2024 NBA Playoffs - East 1st Round: #4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. #5 Orlando Magic (CLE WINS 4-3)

[jbk1234]

I think the entire team is underutilized except Jarrett Allen because we have a coach who struggles using every player on the roster effectively. Allen is a bit of an exception as him games more simplified and min maxed than dynamic so you can’t even misuse him.

Fire JB and hire Bud and watch everyone on the team go up two levels. This is an ECF team hiding in plain sight because the coach is horrible.

Eh, I think the Magic roster is objectively better players 5-12 than the Cavs. Another coach probably helps, but Altman spent $40M+ on Strus, LeVert, and Niang last summer and they've been badly outmatched by their counterparts on the Magic. Okoro's defensive efficacy disappears when he gives up more than a couple of inches. None of TT, Morris, nor D. Jones will be in the NBA next year.

Goga, who is Orlando's 5th big and has gotten zero minutes in this series, would get minutes ahead of at least those 3 and maybe Niang the way he's been shooting.

Even if Mitchell stays and JBB goes, Altman has some work to do as an ECF team shouldn't be as dependent upon Dean Wade's health as we are.

Yeah they have a better bench but we have by far the best player in the series and 4 of the 5 best players.

Everything about the Cavs indicates they are a poorly coached team. Coaches bring out the best in role players and tweak based on matchups. Everyone except the #1 guy on the court and Allen struggle with the roles. Garland and Mitchell dont synergize together when both are dynamic offball players. Its pathetic. Struss and Merill dont get enough offball action run for them.

Shoring up a bench big is a concern but thats also like the easier roster fix there is.

Well, this will be Altman's 3rd bite at the apple in terms of finding bench players who are playable in the postseason so let's hope Mitchell stays and he pulls it off. Also, some of the matchup issues won't disappear under a new coaching staff absent a change in personnel.

Merrill is undersized, so is Garland, and Mitchell isn't a tall guard. Anytime Merrill is on floor with one of Garland or Mitchell, then Okoro gets pushed out to SF (PF last night) where he's considerably less effective defensively.

I'm not convinced that JBB is the right coach for the Cavs, but I'm not convinced that his available options are great either.

[Residual-Heat]

game 4 tomorrow. The Cavs will start hitting threes. I expect a close and very entertaining game. Cavs W.

[uraverage]

game 4 tomorrow. The Cavs will start hitting threes. I expect a close and very entertaining game. Cavs W.

BOO!!!!! The ORL defense will get better each game. It's the easiest thing to adjust. Sadly Orl offensive will struggle, Paolo\Suggs won't have 3 games (this year) like the last game in this series. Next game is ORL's

[JujitsuFlip]

My only hope is the entire Magic team is hungover because it was Moe's birthday last night lol

[Blue_and_Whte]

the magic are legit honestly, that defense is something. I still don't know if they can pull out offensive firepower like that for 3 more games - I'm still on the Cavs in 6 or 7 part of this but I can't tell if im underestimating/overestimating here. I just have low trust in this Cavs team to get it done until they get that fourth win.

The Cavs aren’t shooting great either…they weren’t as bad as Orlando had been the first two games but they haven’t shot well this series. Hopefully Orlando has built up their confidence and the offense catches up with the defense. I’m hesitant to predict a series win but I’m still excited about Orlando’s future.

[Iwasawitness]

the magic are legit honestly, that defense is something. I still don't know if they can pull out offensive firepower like that for 3 more games - I'm still on the Cavs in 6 or 7 part of this but I can't tell if im underestimating/overestimating here. I just have low trust in this Cavs team to get it done until they get that fourth win.

The Cavs aren’t shooting great either…they weren’t as bad as Orlando had been the first two games but they haven’t shot well this series. Hopefully Orlando has built up their confidence and the offense catches up with the defense. I’m hesitant to predict a series win but I’m still excited about Orlando’s future.

The key to me is whether or not Cleveland can regain the rebounding advantage. That hurt them in game 3. I’m curious as to whether or not JB gives Thompson extra minutes for this very reason. You could tell Allen was having trouble keeping up with the physicality.

I also think Niang has been awful so far. If I’m JB, I’m giving Morris a try instead and seeing if that produces better results.

I doubt Orlando has the same offensive performance again. It’ll be on Cleveland to make the necessary adjustments in order to ensure they go back to Cleveland up 3-1.

[DowJones]

Outside of our core four guys how is everyone else shooting? I mention this because I'm kind of surprised he has six assists as it requires a teammate to actually hit a shot.

