#Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse- Cleveland, OH
[ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nba/game/_/gameId/401655118/magic-cavaliers)
[TV/Radio](https://reddit.com/r/OrlandoMagic/comments/1canew0/game_thread_orlando_magic_01_at_cleveland/l0sutp2/)
***
|Time Clock|
|:–:|
|Final|
||Q1|Q2|Q3|Q4|Total|
|:–|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|
|ORL |18|26|21|21|86|
|CLE |30|28|22|16|96|
###Player Stats
**Orlando Magic**
|Player|MINS|PTS|FGM-A|3PM-A|FTM-A|ORB|DRB|REB|AST|STL|BLK|TO|PF|+/-|
|:–|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|
|F. Wagner|37:42|18|5-17|2-4|6-7|2|5|7|2|1|1|6|4|-5
|P. Banchero|40:46|21|9-20|1-4|2-2|1|2|3|3|2|1|6|1|-4
|J. Isaac|19:31|3|1-7|1-7|0-0|1|3|4|0|0|2|1|0|-10
|G. Harris|34:12|14|5-10|4-7|0-0|2|2|4|2|1|1|0|2|2
|J. Suggs|29:07|9|2-5|0-3|5-7|2|4|6|5|1|0|1|2|8
|W. Carter Jr.|18:17|6|1-7|1-6|3-4|2|3|5|3|0|0|0|5|-2
|J. Ingles|14:00|2|1-2|0-1|0-0|0|1|1|3|1|0|0|0|-14
|M. Fultz|6:00|1|0-0|0-0|1-2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|-6
|C. Anthony|16:53|0|0-4|0-1|0-0|0|5|5|0|0|0|1|2|-13
|M. Wagner|20:41|12|5-8|0-2|2-4|1|5|6|0|2|0|1|6|1
|C. Houstan|2:51|0|0-0|0-0|0-0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|-7
**Cleveland Cavaliers**
|Player|MINS|PTS|FGM-A|3PM-A|FTM-A|ORB|DRB|REB|AST|STL|BLK|TO|PF|+/-|
|:–|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|–:|
|M. Strus|36:43|7|2-7|1-5|2-2|3|6|9|4|1|0|0|3|5
|E. Mobley|32:01|17|5-13|1-4|6-9|2|5|7|1|1|1|3|3|11
|J. Allen|38:49|16|6-10|0-0|4-8|9|11|20|3|2|3|2|4|12
|D. Mitchell|36:12|23|9-22|2-10|3-5|1|7|8|4|1|1|3|5|10
|D. Garland|31:42|15|5-11|4-7|1-2|0|3|3|4|1|0|4|5|-4
|C. LeVert|25:28|8|3-7|2-4|0-0|0|1|1|1|1|0|1|1|2
|G. Niang|13:39|0|0-4|0-4|0-0|0|0|0|0|0|1|0|3|2
|I. Okoro|25:24|10|4-8|2-5|0-0|0|0|0|1|4|0|2|0|12
###Team Stats
|Team|FGM-A|3PM-A|FTM-A|AST|PF|STL|TO|BLK|OREB|DREB|REB|
|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|:–|
|ORL|29-80|9-35|19-26|18|22|8|16|5|11|30|57|
|CLE|34-82|12-39|16-26|18|24|11|15|6|15|33|59|
***
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30 Comments
Jalen Suggs is a Top 20 of all time Magic, fuck it
Pros – team has at least shown they have some fight in them when down big, The crowd is clearly getting to them, home games should go more our way as a result Defense is translating into the playoffs When the ball moves around our offense actually looks okay
Cons – anyone not named gary harris has no business taking 3s and Cavs know it Paolo cant hold onto the ball to save his life. Where tf was isaac for the entire second half, i know he played shit but he easily couldve taken WCJs spot And finally, the crowd is CLEARLY getting to them, Mo becoming the greatest villain in the league is fun to watch but the rest of the team cant seem to handle the noise if we win a game we have to go back and i cant see us winning an away game
Honestly if were going to play like this we need to give another player the chance to become an X-factor in the way mo has, like caleb houstan if we want any chance to mount a comeback,
The team is showing they were a year away, which even though we were all hyped to see another playoff berth, we all knew deep down that we clearly arent out of the oven yet as far as team constuction, and its limiting paolo, franz and sugg’s offensive impact as a result
Thank god it’s over. The box score in the upper right corner of the screen was completely ruining my vibe during this sixers/knicks game.
