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

[ChipotleWest]

Based on what im seeing on social media, youtube, etc.. seems like not many people outside of Magic and Cavs fans want to watch this series.

I dont really care what they do i just find it funny that NBA fans always complain about the league being soft and no one playing defense, but they dont want to think about watching two great defensive teams match-up. I guess people just like to complain..

I hope this ends up being the most entertaining 1st round series this play offs.

People say all sorts of stuff but they really want to watch stars play. Lebron and AD vs Jokic, Luka and Kyrie vs Kawhi and Paul George, Embiid vs Brunson, Tatum vs Butler but Butler is out. Unfortunately for these two teams they're just lacking in stars other than Donavan Mitchell maybe but I don't consider him a superstar, maybe a borderline star.

[NyKnicks1714]

Based on what im seeing on social media, youtube, etc.. seems like not many people outside of Magic and Cavs fans want to watch this series.

I dont really care what they do i just find it funny that NBA fans always complain about the league being soft and no one playing defense, but they dont want to think about watching two great defensive teams match-up. I guess people just like to complain..

I hope this ends up being the most entertaining 1st round series this play offs.

Because this is going to be an ugly, defensive series. I don't expect a lot of people to want to watch this. First to 90 wins.

It has little if nothing to do with that. It's the lack of star power (Mitchell and Banchero aren't drawing viewers) and compelling narratives, and you have two teams who fans generally have no opinion of, positive or negative. If Mavs/Clippers was going to be a low-scoring, grind-it-out series and Cavs/Magic was going to be high-scoring and fast-paced, Mavs/Clippers would still draw far more viewers.

[Sweet Serenity]

This series might be the least talked about but I have a feeling it’s going to end up being the best series of all the first round matchups.

[Exp0sed]

This series might be the least talked about but I have a feeling it’s going to end up being the best series of all the first round matchups.

it just might be, in terms of competitivnes, especially as many of the first rd. matchups were totally wrecked by injuries

however, since neither of those teams is likely to advance to the conf. finals..it is what it is - a series that by an large draws attention mostly from the competing fan bases of the Magic and the Cavs

[JujitsuFlip]

The Magic don't have the big man rotation that NY had nor do they have the playoff experience. They also aren't as good of a rebounding team as that NY team was.

We have to keep in mind the other differences in this team compared to last season too. With additional shooting and learning experiences from last season, you can't just look at what happened last season and conclude "yeah, that'll definitely happen this year".

Also, I can absolutely see Morris getting rotation minutes if Dean Wade isn't able to go. Thompson we'll have to wait and see.

I didn't say the Magic were the Knicks, but they can challenge the Cavs in similar ways and either the Cavs step up or they don't. They thing is they should have established everything in advance such that we can only wonder what went wrong if they couldn't demonstrate the improvement in the playoffs, except they've demonstrated very little other than they can shoot better.

But will those shooters like Niang and Merrill get minutes? Presumably George will, but he better make his shots or hold his own on D somehow.

Question marks... not answers.

Merrill I can see getting minutes, but only if Wade doesn’t return from injury, otherwise he’d be the one getting playing time.

Speaking of injuries, is there any update on Merrill?

Merrill is active for today, barring a setback but i have zero confidence he cracks jb's 8 man rotation.

[zeebneeb]

What im keen on, as I am every year, is seeing how high draft picks, with huge expectations, perform in the playoffs, when it counts. It is always a huge blow when the player who brought your team back to relevance, turns out to be a poor playoff performer, as it's a huge relief when they kick-ass.

Big ones in this?

Franz Wagner/Jalen Suggs/Paolo Banchero/Cole Anthony/Wendell Carter/Mo Wagner.

[Michael Jackson]

I got the Cavs in this but I am pulling for Orlando honestly.

[thelead]

I got the Cavs in 5 if they catch fire from deep.
I got the Magic in 6 if they can limit the Cavs 3pt shooting advantage.

It will probably be a mix of both though, so I got Cavs in 6 at the end of the day.

My X factor is Isaac's minutes. He changes everything if he's able to play 25+mpg and his offense is clicking.

[Exp0sed]

i'm not sure Bickerstaff is a real coach with how he's been running things on the court these past two seasons
wouldn't be shocked if this series goes either way in any fashion, but I think this Cavs team is the opposite of synergetic, meaning - it's considerably worse than the sum of it's parts

my pick is Magic in 6

[JujitsuFlip]

What im keen on, as I am every year, is seeing how high draft picks, with huge expectations, perform in the playoffs, when it counts. It is always a huge blow when the player who brought your team back to relevance, turns out to be a poor playoff performer, as it's a huge relief when they kick-ass.

