2023-24 Playoffs | Game #1 | Magic @ Cavs | April 20, 2024

[Melancholy Jaques]

Sorry, but this is hilarious coming from Melancholy Jacques haha

I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is
emulation, nor the musician's, which is fantastical,
nor the courtier's, which is proud, nor the
soldier's, which is ambitious, nor the lawyer's,
which is politic, nor the lady's, which is nice, nor
the lover's, which is all these: but it is a
melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples,
extracted from many objects, and indeed the sundry's
contemplation of my travels, in which my often
rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness.

 

[MirORich]

I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is
emulation, nor the musician's, which is fantastical,
nor the courtier's, which is proud, nor the
soldier's, which is ambitious, nor the lawyer's,
which is politic, nor the lady's, which is nice, nor
the lover's, which is all these: but it is a
melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples,
extracted from many objects, and indeed the sundry's
contemplation of my travels, in which my often
rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness.

Found the Chris Parker burner

Would actually be great is Chris did post here. His year or two of covering the Cavs upon LeBron’s return was fun and above and beyond a lot of the typical sport journalist tripe

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is
emulation, nor the musician's, which is fantastical,
nor the courtier's, which is proud, nor the
soldier's, which is ambitious, nor the lawyer's,
which is politic, nor the lady's, which is nice, nor
the lover's, which is all these: but it is a
melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples,
extracted from many objects, and indeed the sundry's
contemplation of my travels, in which my often
rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness.

Now where's that informative rating when you really need it?

 

[bushwick_bill]

Found the Chris Parker burner

Would actually be great is Chris did post here. His year or two of covering the Cavs upon LeBron’s return was fun and above and beyond a lot of the typical sport journalist tripe

Pretty certain he did at some point, if I remember correctly...

 

[Smooth]

Pardon the latest!

• The Magic’s physicalness continued to cause the Cavs issues. It forced the Cavs to start their offense further from the basket, made it seem a bit disjointed, and relegated the Cavs to running pick-and-roll looks to find quick shots as the shot block winded down.
• One item the Cavs will have to improve upon is how they beat the pressure. Garland has a bad habit of trying to dribble out of pressure or not giving the ball up quickly so the ball can find the open spot. It’s part of the reason he had 5 turnovers.
• The Cavs will need to work on ball and player movement to beat the pressure not dribbling. Dribbling allows the Magic to remain sticky on the ball.
• Speaking of Garland his pull-up jumper and step back three-pointer jumper sealed the deal late for the Cavs. His clutch time production has been spotty so seeing him nail these shots when the Cavs needed it is a welcomed sight. And so was his smile afterwards.

• Garland also had a key assist to Mitchell for a three-pointer a few minutes prior. Garland absorbed the pressure just long enough to free Mitchell and was able to find Mitchell off the blitz. These are the type of plays that Garland must make more of: Not the flashy plays but the right plays. The right plays flash on the scoreboard.
• Mitchell may be playing on a less than 100% knee but his explosiveness looked good. He had a few of his patented mid-range floaters where he was able to get off the ground quick and get the type of elevation he’s used to. We’ll see if that carries over into game two but encouraging signs after how he was moving late in the season.
• Mitchell was also 3-5 in the restricted area, and 4-4 in the paint. After all the talk of Mitchell’s lack of explosiveness taking away from his inside game, he responded with an aggressive, and persistent attack inside.
• Really the difference in this game was the Cavs bigs: Allen, Mobley and Niang. Niang for his defense (yes, you read that right). He finished a team high +13. The Cavs are now 35-6 when Niang has a positive plus-minus. With Allen, he was on the glass all night long with 18 rebounds. The Cavs need that type of aggressiveness on the glass to carry over. With Mobley, it was his versatile performance but most notably making the defense respect him on the perimeter and showing more offensively more consistently than we have to date.

RCF RECAP
​

 

[Benway]

I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is
emulation, nor the musician's, which is fantastical,
nor the courtier's, which is proud, nor the
soldier's, which is ambitious, nor the lawyer's,
which is politic, nor the lady's, which is nice, nor
the lover's, which is all these: but it is a
melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples,
extracted from many objects, and indeed the sundry's
contemplation of my travels, in which my often
rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness.

“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.”​

― William Butler Yeats

 

[mds]

Found the Chris Parker burner

Would actually be great is Chris did post here. His year or two of covering the Cavs upon LeBron’s return was fun and above and beyond a lot of the typical sport journalist tripe

I forgot about that guy!

 

[Cavatt]

This is a good sign IMO. We need to find that shot back to go anywhere, but we just withstood a run vs an elite defensive team and then pushed out a lead without hitting a three.

It’s been ugly, but I take that as a very good sign at the moment.