Why are JI and WCJ shooting so many 3s? These brothers stink at 3s. Go bang in the paint soft boys
bottom line the backcourt and issac has let this team down period……….. until this gets address expect the same results.. yes there will be times when they get the deficit to under 10 but cleveland will have an answer. this team is outmatched by a better team and homecourt is not going to fix anything.. once they face boston in the 2nd rd boston is going to embarass them cause boston is the better team period
I have a good feeling about the next game. 😤 As bad as we’ve looked, Cavs don’t look *too* much better. Good coaches would make adjustments. Mosley, show us you’re more than a good vibes coach.
everyone but suggs paolo franz and ab/jett should be on the fucking block
We scored 3 more points then Game 1. Is this anything?
Well then.
First two games went about as I expected. Hey, this was only a loss by 10, progress by 4 points. At this rate we might win a playoff game in 3 more games! /s
On a serious note though, even in another loss I still see a few positives. Gary had a good bounceback game, probably (definitely) our best player tonight and the only one that actually brought his A game. Jalen is a fucking DOG, and despite what looked absolutely horrific early Q1 he’s managed to both come back and basically be our second best player, between 5 assists (had a few actually pretty nifty passes) and just his overall energy he’s looked like just about the only other guy on the floor that actually wanted to win. Also, thank fuck he’s somehow fine enough to actually play to begin with, I hope the injury doesn’t get aggravated over the remainder of the series.
Alternatively, Franz started off well but then Cavs adjusted their defense after halftime and he basically disappeared. Paolo’s effectively had a copy of his previous game, albeit this time he’s been “fine” efficiency wise, apart from his 3’s anyway. 6 TOs (especially each) is still bad though, and in the playoffs a “fine” game from your best player is simply not enough to win. Cole has 0 made field goals in two games, JIngles got completely eliminated from making any form of impact, Kelle’s been predictably a non-factor. Of Orlando’s bench, that’s been one of their biggest strengths in the regular season, the only guy that’s been bringing any form of power to this series is Mo (who, on a side note, showed best of both worlds today – insane dunk on Allen but also how the fuck you getting fouled out from a game in TWENTY MINUTES what the hell).
On the other side of things, rebound stats won’t show it because it’s just a difference of two but our guys got fucking bodied by Allen, frankly expectedly so. He’s surprised me a bit with not only his rebounding but also his passing too. For a team as longboi as ours we effectively don’t have what you’d call a “real” center (no, Goga is simply not good enough to play extended minutes in a playoff series and outside of throwing him out there just as a “well shit nobody else is doing anything so might as well” him being on the floor isn’t a great idea) that could be both a great rebounder, a defensive anchor and a lob threat all at once (*yet again I am campaigning for this team to try signing Claxton*). Otherwise you can’t even really say Cleveland is beating us that definitively, their offense is looking like two tiers less ass than the Magic – 12-39 from 3 and 16-26 from the free throw line is genuinely just not good. Can’t blame the TV guys for putting this series on NBATV one bit.
All in all, I am yet to buy into depression mode; quite far from it, honestly. This’s effectively been what I expected, and while it can still be disappointing in the moment, I eagerly await what adjustment is made in the off-season (side note: if you’re one of those fans that keep complaining about a wasted offseason two months before it even started, please kindly stay quiet), as this being the first real playoff experience serves as a great basis upon which we can see *all* of the issues with the roster, beyond just the face value “just add more shooting”.
This team needs a lot more. It needs a viable playmaker. It needs a bang-down-low center. It needs a proper bench wing that can come in for either Franz or Paolo and contribute. It needs a proper sixth man guard. It, admittedly, does also need shooting – less than some people think though, I’d say probably one guy off the bench that’s a specialist – and were the Magic to sign or trade for a playmaking/shooting guard in the offseason, moving Gary to the bench could help a bunch. Ideally a combination of NewPointGuard/Suggs/Franz/Paolo/NewCenter with idfk Black/Harris/NewBenchWing/Mo/Isaac would be the rotation for the upcoming season.