Big ones in this?

Franz Wagner/Jalen Suggs/Paolo Banchero/Cole Anthony/Wendell Carter/Mo Wagner.

I wouldn't include Mo in that. He will be 27 before this series is over, was a late first rounder and played on 3 teams before the Magic. Probably not WCJ either really he's in his 6th NBA season, similar boat to Fultz in his 7th.

Paolo: 2022 #1 pick
Franz: 2021 #8 pick
Suggs: 2021 #5 pick
Black: 2023: #6 pick - probably won't play much

Then maybe...

Cole: 2020 #15 pick
Howard: 2023 #11 pick (what happened?)

Just some guys still on their rookie deals.

[JujitsuFlip]

i'm not sure Bickerstaff is a real coach with how he's been running things on the court these past two seasons
wouldn't be shocked if this series goes either way in any fashion, but I think this Cavs team is the opposite of synergetic, meaning - it's considerably worse than the sum of it's parts

my pick is Magic in 6

If the Cavs somehow find a way to win this series it will be in spit of jb for sure. The collective team has an anchor around their neck until that guy is finally fired. He's in his 5th season as head coach though, so not holding my breath.

[Residual-Heat]

Cavs take game 1. Blow out win. Magic start off slow in the 1st.

[JustBuzzin]

Magic need a solid vet this off-season. They have a good core just missing a really good vet.

If they could get a Paul George or DeRozan this off-season that would be great.

[hippesthippo]

My heart says Magic, but my gut says Cavs.

Cavs in 7.

[hippesthippo]

Magic need a solid vet this off-season. They have a good core just missing a really good vet.

If they could get a Paul George or DeRozan this off-season that would be great.

How in the **** would that help?

They need a guy to take the ball away and piss off bad shots? We're talking about 35 year olds that regularly shoot 5-20 in big games.

[hippesthippo]

i'm not sure Bickerstaff is a real coach with how he's been running things on the court these past two seasons
wouldn't be shocked if this series goes either way in any fashion, but I think this Cavs team is the opposite of synergetic, meaning - it's considerably worse than the sum of it's parts

my pick is Magic in 6

True. Very true.

I just can't shake the image of Donovan Mitchell going supernova in the playoffs.

[JujitsuFlip]

i'm not sure Bickerstaff is a real coach with how he's been running things on the court these past two seasons
wouldn't be shocked if this series goes either way in any fashion, but I think this Cavs team is the opposite of synergetic, meaning - it's considerably worse than the sum of it's parts

my pick is Magic in 6

True. Very true.

I just can't shake the image of Donovan Mitchell going supernova in the playoffs.

That happened once so long ago it's almost more like a shooting star, just quickly passing in the night.

His history shows he's much more likely to get about 23 ppg on 44.32 eFG% but if he is able to recreate either of his covid restriction years from a scoring and efficiency standpoint then the Magic don't stand a chance.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

Based on what im seeing on social media, youtube, etc.. seems like not many people outside of Magic and Cavs fans want to watch this series.

I dont really care what they do i just find it funny that NBA fans always complain about the league being soft and no one playing defense, but they dont want to think about watching two great defensive teams match-up. I guess people just like to complain..

I hope this ends up being the most entertaining 1st round series this play offs.

I don’t care about viewership. That just means both fan bases can enjoy this game in peace.

[Iwasawitness]

I didn't say the Magic were the Knicks, but they can challenge the Cavs in similar ways and either the Cavs step up or they don't. They thing is they should have established everything in advance such that we can only wonder what went wrong if they couldn't demonstrate the improvement in the playoffs, except they've demonstrated very little other than they can shoot better.

But will those shooters like Niang and Merrill get minutes? Presumably George will, but he better make his shots or hold his own on D somehow.

Question marks... not answers.

Merrill I can see getting minutes, but only if Wade doesn’t return from injury, otherwise he’d be the one getting playing time.

Speaking of injuries, is there any update on Merrill?

Merrill is active for today, barring a setback but i have zero confidence he cracks jb's 8 man rotation.

If he’s not having any rust issues, I think he should play and it would be foolish on JBs part not to.

[JustBuzzin]

Magic need a solid vet this off-season. They have a good core just missing a really good vet.

If they could get a Paul George or DeRozan this off-season that would be great.

How in the **** would that help?

They need a guy to take the ball away and piss off bad shots? We're talking about 35 year olds that regularly shoot 5-20 in big games.

Take a chill pill. Just my suggestion.