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

[ibraheim718]

Quality play. I doubt either team would stand a chance against Phx or Min. Trust the eye test man.

Orlando beat Minnesota in Minnesota.

They wouldn't have today.

Neither could Phoenix. In fact they got drubbed but you enjoyed it for some reason.

[Dubnation]

Orlando beat Minnesota in Minnesota.

They wouldn't have today.

Neither could Phoenix. In fact they got drubbed but you enjoyed it from some reason.

Like I said - quality of play. I don't have a dog in the fight. I just state the obvious. If you choose not to, that's your business.

[RookieStar]

To be expected... Just glad our guy's playoff virginity has been finally popped. lol

[Iwasawitness]

Someone mentioned before how the Cavaliers fared against the Knicks last season and quite a few have brought up the physical style the Magic play at and thought we'd get a repeat of some sort.

I knew from the beginning that wasn't going to happen, but I want to highlight how this game played out and use it as an example of what I'm referring to.

Cavaliers won the rebound battle pretty easily in this one. A 54 to 40 rebound advantage despite Cleveland only playing two bigs. But the key here is even if Orlando does play physical, their personal and rotation doesn't have what it takes to impact the Cavaliers the same way the Knicks did. The Knicks ran a four man rotation featuring Randle/Robinson as starters with Toppin/Hartenstein as the backups. That allowed them to use fresh bigs who were capable of playing a more physical style of play on less minutes. Not to mention, both of the bigs playing PF were capable of spreading the floor. It was an utter mismatch and a tall task to ask Mobley and Allen to handle.

The Magic don't have this kind of big man rotation. No disrespect to Isaac who is a menace defensively and Carter who I like as a player too, but they aren't going to be able to manhandle Mobley and Allen the same way the Knicks bigs could. On top of this, Magic going with Paolo at the four is kind of playing into the Cavaliers hands if we're being honest... it gives them the opportunity to actually win the rebounding battle on top of being able to play more physical themselves.

Top that off with the fact that Orlando's offense just isn't anywhere close to what the Knicks had (who had the fifth best ranked offense on the season and the number one ranked offense post all star break), as well as Cleveland having more depth and more options to go with, I just don't see how Orlando can win this series. Just like the Cavaliers last year with the Knicks, Orlando is out of their element and are clearly the inferior team.

Things could change and I could absolutely eat crow, but if game 1 was an indicator of anything (a game where the Cavaliers shot 26% from three on 30 attempts and STILL won by double digits mind you), this shouldn't be a very long series.

[JujitsuFlip]

Someone mentioned before how the Cavaliers fared against the Knicks last season and quite a few have brought up the physical style the Magic play at and thought we'd get a repeat of some sort.

I knew from the beginning that wasn't going to happen, but I want to highlight how this game played out and use it as an example of what I'm referring to.

Cavaliers won the rebound battle pretty easily in this one. A 54 to 40 rebound advantage despite Cleveland only playing two bigs. But the key here is even if Orlando does play physical, their personal and rotation doesn't have what it takes to impact the Cavaliers the same way the Knicks did. The Knicks ran a four man rotation featuring Randle/Robinson as starters with Toppin/Hartenstein as the backups. That allowed them to use fresh bigs who were capable of playing a more physical style of play on less minutes. Not to mention, both of the bigs playing PF were capable of spreading the floor. It was an utter mismatch and a tall task to ask Mobley and Allen to handle.

The Magic don't have this kind of big man rotation. No disrespect to Isaac who is a menace defensively and Carter who I like as a player too, but they aren't going to be able to manhandle Mobley and Allen the same way the Knicks bigs could. On top of this, Magic going with Paolo at the four is kind of playing into the Cavaliers hands if we're being honest... it gives them the opportunity to actually win the rebounding battle on top of being able to play more physical themselves.

Top that off with the fact that Orlando's offense just isn't anywhere close to what the Knicks had (who had the fifth best ranked offense on the season and the number one ranked offense post all star break), as well as Cleveland having more depth and more options to go with, I just don't see how Orlando can win this series. Just like the Cavaliers last year with the Knicks, Orlando is out of their element and are clearly the inferior team.

