The Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves in a familiar hole in their Eastern Conference Finals series against the New York Knicks.Down 0-2.It was the exact spot the Cavs found themselves in last round against the Detroit Pistons. After Game 2, Cavs star Donovan Mitchell reminded his team that they just need to protect home court, and that’s exactly what they need to do on Saturday night.Cavs would've won if they shot the basketball betterGame 1’s 22-point fourth quarter collapse is inexcusable. But in Game 2, the Cavs shot the ball horribly. The Cavaliers were 9-of-35 from three-point territory, good for 25.7% from deep."We knew coming into this series we were gonna have to make 3's,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said after the game. “Can easily go home and shoot 43%, maybe it's a different story."The Knicks were able to utilize Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson to neutralize Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. When that happens, it’s up to the rest of the team to make threes, and that just didn’t happen in Game 2. “We all said in the locker room — you’re going to hear it over and over again — the process is right, and we truly believe in that,” Allen said postgame. “Just couldn’t make shots. We got stops when they went on runs. We did everything right, just couldn’t make shots.”There’s little reason to believe the Cavaliers will shoot that poorly again in Game 3. They’ll have an anxious crowd behind them at Rocket Arena, but Cavs fans will be ready to turn that building into a frenzy once they hit a few threes. They've proven they can hang with Jalen Brunson, but they need to lock in and make shots on their home floor.Two players really need to step upThey say role players perform better at home during the NBA Playoffs, and the Cavaliers certainly will hope that’s the case in Game 3. Max Strus and Sam Merrill absolutely need to heat up from downtown. Atkinson trusts them both to play well over 20 minutes. While they’re both decent team defenders, they’re on the floor because of their shooting ability. If shots aren’t falling consistently, there’s no reason for either of them to be out there. In Game 2, Merrill was 0-for-7 from three-point range in 23 minutes. Strus was 1-for-7 from the field in 25 minutes. Atkinson starts Dean Wade because of his defensive ability and a once-and-awhile ability to hit a three-point shot. He rotates Strus and Merrill in for offensive shooting, and they need to provide that in Game 3.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow