And the hits keep coming….this from the Athletic:
Cleveland still has an advantage in this first-round series. But there are a few things to worry about.
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ORLANDO, Fla. — The least of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ concerns is the thing that looks and sounds the worst — they just suffered the most lopsided defeat in a playoff game in franchise history.
“The message in the locker room has been it doesn’t matter if they win by 60 or one point; it’s one win,” Donovan Mitchell noted, correctly. “You don’t get two wins for winning by more than 20.”
The 121-83 loss to the Orlando Magic, a 38-point defeat that broke a franchise playoff record that stood for 16 years and a day, is no big deal in and of itself because there are explanations for it. With the proliferation of the 3-pointer in the NBA and putting in punt teams early because Game 4 of this first-round series is at 1 p.m. Saturday, the conditions for a blowout loss were ripe.
The Cavs still lead this series 2-1. But there is plenty to worry about. In no particular order:
Orlando’s changes worked. All of them
The Magic replaced Jonathan Isaac at center with Wendell Carter Jr. They used Jalen Suggs as a primary defender on Mitchell and otherwise often threw two defenders at a time at the Cavs’ best player. Moving Isaac to the bench freed him up to cause more problems at both ends of the court, including occasional switches onto Darius Garland.
Between Carter’s physical presence in the lineup and the pressure the Magic applied to Mitchell and Garland, Orlando had a ton of juice to attack Cleveland’s interior defense in a way that did not seem possible through two games.
“You could tell that (Magic coach) Jamal Mosley did an excellent job planning for this game,” said Jarrett Allen, whose 15 points and eight rebounds were good but not nearly enough. “There’s times when I was just in the corner, I stood in the corner last game, but, just overall, you could see tiny differences that accumulate into a lot.”
In the previous decade with the Cavs, if a star player had, after a loss, praised the opposing coach by name … well, I don’t have to tell you how it would have been interpreted. I don’t know if Allen was prodding his coach, J.B, Bickerstaff, for adjustments, and I don’t know what the point was about Allen standing in the corner.
But Allen’s explanations of what happened Thursday night were alarming.
“We felt like we were a step behind every single thing that they did,” Allen said. “Whether there was someone driving to the rim, me standing in the paint, or just rebounding the ball. We were just a little slow.”
The Magic obliterated Cleveland on the glass 51-32, with 14 offensive rebounds that led to 22 points. They also outscored the Cavs in the paint for the first time in this series. Carter had two points and five rebounds, but it was his presence — wider body, stronger, boxed his man out from would-be boards — that seemed to matter.
For the first time in this series, the Cavs have to adjust. It’s not going to be a lineup change; the eight guys Bickerstaff plays are the ones who are going to keep playing. You can say Sam Merrill knocked down three 3s Thursday, and Cleveland as a team can’t make anything from deep, and both statements would be correct. But all of Merrill’s 3s came in garbage time, and I just don’t think there is an appetite to go away from Georges Niang, who is definitely struggling but has a wealth of playoff experience.
“It starts with the things that we talk about that impact winning and whether or not we feel confident that our guys can do that — down here on the road,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s no doubt about it in my mind. We’re capable of doing the small things that impact winning. The rebounding, the 50-50 balls, the physicality, strength, all those things that we were doing at home doesn’t change because we’re on the road. And it doesn’t change just because of one game — whether or not we’re able to do it. We’re able to do it. And I expect us to be better on Saturday.”
Plucky to ugly, in a hurry
When the Cavs were ahead 2-0, there was a cute little storyline that they had controlled the series without playing particularly well on offense.
I even bought into it,
writing this story about Max Strus and Niang contributing to winning without knocking down shots.
On Thursday, the Magic made 13 3s and shot 51 percent from the field. This was the only time this series in which Orlando put forth anything that resembled an NBA offense. Paolo Banchero (31 points, 13-of-26 shooting) and Suggs (24 points, 9-of-11) were particularly awesome.
The Cavs obviously didn’t respond. They are now the team in this series that can’t shoot straight.
Mitchell was 6-of-16. Garland, 2-of-10. Strus, 2-of-6. Niang, real bad until garbage time. The Cavs as a team shot 8-of 34 from 3-point range. Strus and Niang are 3-of-24 on 3s in this series. Mitchell is 6-of-24.
“They’re getting shots — it’s not like they’re not getting quality looks,” Bickerstaff said. “You know, again, I just believe in these guys. And we continue to create those shots. They’re going to make it. What it comes down to is timing and rhythm, and we’re at our best when that ball is moving and those guys know when their shots are coming. So I do think that’s an area we can continue to improve on … how we touch the paint, how do we force them into closeouts, how we make them chase us. The ball moves, and then we find those guys with their feet set, ready to knock them down.”
Let’s talk
Banchero was backing down Cavs’ defenders, and then telling them they’re too small after his shots went through the hoop.
Suggs was screaming at Cleveland’s bench, as was Franz Wagner.
Overall, the Magic seemed to have a lot to say for a team which, for all the good it did on the court Thursday, still trails in this series.
Most, but not all, of the Magic’s talking seemed to be directed toward Cleveland’s bench, particularly toward Tristan Thompson and Marcus Morris — two playoff veterans who, so far, haven’t had roles in this series.
Will the Cavs’ regulars have any response to Banchero’s theatrics, which included throwing hand signs in Morris’ direction after a 3-pointer?
“To be honest with you, ain’t nobody say anything to me,” Mitchell said. “Good to know.”
“I mean, it makes sense — they’re at home, and they have their crowd with them,” Evan Mobley said. “They started knocking down shots, got their crowd fired up. So we got to make it tough on them and come up with the rebounds. And, maybe their swagger isn’t as strong the next game.”
Players say they like trash talking in the playoffs. Mitchell and Banchero both said it’s fun.
“They were talking a lot in Game 1 and 2, and I was talking a lot tonight,” Banchero said. “But I’ve got a lot of respect for both of those guys, Morris and Tristan. Morris, he’s one of the guys who, he kind of gave me the work my rookie year. So after that, I kind of always had respect for him. He’s an older guy, too, so he kind of talked to you like an old head. But it’s fun going back and forth. I have words for those guys, and they got words for me.”
If the Cavs took two huge steps forward earlier in this series in trying to erase the “soft” label they’d earned in getting pushed around last year by the New York Knicks, they gave one back on Thursday.
“I expect those guys who are battle tested to show up and be ready to go (Saturday) because we believe and have confidence in them,” Bickerstaff said.
The Athletic’s Josh Robbins contributed.
