Cavaliers have been able to rely on their reserves for production on both ends of the floor.

Bench pieces like Caris LeVert and Ty Jerome have been two of the more effective reserve 3-point shooters in the NBA this season, and beyond those two, guys like Georges Niang and Sam Merrill have all had their moments of brilliance off the pine. This doesn’t even mention wing contributors like Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade and Max Strus, who are all capable of starting when healthy.

When talking about whether the Cavaliers or New York Knicks are bigger threats to the Boston Celtics (the reigning NBA champions) in the Eastern Conference, former Cavs big man Kendrick Perkins gave the edge to Cleveland thanks to its depth.

Despite Perkins’ comments, the Knicks are still off to a strong start to the campaign and look like one of the better teams in the league. New York’s 20-10 record is the third-best in the East behind only Cleveland and Boston, and the Knicks are also on a five-game winning streak.

But for proof that the Cavaliers’ depth outmatches the Knicks,’ one can peek at New York’s minute distribution so far this season. Fourth-year guard Miles McBride is the only non-starter for New York who’s averaging 20-plus minutes of playing time per contest.

Conversely, a whopping nine players on Cleveland’s roster are averaging at least 20 minutes of action on a nightly basis (including Strus, who just joined the action recently). Two other players have averages near the 20-minute mark.

Strus made his season debut in Cleveland’s 23-point win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 20. He missed the squad’s first 27 games of the 2024-25 regular season thanks to an ankle injury.

Cleveland will take on New York for the second time of the campaign on Feb. 21 in what will be a home game for the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers came out on top by six points in the first showdown of the season between the two teams on Oct. 28.

Maybe fans of the Cavaliers will be fortunate enough to see New York and Cleveland meet in the playoffs once again in 2025. Such a matchup would theoretically decide once and for all the superior team this season.