At some point Darius needs to step up. I have no idea why you are ignoring the obvious. We don’t need to cover for him. He needs to play better. He didn’t run an efficient offense in games 1 and 2. The offense struggled. It was even worse tonight.

The whole offense struggled but Garland is 1 of 2 max contract players and we can’t survive with him playing like this. 11 points and 6 assists just isn’t acceptable. It isn’t like he is offsetting that with great defense.

How was the offense when he was off the court tonight? I mean you've clearly convinced yourself he's the problem so I'm guessing it got a lot better.

Cleveland's offense isn't very creative. JB is more of a defense-first coach. We also start 2 traditional bigs that can't handle the ball or create on their own with any type of consistency. I know Cavs fans are trying to talk themselves into Mobley being a threat from 3, but even when teams give him wide open looks he is still around 30% with low volume. That lack of spacing makes it even more difficult for Cleveland to run a potent offense in the playoffs. Those are fundamental, foundational flaws that the Cavs just can't change this year. We knew that when the year started. Those are the main reasons the offense has been so awful in our 8 playoff games the last 2 years.

The above is precisely why I am so hard on Garland. The Cavs desperately need buckets. They need 1 on 1 creators because the half-court stuff will be so hard to come by due to the foundational flaws of having JB as a head coach and 2 traditional bigs in the lineup. The fact that Mitchell is not close to 100% makes Garland's lack of productivity even more frustrating.

I just have high expectations for Darius. He needs to be that guy. 17 points and 7 assists won't work in the playoffs. I want to see him hunt the 3 more than dribble 5 feet above the 3 point line. I want to see him drive to score/get fouled more than drive to pass. Obviously that doesn't mean you become Sexton, but just be more aggressive in hunting your own shot.

[DowJones]

The Cavs have the worst offensive efficiency of any team in the playoffs. Rebounding and defense isn't the problem for the Cavs, it continues to be the offense.

[J the Drafter]

Specifically, it started out looking like Mobley was going to shutdown Paolo again, but then Paolo started elbowing him in the chest to create space and then shooting over him.

I'd call it lowering the shoulder, and I'd describe it as Paolo learning how the refs call fouls in the playoffs and how to use his size effectively. They haven't been calling much of the usual stuff that worked for him in the regular season.

If you re-watch the highlights you'll see they were almost all turnaround jump shots anyway. The Cavs could probably defend him the same way and see if the shots still go in. Paolo is in uncharted territory right now so there's no telling what happens next game.

If you watch the non-highlights (go check nba.com's live box score), you'd see he's extending his elbow in to the defender in some of them. He very well could brick some of them in the future because as you pointed out he does make the shots harder than they probably need to - at least in the cases he's completely displaced the defender.

Either way, an offensive player initiating contact that gives him an advantage outside the restricted area? That's a foul. Throwing an elbow inside the restricted area should be a foul too.

The incidental contact rule lets refs ignore contact initiated by a smaller player .vs. a larger player, but Mobley is probably some 30lbs lighter than Paolo and the rules are supposed to protect him and any other smaller player Paolo decides to run over.

Not this game, who knows about the next one.

The Cavs need to be able to adapt to how the game is being called and either give as good as they get, or start getting feisty and force the refs to start blowing a tighter whistle. I guess they're just good sports and are content to be up 2-1 going in to game 3.

I don’t know about Banchero elbowing his defenders out of the way, but it’s legal for the offensive player to use their body to bump the defender. Fultz is a master at that, and Harden has a stepback where he bumps his defender off of him. These bumps, mind, not shoves or strikes.

[JonFromVA]

Something tells me the refs will set the tone for this game. Orlando is going to try to push the Cavs around again, and that could mean 3 quick fouls for someone ... or the Cavs crawling back in their hole.

[GeorgeSears]

Spotlight on Evan Mobley today. Got humiliated last game. Needs to rebound.

[JujitsuFlip]

The Cavs have the worst offensive efficiency of any team in the playoffs. Rebounding and defense isn't the problem for the Cavs, it continues to be the offense.

They had the worst last playoffs too.

[JujitsuFlip]

Something tells me the refs will set the tone for this game. Orlando is going to try to push the Cavs around again, and that could mean 3 quick fouls for someone ... or the Cavs crawling back in their hole.

Cavs need a double digit lead at half if they have a shot at winning their first road postseason game with this core.

[JujitsuFlip]

At some point Darius needs to step up. I have no idea why you are ignoring the obvious. We don’t need to cover for him. He needs to play better. He didn’t run an efficient offense in games 1 and 2. The offense struggled. It was even worse tonight.

