It’s very simple: If you can’t score, you can’t beat the Cavs.
The Magic came into the game sitting at a 107.1 ORTG, good (or bad) for 28th in the league. They left the game with 82 points and that ORTG probably taking a hit.
Offense has always been an issue for the Magic that rely so heavily on Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero to do all the heavy lifting. For a well-balanced, ethical basketball team like the Cavs, that heavy lifting can feel like the weight of the world on their shoulders.
It’s not the Magic’s fault, they’re just the next in line to be engulfed by the Cavalanche. It’s rolling from one town to another and getting bigger, and claiming more victims, as it goes.
The Cavs did all this without their All-Star point guard, without their starting center scoring in double digits (or grabbing double digit rebounds) and their franchise player scoring just 11 points in 23 minutes. Yet, they rattled off 122 points and leveled the Magic by 40 points.
Every Cavalier player that played, scored. They didn’t have an outrageous number of assists (25 on 45 FGM) but players hit shots when the opportunity presented and played off hot players as they stepped up – Max Strus in the 1st, De’Andre Hunter in the 1st, Evan Mobley in the 2nd, Donovan Mitchell in the 3rd and Ty Jerome in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
Kenny Atkinson has built a sustainable, balanced offense and looking at the Magic slog through their offensive sets under Jamahl Mosley is like looking in the mirror of the JB Bickerstaff offense of year’s past. Everything runs through their best players, everything, and it’s a crutch the Magic can’t remove or else the whole house of cards falls. What Atkinson has done with this offense is asked his best players to take a step back so the whole team can take two steps forward.
The Cavs started out looking like they were still stuck in park. They turned the ball over three times, were 2-for-10 from the field and went almost five minutes without a field goal. Two Strus threes and three Hunter threes sandwiched a barren Cavaliers offense.
The first bucket of the game as a Strus three-pointer, thanks to a play drawn up for Strus. While Strus is the fifth option in the Cavs offense, getting him going only makes them more dangerous. The more of a threat he is, the more space it creates for the rest. Trying to get him going early with some looks may seem counterintuitive with respect to the totem pole but there’s a greater good that makes everything better if he gets going.
Mitchell has taken to being more of a playmaker role at the beginning of games, and the Magic were attempting to make him just an observer for the night. The Magic got their wish but not in the way they hoped. Any pick-and-roll action early on the Magic were blitzing and being aggressive in getting the ball out of Mitchell’s hands. Problem is this year everyone else is just as dangerous.
Having the former Virginia Cavaliers come off the bench for the Cleveland Cavaliers feels like a fever dream. Immediately upon entering, Hunter nailed back-to-back-to-back three-pointers. The first one as a self-created look and two others were spot ups. The duality to be able to do both, and hit perimeter shots in different ways, makes the offense that much more dangerous.
Hunter’s scoring burst helped him to lead the team with a +15 in the first quarter. Hunter has been one of the best bench scorers in the league prior to coming to Cleveland, and that hasn’t slowed down since his arrival. He’s averaging 13.4 points, which is almost 6 points less, but he’s also playing 4 less minutes and taking 4 less shots per game.
The other Virginia Cavalier is a difficult shot taker, and a difficult shot maker. Jerome quickly went to work off the bench with his patented floater game. The disparity in Jerome’s shot quality and shot making is of historic proportions and speak to how much of an engine he’s been.
The Cavs finished the quarter on a 24-7 run and it would have been more if the Magic didn’t hang around at the free-throw line. The Magic had 7 points at the free-throw line and had just 4 field goal makes. The Cavs made more three-pointers (6) than the Magic did field goals in the entire first quarter.
The Magic shooting just 18% and the Cavs scoring 15 points off the bench is certainly not a recipe for success for Orlando.
Neither is the Cavs managing an ORTG of 136 on the road against the league’s second-best defense while Mitchell scored two of the Cavs 34 points.
Mobley carried the load offensively in the first with 9 points (1-2 on 3P) and 5 rebounds. His consistently taking three-pointers without hesitation and with confidence is what’s different from last year to this year. Yes, there are other things but his ability to consistently make them and consistently be willing to take them is a needed progression in his game to open up his offense and the Cavs offense.
If the Magic weren’t in enough trouble being down almost 20 points early in the second quarter, Franz Wagner going to the bench with 3 fouls certainly didn’t help that. Although, Mosley trusted Wagner and let him play through foul trouble.
It would work as the Magic were able to chip away a bit at the Cavaliers lead. They went on a 10-2 run at one point and outscored the Cavs 27-23 for the quarter.
The Magic hitting three three-pointers of their five on the night, certainly helped a bit. So did slowing the game down to a halt and spamming the Cavs with pick-and-rolls with Wagner and Banchero and playing off the switches. The Cavs pace was a tortoise like 82 and they only managed 16 shot attempts. They shot 50% but didn’t get many opportunities because the Magic controlling the pace.