Also, I hope the fan on Cleveland’s side that got injured is gonna turn out fine. Sports differences aside I just don’t ever wanna see anyone get hurt during a fucking sports event regardless of circumstances, be it a guy on our team (again, how the fuck is Jalen fine after that), a player on the opposing team (Garland looked majorly shook up after that Moe steal; also, Mitchell took a shot to the ribs from I wanna say WCJ?) or a fan, and if you’re the type to cheer that shit on – again, from either side – I implore of you to be better.
Magic in 6
I wish we had a Tyrese Maxey😭
I mean, what’s really funny about Cavs fans showing up here is their team isn’t showing much promise as a championship contender, haven’t really blown out the Magic, and haven’t scored over 100.
It’s been a tough watch because the paint is so clogged which is leading to a lack of points in the paint and turnovers with guys trying to force it to cutters. I know we aren’t a sharp shooting team but we just need to hit shots at our regular rate to open it right up.
I’m not sold on many lineup changes, while I’d like WCJ to be starting because of his size on JA it can’t be in place of Harris because Suggs and JI haven’t been shooting it well. The only change I’d make is not playing Ingles, he’s too much of a liability on defense for this match up. He’s been too slow to even hedge pick and rolls leaving cutters or shooters open.
One thing that is really annoying me is Cole, he is so quick that he needs to shoot or drive when he catches the pass and the defense is scrambling. Too often he fakes the shot which they aren’t biting on because he has shot poorly and then resorts to an iso.
If you can’t score enough then it doesn’t matter how good your defense is. Clearly Wagner and Bachero is bothered by Allen / Mobley’s length on theor drives. Banchero’s rebounding and defense needs to step up big time. He rarely boxes out.
Franz and Paolo have accounted for 81 of the 169 points scored so far this series. Nearly half. The bench right now is simply under performing. Cole has seriously been terrible. He’s unable to set guys up for shots as a “PG”, can’t defend, and literally has not made a FG in this series (0-11). Glad Fultz got benched though he was getting cooked in that first quarter.
Disappointing loss but somewhat confident we can grab Game 3. That hostile environment seems to bother this young team. Just hoping we don’t get swept!
holding them under 100 both games is pretty cool, just sucks we’re horrible offensively (except for the occasional suggs blast).
Kia better be fucking loud as shit Thursday. I know we got exposed the last two games, but Orlando better show up. I know I will be.
Becoming concerned for Mo’s safety.
Just when the city of Cleveland can’t hate him anymore, he kills a random spectator.
Jalen Suggs/Franz Wagner/ Paolo Banchero/Jonathan Isaac/Wendell Carter hadn’t played after we beat the Timberwolves with them. Insane.
https://preview.redd.it/22i9knce25wc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=43d399d9ae284163765c74b07b32ca2ab78f379a
Jarrett Allen looks like Strunk Flugget
Well, the Cavs are definitely beatable if we can just shoot with normal efficiency. Hopefully that happens when we play the next 2 at home.
Funny how Weltman ignored shooting and drafted for length and we still got destroyed inside by Allen and Mobley. What a tandem. We have no chance unless we try and go big. I’d put Goga in there at this point. Nothing to lose.
The team clearly needs a second star at guard. It’s way too easy to overload on Paolo and Franz and no one else can do anything. Of course I was saying this would happen in the summer and some guy kept telling me how great Gary Harris was at shooting and that we’d be fine…lol.
This will be a learning experience regardless of the outcome. One thing they’ve seen is that as hard as it is to win a game on the road in the reg season, it’s ten times harder to win on the road in the Playoffs. This’ll motivate them to understand the importance of doing everything they can next year to get home court advantage for at least the first round. That’s important for a young team trying to win in the Postseason. The home team has won every game so far in Postseason, including the Play-in, aside from Lakers beating NO I believe. Of course personal growth/roster changes need to occur for better seeding next year.
Get me Tyus Jones (or literally any other PG) and a lob threat in the off season.
We’re gonna win on Thursday to give us hope jus to lose the next two.
Mo beastgner
Man, not only is our shooting abysmal but we look *afraid* to shoot. So many drive/kick out sequences, only to drive the paint and get smothered.
If the front office doesn’t see that we NEED shooting, then this rebuild is doomed. Not even being dramatic. Unfortunately this is our ceiling. Even if Franz and Pablo get their efficiency up, we still need shooters to compete at the higher levels.
The way this team is built this is about the peak. A mid seed and a first round exit.
