- It would typically be overdramatic to say one game was one of the most important games in franchise history but in this case the statement really might be true.
- With a superstar’s player option hanging in the background (sound familiar?) playoff success is really the only success that will determine next steps. So of course, the lack of playoff success, in back-to-back first rounds, nonetheless, would mean a lot. For all that was invested, it could easily go *poof*.
- But that’s a discussion for another day. That conversation can be blocked from the airwaves the same way Evan Mobley blocked Franz Wagner’s shot.
- Cleveland has a thing for late game dramatics including blocked shots, and Mobley played his part in adding to it.
- One could say after tonight’s game, Mobley’s balls dropped like the Times Square ball on New Year’s Eve.
- Enough with the hyperbole, let’s get to the game.
- It was nice to see the Cavs guards being aggressive early on. When asked about what the difference was without Jarrett Allen being out there, Donovan Mitchell said spacing. Turn on the first quarter, and you’d understand. Darius Garland started with two paint drives and a roll assist (on a spread floor), and Mitchell had two paint drives himself. The guards were aggressive in getting downhill.
- Following a 6-4 start by the Pacers, the Cavs followed it up with a 9-0 run. The Bucks missed four threes in that stretch while all the Cavs looks were coming around the rim.
- Everything is a law of averages and that’s what happened after the Cavs went up 16-9 after their opening run. The Magic went on a 11-3 run themselves which included three made threes.
- A lot of the Cavs runs that they give up have something in common: They go cold and settle for jumpers. Case in point: 26’, 25’, 17’ 19’, 6’, 24’ were all the shots the Cavs missed in that stretch.
- JB Bickerstaff called a timeout to settle down his Cavaliers after the Magic took a 17-16 lead. His team responded with a 7-0 run including Garland coming out of his playoff slump.
- The Magic continue to spam the Cavs on pick-and-rolls with a Magic guard being the pick man for Paolo Banchero, and the Cavs still haven’t quite figured out how to guard it. It reminds me of when the LeBron James kept calling for Steph Curry to be involved in pick-and-rolls.
- With no Jarrett Allen, JB made some rotation changes. Instead of going with Georges Niang off the bench, JB instead went with Tristan Thompson and Marcus Morris as his off the bench bigs.
- He also decided to give Sam Merrill another shot. Credit to JB: He matched Merrill with Fultz’s minutes in the first quarter and Thompson with Wagner’s. You can live with Merrill on Fultz, and Cavs need Tristan’s activity and stretch to counteract Wagner’s.
- The Cavs had 5 first quarter three-pointers which was tied for their highest mark in the quarter and accounted for almost half (13) the made three-pointers on the game.
- But the real story of the first quarter was Garland going off. This is the guard that made an All-Star game. He was aggressive in looking for his shot, taking the three-point shots when the Magic played drop, and quick and decisive in getting to the rim. He finished the quarter with 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists on 6-8 FG, 3-3 3P… with no turnovers!
- When you have production like that, it takes a heavy burden off Mitchell. The Cavs were +8 in the quarter in non-Mitchell minutes.
- But you also need that production when your primary star struggles aka Mitchell. He started the game 2-for-7. However, he turned it around in the second quarter hitting his first 5 shots in the quarter.
- By half, Mitchell tallied 14 points on 14 shots and 2 turnovers.
- The Cavs needed every point as he scored 10 of the Cavs (putrid) 15 points for the quarter. After a 33-point quarter, the Cavs followed it up by scoring 15.
- JB gave Merrill is chance, and unfortunately in 5 minutes he was unable to capitalize. Merrill went 0-2 from three and was not seen again for the game.
- Luckily, Isaac Okoro was hitting his threes. He finished 2-for-6 on the night but both of his three-point makes came in the first half. Spot-up with his feet set: Yes.
- Unfortunately, the lone Okoro three would be the only one the Cavs hit in the second quarter.
- Morris made a bucket in his chance at earning a rotation spot but Mitchell, Morris and Okoro were the only Cavaliers to make a second quarter bucket.
- After a scorching first quarter, Garland followed it up with 0 points on 2 FGA. That aggressiveness he showed in the first quarter can’t waiver. It must be consistent.
- The last three minutes of second quarter erased a lot of the good work the Cavs did in the first half. Magic went on 8-0 run and were living in that mid-range/short-roll area off pick-and-rolls: 16', 14', 16', 13' were all their made baskets. They were 6-for-7 on mid-range shots in the second quarter.
- Going from almost a double-digit lead to end the half to almost being tied is quite the swing.
- Anthony Lima had a great tweet about Max Strus: “You’re getting the entire Strus experience tonight. 2 horrendous air balls, a Klay Thompson heater, 4 of the worst passes you’ve ever seen, 4 amazing adventure rebounds, 3 idiotic fouls, 3 brilliant bee lines to the bucket, and lots of chirping and overall referee condescension.”
- If that doesn’t encapsulate Strus’ first half, then I’m not sure what does. He was 2-for-7 from the field, 0-for-3 from three and had one turnover but he also had 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
- So, all that makes perfect sense for Strus to go on his heater in the third quarter. He went 3-for-5 on threes and also had a tough rim drive.
- Strus needed every bit of that quarter, as up until the point he was pressing with his shot selection trying to make things happened that are not. However, one thing you can’t deny is Strus’ effort. A charge drawn, hustle plays and playing for others is always going to be there.
- The third quarter got a bit chippy. The Cavs had 9 fouls called against him the quarter, and the Magic had 10 FTA. These teams have played a long, physical series and it showed.
