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The not-so-magic Orlando Magic come to town for a meaningless game between two non-playoff teams playing out the string. The Magic are in last place in the East with a record of 18-43 and have lost 12 of their last 13. They are in full tank mode, having gotten rid of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier. Markelle Fultz, Terrance Ross, Otto Porter, Jr, and Michael Carter-Williams are injured. This is a skeleton crew of bench warmers slogging through the season.
The Magic beat the Cavs twice in the first week of January but both teams have changed so much since then that those games have no relevance.
The Magic will start 6'10" Wendell Carter Jr at center. He's 22 years old and was the 7th overall pick in 2018. He came from Chicago in the Vucevic deal. Nobody else in the starting lineup is taller than 6'6". Looking at the five players who started their last game, they have a combined scoring average of 55 ppg. The highest is Carter at 13.9 ppg.
Their four-man bench Monday night consisted of two point guards, a forward who's played in seven games this year, and 7'0" Mo Bamba, the 6th pick in 2018 who's averaging 7.2 ppg. Interesting that Orlando ended up with the 6th and 7th picks from 2018 and both are centers.
They appear to be a shell of the team that started the season 6-2 until things started to go south.
The big question for the Cavs is what do they do with Kevin Love. Have him start like nothing happened? Say he apologized and all is forgiven? We dealt with it internally and let's move on? Or will he be a DNP-CD? Or just not start him the next game to send a message?
Aside from Love, the Cavs are also injury ravaged with Sexton, Nance, Prince, Hartenstein, Delly, Stevens, and Windler all out with various injuries.
If there was any game this season where I would be tempted to miss, this would be it. If the Cavs do well it's because they're playing the worst team in the NBA except for the Rockets. If they don't, well, they have seven players out. I don't see how we can come away feeling good about this game win or lose.
At least the Cavs have four starters available if Love plays so they should win. But every time it looks like a sure win they get blown out. I don't think it matters at this point. The hay is in the barn for this season except for the opportunity for guys like Thomas, Wade, and Kabengele to try and show they should be on somebody's bench next year.
The Magic beat the Cavs twice in the first week of January but both teams have changed so much since then that those games have no relevance.
The Magic will start 6'10" Wendell Carter Jr at center. He's 22 years old and was the 7th overall pick in 2018. He came from Chicago in the Vucevic deal. Nobody else in the starting lineup is taller than 6'6". Looking at the five players who started their last game, they have a combined scoring average of 55 ppg. The highest is Carter at 13.9 ppg.
Their four-man bench Monday night consisted of two point guards, a forward who's played in seven games this year, and 7'0" Mo Bamba, the 6th pick in 2018 who's averaging 7.2 ppg. Interesting that Orlando ended up with the 6th and 7th picks from 2018 and both are centers.
They appear to be a shell of the team that started the season 6-2 until things started to go south.
The big question for the Cavs is what do they do with Kevin Love. Have him start like nothing happened? Say he apologized and all is forgiven? We dealt with it internally and let's move on? Or will he be a DNP-CD? Or just not start him the next game to send a message?
Aside from Love, the Cavs are also injury ravaged with Sexton, Nance, Prince, Hartenstein, Delly, Stevens, and Windler all out with various injuries.
If there was any game this season where I would be tempted to miss, this would be it. If the Cavs do well it's because they're playing the worst team in the NBA except for the Rockets. If they don't, well, they have seven players out. I don't see how we can come away feeling good about this game win or lose.
At least the Cavs have four starters available if Love plays so they should win. But every time it looks like a sure win they get blown out. I don't think it matters at this point. The hay is in the barn for this season except for the opportunity for guys like Thomas, Wade, and Kabengele to try and show they should be on somebody's bench next year.
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