Orlando took a page out of the Atkinson defensive playbook and went to some zone in the second quarter that did its job to muck things up and slow the Cavs down. It allowed the Magic to string together some stops and run off misses. The Magic had 9 fast break points and were being opportunistic when they ran.
Jerome came in and provided an immediate pop but there wasn’t a lot of other pop for the Cavs offense in the second. No player had more than 6 and Mitchell went into halftime with 5 points and 2 assists.
One large disparity going into halftime was how the Magic finished around the rim from quarter to quarter. In the first, the Magic were just 3-for-13 in the paint + restricted area versus 8-for-14 in the second quarter. The Magic can’t shoot so if they can have success inside, they can score enough to make it competitive. But if teams can limit what they do inside then that’s when they look like one of the league’s worst offenses.
To Mitchell’s credit, he read the room and came out firing to start the second half. He had three shot attempts, including two makes around the rim, and two assists in as many minutes to start the second. There was a noticeable gear shift to get his offense going, and it led to a Magic timeout at the 8-minute mark.
Mitchell found Strus for a spot-up three then found Okoro for a spot-up three. And then Strus found Okoro. Strus and Okoro both had two three-pointers in the quarter and their back-and-forth perimeter endeavor pushed the Cavs lead to 23 points.
The Cavs parlayed that into 72% shooting in the third quarter and pushed their lead to the 30-point mark. Their pace quickened a bit to 94 and while they still only had 18 shot attempts converting at an absurd rate and going 6-for-7 on threes will certainly aid in a 35-point quarter.
While the Magic only had five turnovers in the third, the Cavs had 13 points off those turnovers. They had 23 points all night but a bulk of them came in the third quarter.
Saying this again may be a broken record but speaks to this team: Allen, Mitchell and Mobley combined for just 10 points in the third, yet the Cavs dropped 35 on the league’s second-best defense. Every played chipped in and did their part and the Cavs finished with 61 bench points which is 5th best on the season.
There’s not a game that doesn’t go by that Strus’s pocket passes to the bigs aren’t appreciated. Having Strus as a secondary playmaker is fun but his consistency in executing those looks is something that should not be taken for granted.
Hunter had four free throws in the third quarter which was second most on the night next to Mobley. For as much as Hunter was brought in for his shooting his free throw rate is also second to Allen on the year and is another reason why his addition is welcomed. To further the Cavs offensive diversity, having a guy who can get to the line is important.
Dean Wade join in on the three-point fun with a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter. It was his first made three-pointer since January 22. Granted he was out most of that time with an injury, but it’s been a while since Dean found the bottom of the net and it’s good to see him find his stroke (hopefully). The scoring isn’t needed as much but his spacing is always welcomed.
The highlight of the game, which usually include Mobley, might have been the Mobley block to transition poster where Hunter found him running the floor. Mobley dunking on people this year will always been enjoyable seeing how far he’s come.
Shortly after Mobley put the finishing touches on his night, the Cavs slowly put their finishing touches on the Magic. The Cavs rotation regulars started to be subbed out and the bench bunch started to check in.
New Cavalier Javonte Green saw minutes and quickly joined the stat book. He had four points within a minute of action and tipped a rebound to Jaylon Tyson for an easy bucket underneath.
Stan Van Gundy talked on the broadcast about Kenny mentioning Green is the type of guy you want because he can add possessions. It was an interesting comment and speaks to Kenny’s comments on Green pre-game with his ability to collect blocks, steals, rebounds, etc. Green’s impact is playing his role which is being a disruptive and creating extra opportunities via those avenues. When the playoffs come every possession is important if a guy like that can make an impact to give Mobley, Mitchell and Garland an extra possession or two, it’s well worth the addition.
The Cavs regulars checked out with over 8-minutes left and a 29-point lead and the Cavs third unit extended the lead to a 40 piece. Every shot the bench unit made seemed to further sink the Magic players in a hole and drive an extra fan (if they were left) to the exits.
At one point late in the fourth quarter, on multiple possessions, there were relatively loud “Let’s Go Cavs!” chants that echoed around the Kia Center.
The Magic never lead at any point on the night and the Cavs lead for 47 minutes and 46 seconds – there was little doubt for this one.
Once again, the Cavs didn’t have Darius Garland and didn’t miss a beat. They posted an ORTG of 134.1 on the night which is almost 12 points above their league leading ORTG. It’s not say the Cavs are better off without Garland as much as how good this team is as a whole and not just dependent on one player. And doing it against the Grizzlies and Magic is no joke.
Wade and Okoro, your two defensive role players, led the Cavs in plus-minus at +25 for Okoro and +23 for Wade. They may not fill the stat sheet, but they play key roles. Being able to throw those guys at Wagner and Banchero, in addition to Strus and Hunter, matters in how they guard team’s best options. No longer is it only Wade and Okoro it’s sometimes Wade and Okoro.
No Cavalier played played more than 28 minutes, and now they have two days of additional rest before they head to Boston for one heckuva collision.
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