The whole offense struggled but Garland is 1 of 2 max contract players and we can’t survive with him playing like this. 11 points and 6 assists just isn’t acceptable. It isn’t like he is offsetting that with great defense.

How was the offense when he was off the court tonight? I mean you've clearly convinced yourself he's the problem so I'm guessing it got a lot better.

Cleveland's offense isn't very creative. JB is more of a defense-first coach. We also start 2 traditional bigs that can't handle the ball or create on their own with any type of consistency. I know Cavs fans are trying to talk themselves into Mobley being a threat from 3, but even when teams give him wide open looks he is still around 30% with low volume. That lack of spacing makes it even more difficult for Cleveland to run a potent offense in the playoffs. Those are fundamental, foundational flaws that the Cavs just can't change this year. We knew that when the year started. Those are the main reasons the offense has been so awful in our 8 playoff games the last 2 years.

The above is precisely why I am so hard on Garland. The Cavs desperately need buckets. They need 1 on 1 creators because the half-court stuff will be so hard to come by due to the foundational flaws of having JB as a head coach and 2 traditional bigs in the lineup. The fact that Mitchell is not close to 100% makes Garland's lack of productivity even more frustrating.

I just have high expectations for Darius. He needs to be that guy. 17 points and 7 assists won't work in the playoffs. I want to see him hunt the 3 more than dribble 5 feet above the 3 point line. I want to see him drive to score/get fouled more than drive to pass. Obviously that doesn't mean you become Sexton, but just be more aggressive in hunting your own shot.

How are you gonna start your post by saying Mobley and Allen can't create their own shots, clog the lane and then finish your post with Garland needs to freeze his teammates out and hunt his shot?

The fact you don't see the blatant contradiction there is comical.

[Chuck Everett]

Big game y'all. Cleveland better show up.

[jbk1234]

At some point Darius needs to step up. I have no idea why you are ignoring the obvious. We don’t need to cover for him. He needs to play better. He didn’t run an efficient offense in games 1 and 2. The offense struggled. It was even worse tonight.

The whole offense struggled but Garland is 1 of 2 max contract players and we can’t survive with him playing like this. 11 points and 6 assists just isn’t acceptable. It isn’t like he is offsetting that with great defense.

How was the offense when he was off the court tonight? I mean you've clearly convinced yourself he's the problem so I'm guessing it got a lot better.

Cleveland's offense isn't very creative. JB is more of a defense-first coach. We also start 2 traditional bigs that can't handle the ball or create on their own with any type of consistency. I know Cavs fans are trying to talk themselves into Mobley being a threat from 3, but even when teams give him wide open looks he is still around 30% with low volume. That lack of spacing makes it even more difficult for Cleveland to run a potent offense in the playoffs. Those are fundamental, foundational flaws that the Cavs just can't change this year. We knew that when the year started. Those are the main reasons the offense has been so awful in our 8 playoff games the last 2 years.

The above is precisely why I am so hard on Garland. The Cavs desperately need buckets. They need 1 on 1 creators because the half-court stuff will be so hard to come by due to the foundational flaws of having JB as a head coach and 2 traditional bigs in the lineup. The fact that Mitchell is not close to 100% makes Garland's lack of productivity even more frustrating.

I just have high expectations for Darius. He needs to be that guy. 17 points and 7 assists won't work in the playoffs. I want to see him hunt the 3 more than dribble 5 feet above the 3 point line. I want to see him drive to score/get fouled more than drive to pass. Obviously that doesn't mean you become Sexton, but just be more aggressive in hunting your own shot.

I just don't think that you have a healthy appreciation for how hard scoring has been to come by league wide, especially against good defensive teams, given how the league is permitting teams to defend.

Last night Luka scored 22 points on 25 points. Kyrie scored 21 points on 17 shots.
Harden scored 21 pints on 13 shots.
Paul George scored 7 points on 11 shots.

If you're telling me getting 17 out of Garland won't be enough, I don't know what to say.

[G R E Y]

I don't think 1pm games are great for anybody, not players, not fans.

Maybe international fans, but then it's not 1pm for them.

Magic look to be in 1pm mode; Cavs, a few hours ahead.

[JujitsuFlip]

Refs on some bull crap early, smh.

[Chuck Everett]

Orlando is so big in the frontcourt. It's like those old Indiana teams with Rick Smits, Dale Davis and Derrick McKey.

[thelead]

Physical game again