Yes, baiting Paolo into putting the team on his back all game is actually a good Idea. Make him try to score over and around Niang. Make him score with Mobley on him

 

[Jscc]

Found the Chris Parker burner

Would actually be great is Chris did post here. His year or two of covering the Cavs upon LeBron’s return was fun and above and beyond a lot of the typical sport journalist tripe

Does he still post here? I was wondering what happened to him. He was my favorite Cleveland sports journalist right there with Windy.

 

[PIP]

Hubie might be the worst

Absolutely one of the worst fucking takes anyone has had on this forum…Just brutal and we are embarrassed for you…

If you’re the last Cavs fan we are all fucked…

There’s resources here to get your life back on track…. Consider using them…

Best,

 

[Dr. Claw]

THIS

The Bad Hombres

 

[guitarguy]

.Garland also had a key assist to Mitchell for a three-pointer a few minutes prior. Garland absorbed the pressure just long enough to free Mitchell and was able to find Mitchell off the blitz. These are the type of plays that Garland must make more of: Not the flashy plays but the right plays. The right plays flash on the scoreboard.

​

Isn't this exactly how they can work? In my head this whole time, it seems like it should work easy between those two. They both demand a lot of attention and really should just make the game easier for both. Truly, what does the defense choose to guard?

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Just wondering what everybody thinks we will see in Game 2. What adjustments will each coach make? Here are my first thoughts.

Orlando:

1. They have to figure out how to score more. They can't win a game scoring 83 points and shooting 33%. Do they think it was just first playoff game jitters and the shots will start falling? Or do they need to do something different?

2. Their starting guards, Harris and Suggs, combined for 13 points and 4 assists in 66 minutes. Harris had 0 points and 0 assists in 33 minutes. Their other three guards (Fultz, Anthony, Ingles) combined for 5 points and 2 assists in 39 minutes.

Will they try to get the guards more involved in the offense? You can't win with your five guards combining for 18 points in 105 minutes, right?

3. The Magic had 16 assists on 28 field goals. Will they continue to just give the ball to Banchero and Wagner and let them go one-on-one? Banchero had nine turnovers.

4. How do they prevent Donovan from getting 30 points? Will they try to trap him more? Do they force the ball out of his hands, knowing it may result in an uncontested 3 from Garland, Strus, Niang, Okoro, or Mobley?

Orlando in the four regular season games against the Cavs scored between 99 and 116 points each game, averaging 107.5. Saturday they had 84, a whopping 23 points below their season average against the Cavs. What happened and what will they do to fix it?

Cavaliers:

The Cavs have three areas where they can improve, IMO.

1. They committed 17 turnovers. They need to protect the ball better, which means avoiding getting trapped on the sideline, being aware of the ball being poked away on the dribble, and the bigs avoiding being stripped in the paint.

The Magic are not a team that just tries to stay in front of the shooter and contest the shot. They go for the steal; on the dribble, on the pass, and as the shooter is going up for the shot. They hunt the ball relentlessly, not content to contest the shot and get the rebound. The Cavs need to be very aware of this.

2. They shot below 27% on 3's, including missing 18 in a row at one point. If they made just 3 of those 18 they woud have won by over 20 points. Did Orlando do a great job of contesting the shots or were the Cavs just off?

During the regular season the Cavs shot 39.6% on 3's against Orlando, 49.8% overall, and averaged 112.5 ppg despite Mobley missing two games, Garland and Mitchell one, and LeVert three. What happened Saturday and what tweaks will they make to the offense, if any?

3. The bench scored only 14 points and was 0-for-7 on 3's. Overall they were 4-for-19. Was it just playoff nerves or does something need to change?

I'm not sure there's a lot Orlando can do to score more points. It's not like they are a good outside shooting team that had a bad day. They are among the worst in the NBA at mid-range and 3-point shooting percentage and that isn't going to change overnight. They have to keep attacking the rim, but that is the Cavs' strength defensively.

If the Magic decide to try a more balanced offense with their guards shooting from outside more, I don't know if that will work for them.

I think both teams will shoot better the rest of the series. There were some first game shooting jitters on both sides from what I can see. Both teams were well below their scoring averages, although that could partly be because the refs were letting the defenses be more physical.

 

[buzzdog]

Isn't this exactly how they can work? In my head this whole time, it seems like it should work easy between those two. They both demand a lot of attention and really should just make the game easier for both. Truly, what does the defense choose to guard?

Orlando blew the switch on that play, just simple miscommunication. As long as defenses do this we should torch them every time. Unfortunately that isn't as common in the playoffs.

 

[AustinCarr]

Amongst the Strus discourse about sloppy play, I'd like to call out his defensive rebounding. While his passing was sloppy and his shot wasn't there for the game, he ended a lot of posessions with tough rebounds.

I got the impression that his #1 priority, even above keeping his man in front of him, Was to limit second chance opportunity.

He needs to be better, but I thought it worth calling this out. That effort and energy is needed for this team to succeed.