Things could change and I could absolutely eat crow, but if game 1 was an indicator of anything (a game where the Cavaliers shot 26% from three on 30 attempts and STILL won by double digits mind you), this shouldn't be a very long series.

It's 1 game, man.

The Magic easily have the bigs to wear down the Cavs, if they want.

They're starting JI (6'10"), Paolo (6'10"), and Franz (6'10") and then subbing in WCJ (6'10") and Mo (6'11").

[Iwasawitness]

Someone mentioned before how the Cavaliers fared against the Knicks last season and quite a few have brought up the physical style the Magic play at and thought we'd get a repeat of some sort.

I knew from the beginning that wasn't going to happen, but I want to highlight how this game played out and use it as an example of what I'm referring to.

Cavaliers won the rebound battle pretty easily in this one. A 54 to 40 rebound advantage despite Cleveland only playing two bigs. But the key here is even if Orlando does play physical, their personal and rotation doesn't have what it takes to impact the Cavaliers the same way the Knicks did. The Knicks ran a four man rotation featuring Randle/Robinson as starters with Toppin/Hartenstein as the backups. That allowed them to use fresh bigs who were capable of playing a more physical style of play on less minutes. Not to mention, both of the bigs playing PF were capable of spreading the floor. It was an utter mismatch and a tall task to ask Mobley and Allen to handle.

The Magic don't have this kind of big man rotation. No disrespect to Isaac who is a menace defensively and Carter who I like as a player too, but they aren't going to be able to manhandle Mobley and Allen the same way the Knicks bigs could. On top of this, Magic going with Paolo at the four is kind of playing into the Cavaliers hands if we're being honest... it gives them the opportunity to actually win the rebounding battle on top of being able to play more physical themselves.

Top that off with the fact that Orlando's offense just isn't anywhere close to what the Knicks had (who had the fifth best ranked offense on the season and the number one ranked offense post all star break), as well as Cleveland having more depth and more options to go with, I just don't see how Orlando can win this series. Just like the Cavaliers last year with the Knicks, Orlando is out of their element and are clearly the inferior team.

Things could change and I could absolutely eat crow, but if game 1 was an indicator of anything (a game where the Cavaliers shot 26% from three on 30 attempts and STILL won by double digits mind you), this shouldn't be a very long series.

It's 1 game, man.

The Magic easily have the bigs to wear down the Cavs, if they want.

They're starting JI (6'10"), Paolo (6'10"), and Franz (6'10") and then subbing in WCJ (6'10") and Mo (6'11").

First off, I'm well aware that it's only one game. I make that pretty clear.

Second, those bigs aren't going to be enough and don't compare to Robinson/Hartenstein/Randle/Toppin. Not to mention, Cleveland has Thompson and Morris that they can deploy if they choose to do so. But with how well Mobley and Allen played (18/16 and 16/11), I doubt it knowing Bickerstafff.

It's okay to have faith in the Cavs, as hard as it may be to believe.

[cavs4872]

I had no idea what to think of this series going in and still have no idea what to think after Cavs comfortably take Game 1. Gary Harris and the bench guards were 0-19.

I guess the Magic could steal one but this feels like Cavs in 5.

[Blacksheep25]

As a Cavs fan I knew JBB caught a huge break with Orlando as opposed to maybe half the other teams. He tanked for it.

As someone who wants JBB fired last year, I hate this, because a series win will feel like progress to ownership when it’s really not. I’d rather them flop, but they’ll win this series in 5 games, lose in 5 games against Boston and not look horrible every game because they match up decently with Boston. They’ll certainly lose decisively, but they’ll hang around enough where it looks closer than it is. Then we get JBB back and I’m miserable.

A Knicks blow their doors off. A Miami without Butler beats them and they have to fire him. Andre Drummond would get 31 rebounds and it would take 6 games to beat a horrible Bulls team had the Bulls advanced.