- Towards the beginning of the third, the Cavs were getting challenged. Mentally, physically, and how they handle adversity. Shots weren’t falling, fouls were calling, and the road was getting tough. The Magic had an 8-2 stretch where it looked like the Cavs might crumble.
- The Magic battled all the way back to tie the game at 57, and even take the lead shortly after. But, for all the flack the Cavs have taken for being “soft” they responded.
- Following an all 57 score, the Cavs were a +5 the rest of the quarter. Strus getting hot helped, and so did some bench contribution from Morris.
- Despite only 9 combined points, LeVert and Morris are a combined +23 off the bench through three quarters. Morris is in 4 of 5 top-5 two-man, three man and four-man pairings.
- Still not looking completely healthy, Mitchell gutted out another game. Right as the quarter was about to end, Mitchell took a shot in the leg from Wendell Carter Jr on a common play coming down the court. He went down in a heap but managed to get up and walk to the bench on his own.
- Crazy enough, the Magic had 6 third quarter turnovers but shot 61.5%.
- The Magic coming out strong to open another quarter? Why is such a consistent theme? The Magic went on a quick 8-2 run (with two threes included) to take the lead and trigger a JB timeout.
- The ensuing Morris three-pointer matched him for Georges Niang’s series total. The next fourth quarter three doubled Niang’s total in one game, and in one quarter. The Cavs needed every Morris point and he delivered.
- Mitchell’s field goal at 8:32 in the fourth quarter was his first field goal since 3:10 in the second quarter.
- For all the talk of Mitchell’s second half disappearance, Mitchell was the Cavs leading scorer in the fourth quarter with 14 points. He was only 2-for-6 from the field but managed to go 9-for-10 from the free-throw line.
- The fourth quarter was unlike any other game this series: It was competitive. There were thirteen total lead changes, and you see both teams knew what this game meant.
- Being in the moment, as a Cavaliers fan, it felt like the franchise’s future was hanging in the balance. Every shot and every loose ball felt like it was one step closer to remaining relevant or going back to being irrelevant.
- The Cavs second half strategy on Banchero needs to be talked about. He only had 12 points on 9 shots but exploded in the second half for 27 (!) points on 15 shots including 16 points in the fourth quarter. How did it happen?
- By JB Bickerstaff playing the same…damn..coverage…every…time..down..the..court.
- The Cavs decided they would single up Banchero, let him go one-on-one and deal with the results. Well, those results almost cost the Cavs the game. Banchero was the best player on the floor, and was hitting tough shot, after tough shot to keep the Magic around.
- You can play single coverage on Banchero but you can’t do the same thing every time down the court. The Magic went to it in the second half and late because they were milking the matchups.
- But if you want to play single coverage, mix it up! Show an occasional double, get the ball out of Banchero’s hands. Show different looks to make him think instead of him knowing what to expect coverage wise. Create chaos and make it harder for the offense to decipher what they’re seeing.
- Strus’s three-pointer after 7 straight Banchero points felt like a lifeline. The Cavs were down one under four minutes and trying to keep pace with Banchero. It wasn’t just one Cav, but all Cavs chipped in to match Banchero’s 7 straight with 9 points in five possessions.
- Strus also made plays when it counted to give the Cavs the lead back after Banchero stole it. The only thing better than Strus creating offense was Mobley FINISHING the offense.
- When the Cavs needed it most, the Cavs scored on three straight under two-minute possessions, and held the Magic in back-to-back defensive possessions. Well, Mobley did not only once but twice by himself.
- Late game execution has always been the hot button issue. They executed the way they needed to execute to win the game. Stealing each of these possessions gave them enough breathing room and put them up 4 with :41 seconds to go.
- Can we talk about the Garland find to help the Cavs go up four points? That is the Garland we know and love.
- A quick Franz Wagner out of a timeout cut the Cavs lead to two, and a missed Mitchell jumpshot gave the Magic one last possession to either tie or win the game.
- The only problem is the Magic tested the wrong guy. In one of the biggest plays of his career, Mobley made an incredible recovery for the block. Big time players make big time plays, and Mobley was a big-time player when they needed him most.
- The Cavs now turn to Orlando for Game 6 where they’ve had all kinds of trouble in this series and the Magic have been one of the best home teams on the year. The Cavs don’t need to win in Orlando to win the series but lose in Orlando, and they face all kind of pressure coming home.
- After a hot first quarter, Garland only had 6 points (3-6), 3 assists and 2 rebounds in the second half. He did only have 1 turnover and was a +5, but the aggressiveness there in the first quarter wasn’t there all game.
- After first half minutes, Merrill didn’t see the floor in the second half and Bickerstaff went with a very tight 7-man rotation.
- Despite losing Allen to injury and going smaller, the Cavs only lost the rebounding battle to Orlando by 4. Mobley was the leading Cavs rebounder with 13.
- Guess who won the three-point battle? The Cavs. Guess who won the game? The Cavs. This continues to hold true for each game winner for this matchup.
- The Magic are still obliterating the Cavs on bench points. The Magic doubled up the Cavs bench (30 to 15, but the Cavs got just enough, and at just the right times to survive.
- The Cavs finished the game with 19 fast break points while the Magic only had 7. If the Cavs are more efficient from the field, they’re able to limit what the Magic do so well: Run off misses. Meanwhile, the Cavs playing small allows them to play quicker.
- The Cavs scored 100+ points for the second time in 10 playoff games under JB.
- The Magic were only 2-for-9 on corner threes and 3-for-13 on paint shots.
- Cavs starters were a -5 in 19+ minutes with a -12.8 net rating.
- The Cavs best 5-man lineup? Garland + LeVert + Strus + Morris + Mobley. +11 and a +137.5 net rating.
- Up next: Friday in Orlando with gametime TBD