Invested so much time and money into fultz who is a disaster, suggs, Isaac, black headed the same way.
Two good players but for a serious contender they are 3rd options.
Signing a washed klay Thompson this summer will make it even worse.
This is what I have been saying the whole season. Mosley is getting outcoached and its a masterclass beating. The guy made 0 adjustments from the last game and our team looks worse. How can you be COY finalist but always get outcoached. He actively hurt our team this year.
We were #2 in the East during the Magic hardest stretch blowing teams out of the water. Looking strong every night, and had nba legends all talking about Orlando’s toughness and tenacity. That lineup with AB and Goga was a real strong and complimentary lineup.
Mosley made active moves to destroy a working system and group that had us comfortably in the top 4 of the east. Boston, Orlando, Milwaukee, Philadelphia then a huge gap. Players came back and the Magic started to focus on “offense” and we slid straight to 8th.
AB and Goga became DNP guys, the team’s defense fell off a cliff (we were #1 for a long time with the AB and Goga lineup and bench), the offense didnt even look better, just more complicated and the team struggled during their easiest stretches. The bias hurt this team.
We should have traded both Markelle and Wendell at trade deadline like I said and went all out for a complimentary guard or center. But here we are in playoffs, during a really good year to make noise, and with many teams injured or unsure, and this team is flopping in every level. Its honestly sad. I know they will(hopefully) have many more chances, but this is coaching malpractice and I had said it for years by now.
Wendell was never a center and that move started a terrible downward spiral. BB starting also just terrible. Mo and Wendell had fantastic stats in tangent but picking Wendell as the favorite and DNPing Mo (only using him to help us cut into deficits only to bench him to end the game with BB and gain a loss) hurt us. Mosley has made active moves that in my honest opinion has hurt this team more than helped.
The AB and Goga starting lineup was great, but the team fell for the “you are winning but your weakness is so pronounced trap” that caused everybody to rationalize completely shifting a team that was #2 in the East for majority of the season that they played together. We literally started sliding as soon as players came back from injuries and Mosley started making “adjustments”.
We can end up winning this series but I am honestly just disappointed with Mosley as a coach because many of his moves just seem counter fact. There are literal stats that proved many of the things I have been saying, and the fact that he goes counter stat almost every time, just adds to my confusion on his objective. It isn’t winning if he is starting Bol Bol (some of the worst stats that year, in most of the worst lineups for our team, and clearly a bad fit), it isn’t winning if decides to completely gut a top 2 team in the East that was in fact not struggling but many games dominating.
Many of yall say teams figured the Magic out and that’s why everything went rotten including the teams point differential but I truly doubt that as the lineup went through drastic changes including adding a shooting big like Wendell, moved Gary to the SL, or making Moe our first option off the bench. All of those happened and teams had to adjust to those moves but our overall numbers across the board including shooting/offense (pretty sure) all went down. Why is that? Because this team is a defense first team and they use that defense to create offense. Instead of looking for offensive hubs and forcing offense into our lineups. We should have bet on AB’s continuous offensive development as a shooter, and pushed Goga into good spots as a roller and interior scorer. Stuck to defense as our bread and butter, and played a gritty pnr heavy style with the bench being our offensive unit. This team lacks direction, so many turnovers because players dont know where to be and when to be there. Guys jump in the air without thinking and get lost on finding a teammate to relieve pressure or be an outlet. Its just sloppy, directionless play. I truly think this team is better than Cleveland, in fact I truly think this team is the 2nd best in the East if we had working, synergistic, and cohesive lineups (and I said the same last season that we should be in playoffs as a top 6 team if Mosley wasn’t coaching).
I know the players may look scared, and yes Mosley isn’t making them miss open shots at a historical bad rate but I also think we would have a more free flowing and replicable offense and system if any of the other 29 coaches were our HC instead of Mosley. I honestly like Mosley, I think he developed a great culture, and other players respect us with him as our HC but he isnt a good X&Os coach and he isnt a good midgame adjustment or gameplan coach from what I have seen these years. He is often outcoached. I know he got a new contract so we have to suck it up, and hope he continues to develop like any other new to the job person would do but I think he isnt the right fight for how skilled and ready our players truly are and it shows to me nightly. Players are at fault also clearly but I think we need to start really criticizing Mosley also like we do the players for having a poor game. They need to be set up to succeed.