They’ll win this series easily and everyone expects them to lose against Boston. Kind of worst case scenario as someone who views getting rid of JBB as priority 1.

1 game and you're already talking like it's over? These are the things I'm countering. I hope the Cavs have your mindset, the Magic would gentlemen sweep if they do.

I’m not overconfident about the Cavs. I just mentioned 3 teams, two with a worse record than Orlando who would give us trouble or beat us. We aren’t that good at all.

But Orlando is young and the Cavs match up well with Orlando in that they are similar teams. Both play really good defense, but we have Mitchell. Both teams struggle on offense, but Cleveland has a guy who can score against a good defense. Orlando doesn’t.

Could Orlando win 2 games? Sure. I’m just confident Cleveland will win series whether it’s 4 games or 6 games. Today changed nothing about that. I felt that way before the series because it’s always about experience and matchups in the playoffs and both benefit the Cavs. I like Orlando. Nice young team.

[ForeverTFC]

Mitchell is the only 1st option in this series. Cavs have the best player by a wide margin and 4 of the best 7. They would need to choke in pretty epic fashion to lose this one. They threw their last game in the most embarrassing fashion to get this matchup; there is a reason for that. They’ll win but they are still cowards in most peoples eyes.

Magic did well grinding out a good regular season but they just aren’t there yet. They need to a go to guy on the offensive end. We’ve all watched enough playoffs to know you can’t do much without one.

[The Real Dalic]

Mitchell is the only 1st option in this series. Cavs have the best player by a wide margin and 4 of the best 7. They would need to choke in pretty epic fashion to lose this one. They threw their last game in the most embarrassing fashion to get this matchup; there is a reason for that. They’ll win but they are still cowards in most peoples eyes.

Magic did well grinding out a good regular season but they just aren’t there yet. They need to a go to guy on the offensive end. We’ve all watched enough playoffs to know you can’t do much without one.

We have one. I hope you're not saying Paolo can't. You saw the spacing Paolo deals with on a nightly basis. Not only that, he's doing what he does as a first time playoff performer. . . At 21 years old.

[ForeverTFC]

Mitchell is the only 1st option in this series. Cavs have the best player by a wide margin and 4 of the best 7. They would need to choke in pretty epic fashion to lose this one. They threw their last game in the most embarrassing fashion to get this matchup; there is a reason for that. They’ll win but they are still cowards in most peoples eyes.

Magic did well grinding out a good regular season but they just aren’t there yet. They need to a go to guy on the offensive end. We’ve all watched enough playoffs to know you can’t do much without one.

We have one. I hope you're not saying Paolo can't. You saw the spacing Paolo deals with on a nightly basis. Not only that, he's doing what he does as a first time playoff performer. . . At 21 years old.

I’m saying you don’t have one currently. Not making any statements on whether Paolo can or can’t be one down the road, but today he clearly is not one.

[Residual-Heat]

As far as rebounding goes..

JI is a good rebounder, but not if he's going up against a very good rebounding center. Keep in mind JI doesnt play a lot center minutes. According to BBallref he played 13% of his minutes at SF. 87% at PF. He definitely played some center minutes, so bballref not accurate, but that was rare and against certain lineups. All of a sudden, he finds himself the starting center in the play offs against a big front court with good rebounders. There is a reason for that, and its the same reason Isaac started last game of the regular season. WCJ's back is still hurt. I could see when he checked out he walked to the bench very slowly and looked in pain when he sat down.

If they want to win the rebounding battle, the Magic can play a Paolo-Isaac-WCJ front court. We have seen that a few times throughout the regular season. We saw it to close out the win against the Wolves and their big front court. It worked very well. If WCJ was healthy we definitely wouldve seen it today IMO.

