The Eastern Conference Finals bracket is a Picasso abstract oil painting, as the top two seeds were dispatched of, leaving us with the three-seed New York Knicks vs. the four-seed Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland had an arduous task, playing two Game 7s to advance. New York, on the other hand, went six games in the first round and then swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the Conference Semifinals.

The Knicks have been potent at both ends of the court, with the second-best offensive and defensive ratings in the playoffs. New York scored over 125 points four times with two games in the 140s. On defense, they held Atlanta to fewer than 100 points three times and twice against the 76ers.

Cleveland has been fifth in offense and eighth in defense during the playoffs.

These teams met three times during the regular season, with New York winning twice, although James Harden played in only one of those contests, which happened to be the lone win for Cleveland. The home team won all three games.

DraftKings Sportsbook lists NYK as a 7.5-point favorite over CLE with the total set at 216.5.

Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA Showdown $400K Shootaround [$100K to 1st] (CLE at NYK)

Captain’s Picks

Donovan Mitchell ($16,500 CP): The range of outcomes has been wide for Mitchell during these playoffs, as he’s scored fewer than 40 FPTS eight times but gone over 50 FPTS three times. I’m liking the upper range of outcomes for this one. The Knicks have the wing defenders to give James Harden issues, but Mitchell has the foot speed to get his, and he will likely have to shoulder slightly more of the offensive responsibility. In three games against New York during the regular season, Mitchell went for 46.5, 61.2 and 40.8 FPTS. The usage rate is going to be 30% or higher.

UTIL Plays

Mikal Bridges ($6,800): Bridges looked to be broken for much of the season, but over the last five games, whispers of “This is why we traded five first round picks for him” have been echoing off the Manhattan skyscrapers. Ha! Yeah right. He has been very good, though, averaging 11.8 shots and shooting 67% from the field and 46% from downtown. That’s been good for over 30 FPTS in all of those contests. Cleveland has the pieces to give Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns problems, so Bridges will likely have to step up once again. In the last regular season meeting with New York, Bridges shot 17 times and finished with 32.8 FPTS.

Jarrett Allen ($7,000): Allen had a rough start to the playoffs, scoring fewer than 30 FPTS in the first five games while playing fewer than 30 minutes in all. Things changed in Game 6, as he played 34 minutes and finished with 30.2 FPTS. Then in the clincher, he received 33 minutes and went bonkers for 58.8 FPTS. Foul trouble limited him to only 18 minutes in the series opener with Detroit, but he played at least 30 minutes in the next five games and put up at least 30 FPTS in three of those contests. In the series finale, Allen put up 36.2 FPTS in only 25 minutes. In three regular season games against New York, Allen went for 14, 19 and 40 FPTS. That last one came with Harden in the mix, so I side towards the upper range of outcomes since Harden makes Allen’s life much easier on offense.

Dean Wade ($2,800): Wade has given Jalen Brunson issues due to his length on defense. As a result, the minutes should be secure, barring foul trouble. Wade is also a good shooter, so his ability to space the floor is a plus on offense. In three regular season games against the Knicks, Wade put up 18, 14.5 and 37 FPTS.

Fades

Evan Mobley ($8,800): Mobley came on strong at the end of the Pistons series, stuffing the stat sheet and putting up over 45 FPTS in three of the last four games, with a high of 54 FPTS. I’m not sure he has the same success in this one. Karl-Anthony Towns isn’t a great defender, but he has length and agility to stay with Mobley. Towns often gets bullied by more powerful forwards/centers, but Mobley is not of that ilk. On defense, Mobley will likely be on the perimeter due to Towns’s ability to shoot from downtown, which decreases the chances for rebounds and blocks.

The Outcome

The Knicks haven’t played since last Sunday while the Cavaliers are riding off of their Game 7 win two days ago. Cleveland also has the pieces to combat the Knicks attack, so I’m expecting a lower-scoring, slogfest in this one.

Final Score: Cavaliers 98, Knicks 95