Jeff Teague on Cavs-Knicks series: ‘This s–t over with’

Former NBA guard Jeff Teague doesn’t seem to think that the Cleveland Cavaliers have much of a chance in the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.

Even though the Cavs won Game 7 on the road against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, Teague believes that Cleveland doesn’t have anyone to guard Knicks star Jalen Brunson in the upcoming series.

In fact, the former All-Star said “this s— over with” when talking about the series.

Teague seems to want Cavs star James Harden to make the NBA Finals, but the team is facing an uphill battle against a Knicks squad that is really hot right now.

New York has the best net rating (+20.0) and the No. 2 offensive rating and defensive rating in the playoffs. It has also won seven games in a row and swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Cavs needed seven games to get past the Toronto Raptors and Pistons in each of the first two rounds.

Brunson has put together a strong postseason for New York, averaging 27.4 points, 6.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from 3-point range.

The Cavs are certainly familiar with Brunson’s playoff prowess, as he led the Knicks to a first-round win over Cleveland (in five games) in the 2023 postseason. Since joining the Knicks, Brunson is averaging 29.4 points and 6.7 assists per game in the postseason, shooting 46.3 percent from the field on 22.4 shots per game.

While Brunson does pose a major threat, the Cavs were able to slow down Pistons star Cade Cunningham in Game 7 of the conference semifinals on Sunday, holding him to just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field.

Cleveland will likely use Dean Wade, Max Strus and others on Brunson, and putting taller defenders on the All-Star guard may make it tougher for him to get his shot off. Wade, for his part, actually held Brunson to a very low shooting percentage when guarding him in the regular season.

Teague is certainly down on the Cavs’ chances in this series, but Cleveland came back after losing the first two games against Detroit in the conference semifinals, and it has won multiple Game 7s already in this playoff run.

There’s no doubt that the Cavs are battle-tested this postseason, and hopefully they can find a scheme that limits Brunson’s scoring in Game 1 and beyond.