As far as the guards.. yeah its obvious they need another guard. Anyone who watched the Magic regularly knew that was the case. Magic fans knew that. Thats why you always see someone suggesting a trade for a guard on the trades and transactions board everyday . Suggs had a bad shooting game. **** happens, he still shot 40% in the regular season. The 3s looked good. Harris is a proven vet shooter, not a volume shooter but he doesnt usually miss open threes like he did today. Both played good defense. Cole is and always been inconsistent. Could give you 25 next game and i woudnt be surprised lol. Unfortunately, we were all hoping Cole was going to build on his improvement last season, instead his 3pt% has regressed to below 34%. Fultz TOS came back and at one point his shot looked like it did during his rookie season.

Clearly they need to upgrade atleast one of Cole/Harris and get rid of Fultz (who will be replaced by Black). They have the means to do that with cap space and assets. The FO messed up this offseason. They didnt think Fultz and Cole would regress and didnt think this team would be a 47 win team. Then they also messed up again before the trade deadline when they saw they can compete and need a guard upgrade and didnt do anything. They will have to do something this offseason. Maybe this play off series will finally convince them.

[thelead]

The rebounding talk is funny… Cleveland won the rebound battle because Orlando bricked everything not because of size, toughness, or whatever else someone wants to attribute it to

Cavs out-rebounded the magic by 14. The Magic missed 13 more shots than the Cavs…. There’s your rebounding defense.

[ForeverTFC]

As far as rebounding goes..

JI is a good rebounder, but not if he's going up against a very good rebounding center. Keep in mind JI doesnt play a lot center minutes. According to BBallref he played 13% of his minutes at SF. 87% at PF. He definitely played some center minutes, so bballref not accurate, but that was rare and against certain lineups. All of a sudden, he finds himself the starting center in the play offs against a big front court with good rebounders. There is a reason for that, and its the same reason Isaac started last game of the regular season. WCJ's back is still hurt. I could see when he checked out he walked to the bench very slowly and looked in pain when he sat down.

If they want to win the rebounding battle, the Magic can play a Paolo-Isaac-WCJ front court. We have seen that a few times throughout the regular season. We saw it to close out the win against the Wolves and their big front court. It worked very well. If WCJ was healthy we definitely wouldve seen it today IMO.

As far as the guards.. yeah its obvious they need another guard. Anyone who watched the Magic regularly knew that was the case. Magic fans knew that. Thats why you always see someone suggesting a trade for a guard on the trades and transactions board everyday . Suggs had a bad shooting game. **** happens, he still shot 40% in the regular season. The 3s looked good. Harris is a proven vet shooter, not a volume shooter but he doesnt usually miss open threes like he did today. Both played good defense. Cole is and always been inconsistent. Could give you 25 next game and i woudnt be surprised lol. Unfortunately, we were all hoping Cole was going to build on his improvement last season, instead his 3pt% has regressed to below 34%. Fultz TOS came back and at one point his shot looked like it did during his rookie season.

Clearly they need to upgrade atleast one of Cole/Harris and get rid of Fultz (who will be replaced by Black). They have the means to do that with cap space and assets. The FO messed up this offseason. They didnt think Fultz and Cole would regress and didnt think this team would be a 47 win team. Then they also messed up again before the trade deadline when they saw they can compete and need a guard upgrade and didnt do anything. They will have to do something this offseason. Maybe this play off series will finally convince them.

If they knew what they were going to have in Suggs, they probably would have gone out and gotten FVV during the summer. Ultimately, I think even they were caught off guard by Suggs and what Mosley was able to get out of the group. If you remove Suggs and Banchero, the whole team pretty much regressed this year, no?

[tundraknight]

Why isn’t Sam Merrill getting playing time? They could use his deadly 3 point shooting.

[Residual-Heat]

As far as rebounding goes..

JI is a good rebounder, but not if he's going up against a very good rebounding center. Keep in mind JI doesnt play a lot center minutes. According to BBallref he played 13% of his minutes at SF. 87% at PF. He definitely played some center minutes, so bballref not accurate, but that was rare and against certain lineups. All of a sudden, he finds himself the starting center in the play offs against a big front court with good rebounders. There is a reason for that, and its the same reason Isaac started last game of the regular season. WCJ's back is still hurt. I could see when he checked out he walked to the bench very slowly and looked in pain when he sat down.

