2023-24 Playoff Series #1 | Game 2 | Magic @ Cavs | April 22, 2024

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Cavs look to hold serve and take their talents to Orlando with a 2-0 lead. The questions:

What will Jamahl Mosley do about his team scoring just 83 points in game 1? Will he chalk it up to first game jitters and stay the course? Or will he made some adjustments?

His five guards combined for 18 points in over 100 minutes. Will he try to get them more involved in the offense? Harris, Anthony, Fultz, and Ingles combined to go 0-for-19 from the field. The other guard, Suggs, was 4-for-16. That's an astonishing 4-for-35 from his five guards. Does he want them to shoot more?

The Magic averaged 107.5 points against the Cavs in the regular season (although Mobley missed two games, Mitchell and Garland one, and LeVert three). They were almost 24 points below that Saturday. They need to do something to get more buckets.

The Magic shot 30 free throws Saturday, well over their average of 24.5. That part is working, but they only shot 32.6% from the field.

How do the Magic deal with Donovan Mitchell, who had 30 points in the opener? Do they dare trap him and force him to give up the ball? If they do will that result in lobs for dunks and uncontested 3's?

Can the Cavs cut down on their turnovers (17) and improve their 3-point shooting (27% with 18 consecutive misses)? If they can do both they probably win with ease. In their 27-point win in Orlando they had 9 turnovers and were 20-for-38 on 3's.

The Cavs' bench played good defense but were 4-for-19 shooting. Can we get LeVert, Niang, Okoro, and Merrill to make a few more shots?

I'm expecting more points from both teams. There's no way the Magic's guards go 4-for-35 and the team probably doesn't miss 11 free throws. The Cavs won't miss 18 straight 3's and will shoot better than 27%. In the regular season they made 39.7% on 3's against Orlando.

 

[macbdog]

Must win game.

 

[Adam]

He will go to cole before fultz for sure. I also think he will send guards to crash the offensive glass, especially if guarded by garland (who is atrocious a boxing out on the perimeter). As they are pressing anyway and the Cavs don't really push the pace it's probably a risk worth taking.
I would also experiment with a super big lineup if I was them, with Franz at the 2 and Paolo at the 3. Put size on garland and suggs on Mitchell, make it impossible for the Cavs to play small

 

[shoes22]

So the Cavs supposedly have sold out every game of this regular season, but I can tell you the same is not true for the playoffs. There are still a couple hundred tickets from the box office for the playoff game tonight, and the tickets are often dirt cheap.

As someone who is active on the ticket marketplace I can tell you on the reseller market a lot of tickets are being put up for sale under face value, because no one is buying.

It's a strange situation where on average, regular season tickets are selling for more than a PLAYOFF game.

 

[DeeThree]

brb driving 6 hours to Ohio.

 

[2 For The Brew]

Not surprising that Magic had trouble in their first playoff game with this group. I expect them to play better in Game 2. We need to play better to win and be ready for a strong opponent from the jump.

 

[LeQuit]

It’s up to Spida again if we are going to win or lose.

 

[Cassity14]

Want more of first half Mobley. He can be dominant in this series.

I'd like to see a game where he's the best player on the court from start to finish.

Since coming back from injury, he's shooting something like 45% from 3. Leaving him open is not a viable option. He's also actively seeking contact when attacking the rim, which is new for him.

Young buck is growing up before our eyes, and I want to see it all come together on the playoff stage.

 

[Alec]

Mobley needs to go off for 30.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

We don't need Mobley to beat Orlando.

...the Cavs’ 18-2 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters began, coincidentally, soon after Niang subbed in for Evan Mobley, which is right around the time where, in Jarrett Allen’s words, “everything just started going right.”

In the Cavs biggest win over Orlando this season, in Orlando by a 126-99 score, Mobley was out. So was Garland and LeVert, by the way. That was the game that Merrill and Wade combined to hit 11 of 16 3-pointers, which won't happen this series.

I'm just saying the Cavs have kicked Orlando's butt this year with Mobley out. They don't need him to play, but when he is on the court he needs to play well.

Reduce turnovers and make more 3's - that's the key to this series.

 

[bigfoot5415]

Great start in game 1. Build off of it and tweak the areas we all saw needed improvement.

 

[jjvors]

Prediction from my 7-game series prediction:

If Game 1 won, Game 2 chance of victory 55% 117-110

I had game 1 at 111-101, so I have the Cavs scoring 6 more points and the Magic scoring 9 more points. We'll see! Based upon the actual game 1 score, that'd be 103-92 Cavs.

 

[CardiacCavs]

I'm going to the game tonight. I am very curious to see what chess moves Mosley makes and if JBB can counter it.

I do expect both teams to shoot much better from 3. Each shot a horrible percentage on both open and wide open 3s last game.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I expect both teams will shoot better and we'll have a score like 105-100 or thereabouts. The Cavs averaged 112.5 against the Magic in the regular season so they were 15.5 points under while the Magic were 23.5 points under.

Part of that might be first game playoff jitters and part might be the refs calling fewer fouls and letting the defense be more physical.

I can't see any way the Magic's guards go 4-for-35 again and Banchero won't commit nine turnovers. They will definitely score more than 83 points. That was their lowest total of the season.

The Cavs will need to shoot better to win this one, especially on 3's. They won't win many games shooting 27% from distance.

Garland and Mitchell need to stop getting into the paint and then leaving their feet without a clean shot or an open man to pass to. If Garland's back is bothering him they should have Mitchell or LeVert bring the ball up.

 

[jhernjh]

Probable adjustments by the Magic. Carter Jr. might be return to the starting rotation to get Allen away from the paint and have Isaac and Mo attack the rim with the 2nd unit when our two bigs are split. I expect Mo W. to get more minutes, as he was one of the 2 plus players last game. Niang defense held last game, but Isaac might be a more difficult situation. JBB and boys did great last game on defense and i hope it continues.