If they want to win the rebounding battle, the Magic can play a Paolo-Isaac-WCJ front court. We have seen that a few times throughout the regular season. We saw it to close out the win against the Wolves and their big front court. It worked very well. If WCJ was healthy we definitely wouldve seen it today IMO.

As far as the guards.. yeah its obvious they need another guard. Anyone who watched the Magic regularly knew that was the case. Magic fans knew that. Thats why you always see someone suggesting a trade for a guard on the trades and transactions board everyday . Suggs had a bad shooting game. **** happens, he still shot 40% in the regular season. The 3s looked good. Harris is a proven vet shooter, not a volume shooter but he doesnt usually miss open threes like he did today. Both played good defense. Cole is and always been inconsistent. Could give you 25 next game and i woudnt be surprised lol. Unfortunately, we were all hoping Cole was going to build on his improvement last season, instead his 3pt% has regressed to below 34%. Fultz TOS came back and at one point his shot looked like it did during his rookie season.

Clearly they need to upgrade atleast one of Cole/Harris and get rid of Fultz (who will be replaced by Black). They have the means to do that with cap space and assets. The FO messed up this offseason. They didnt think Fultz and Cole would regress and didnt think this team would be a 47 win team. Then they also messed up again before the trade deadline when they saw they can compete and need a guard upgrade and didnt do anything. They will have to do something this offseason. Maybe this play off series will finally convince them.

If they knew what they were going to have in Suggs, they probably would have gone out and gotten FVV during the summer. Ultimately, I think even they were caught off guard by Suggs and what Mosley was able to get out of the group. If you remove Suggs and Banchero, the whole team pretty much regressed this year, no?

Maybe, but Houston just threw a lot of money at FVV. It wouldve been great to have him, but I understand the FO not wanting to overpay that much.

Franz's three pt shooting regressed, but everything else improved. Defense, rebounding, 2pt% was all better this season. You could say all in all he regressed yes, but not by much.

WCJ was pretty much the same overall. Improved as a shooter, but overall I dont think he regressed.

[JujitsuFlip]

Why isn’t Sam Merrill getting playing time? They could use his deadly 3 point shooting.

Bc jb is in love with 8 man rotations lol

Edit: plus he went 0-2 from deep in his 4:15.

[The Real Dalic]

Mitchell is the only 1st option in this series. Cavs have the best player by a wide margin and 4 of the best 7. They would need to choke in pretty epic fashion to lose this one. They threw their last game in the most embarrassing fashion to get this matchup; there is a reason for that. They’ll win but they are still cowards in most peoples eyes.

Magic did well grinding out a good regular season but they just aren’t there yet. They need to a go to guy on the offensive end. We’ve all watched enough playoffs to know you can’t do much without one.

We have one. I hope you're not saying Paolo can't. You saw the spacing Paolo deals with on a nightly basis. Not only that, he's doing what he does as a first time playoff performer. . . At 21 years old.

I’m saying you don’t have one currently. Not making any statements on whether Paolo can or can’t be one down the road, but today he clearly is not one.

Okay, fair enough. Whether Paolo turns into that or not, I do agree with your premise. The Magic should try their hardest to get a guy like Mitchell or Young this coming offseason.

[Iwasawitness]

The rebounding talk is funny… Cleveland won the rebound battle because Orlando bricked everything not because of size, toughness, or whatever else someone wants to attribute it to

Cavs out-rebounded the magic by 14. The Magic missed 13 more shots than the Cavs…. There’s your rebounding defense.

Whatever helps your coping process.

[jbk1234]

Why isn’t Sam Merrill getting playing time? They could use his deadly 3 point shooting.

Because with Wade injured, you have to play Niang. Merrill, Niang, and one of Garland or Mitchell means you're playing 3 guys with defensive limitations at once.