ORLANDO, Fla. — The least of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ concerns is what appears to be the worst: They are coming off the most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history.
“The message in the locker room was: it doesn’t matter if they win by 60 or by one point; it’s a victory,” Donovan Mitchell rightly noted. “You don’t get two wins by 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 one day, is not a big deal in itself because there are explanations for it. that. With the proliferation of the 3-point game in the NBA and the early implementation of punt teams as Game 4 of this first-round series takes place Saturday at 1 p.m., the conditions for a blowout defeat were ripe.
The Cavs still lead this series 2-1. But there is cause for concern. In no particular order:
Orlando’s changes worked. All
The Magic replaced Jonathan Isaac at center with Wendell Carter Jr. They used Jalen Suggs as the primary defender over Mitchell and often threw two defenders at once against the Cavs’ best player. Moving Isaac to the bench freed him up to cause more problems on both ends of the floor, including occasional shifts on Darius Garland.
Between Carter’s physical presence in the lineup and the Magic’s pressure on Mitchell and Garland, Orlando had a ton of juice to attack Cleveland’s interior defense in a way that didn’t seem possible in two games.
“You could tell (Magic coach) Jamahl Mosley did a great job planning this game,” said Jarrett Allen, whose 15 points and eight rebounds were good but not enough. “There are times where I was just in the corner, I was standing in the corner in the last game, but, overall, you could see tiny differences that add up to a lot.”
In the previous decade with the Cavs, if a star player had, after a loss, congratulated the opposing coach by name… well, I don’t need to tell you how that would have been interpreted. I don’t know if Allen pushed his coach, JB, Bickerstaff, to make adjustments, and I don’t know what good it does for Allen to stand in the corner.
But Allen’s explanation of what happened Thursday night was alarming.
“We felt like we were behind everything they were doing,” Allen said. “Whether there was someone driving to the rim, whether I was standing in the paint or just bouncing the ball. We were just a little slow.
The Magic obliterated Cleveland on the glass 51-32, with 14 offensive rebounds leading to 22 points. They also dominated the Cavs in the paint for the first time this series. Carter had two points and five rebounds, but it was his presence – a larger, stronger body, keeping his man away from the potential boards – that seemed to matter.
For the first time in this series, the Cavs must adapt. This will not be a change in composition; the eight guys that Bickerstaff plays are the ones that are going to continue to play. You could say that Sam Merrill knocked down three 3s on Thursday, and that Cleveland as a team can’t do anything from deep, and both statements would be correct. But all of Merrill’s 3s came at an unnecessary time, and I just don’t think there’s an appetite to move away from Georges Niang, who is definitely struggling but has a wealth of playoff experience.
“It starts with the things we talk about about the impact of winning and whether or not we’re confident our guys can do it — here on the road,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s no doubt in my mind about that. We are capable of doing the little things that impact victory. The rebounds, the 50-50 balls, the physique, the strength, all those things that we did at home don’t change because we’re on the road. And it doesn’t change just because of one game, whether we’re able to do it or not. We are capable of doing it. And I expect us to be better on Saturday.
Brave to ugly, in a hurry
When the Cavs were up 2-0, there was a nice little story that they had controlled the series without playing particularly well on offense.
I even bought into it by writing this story about Max Strus and Niang helping to win without knocking down shots.
On Thursday, the Magic made 13 3s and shot 51 percent from the field. It was the only time in this series that Orlando came up with anything resembling an NBA offense. Paolo Banchero (31 points, 13 of 26 shooting) and Suggs (24 points, 9 of 11) were particularly impressive.
The Cavs obviously did not respond. This is now the team in this series that can’t shoot straight.
Mitchell was 6 for 16. Garland, 2 for 10. Strus, 2 for 6. Niang, really bad until trash time. The Cavs as a team shot 8 of 34 from 3-point range. Strus and Niang are 3 of 24 from 3 in this series. Mitchell is 6 for 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 these shots. They will get there. It’s all about timing and rhythm, and we’re at our best when the ball is moving and these guys know when their shots are coming. So I think that’s an area we can continue to improve on…the way we touch the paint, how to force them to close out, how to make them chase us. The ball moves, then we find these guys with their feet planted, ready to knock them over.
Let’s talk
Banchero was making Cavs defenders back up, then telling them they were too small after his shots went through the hoop.
Suggs was screaming on the Cleveland bench, as was Franz Wagner.
Overall, the Magic seemed to have a lot say for a team which, despite all the good it did on the field Thursday, trails in this series.
Most, but not all, of the Magic’s talk seemed to be directed at Cleveland’s bench, particularly Tristan Thompson and Marcus Morris — two playoff veterans who, thus far, have not played a role in this series.
Will Cavs regulars have a response to Banchero’s theatrics, which included waving hands in Morris’ direction after a 3-point basket?
“To be honest with you, no one tells me anything,” Mitchell said. “Good to know.”
“I mean, it makes sense: They’re at home and they’re with their audience,” Evan Mobley said. “They started dropping shots, getting their crowd fired up. So we have to make it difficult for them and find the rebounds. And maybe their swagger isn’t as strong in the next game.
Players say they like to trash talk during the playoffs. Both Mitchell and Banchero said it was fun.
“They were talking a lot in Games 1 and 2, and I was talking a lot tonight,” Banchero said. “But I have a lot of respect for those two guys, Morris and Tristan. Morris, he was one of the guys that kind of gave me a job my first year. So after that, I always had respect for him. He’s also an older guy, so he spoke to you like an old boss. But it’s fun to come and go. I have words for these guys, and they have words for me.
If the Cavs took two big steps forward earlier in this series in trying to erase the “soft” label they earned by getting pushed around last year by the New York Knicks, they gave it back on a Thursday.
“I expect these guys that are battle-tested to show up and be ready to go (Saturday) because we believe and have confidence in them,” Bickerstaff said.
AthleticismJosh Robbins contributed.
Required reading
(Photo by Evan Mobley and Franz Wagner: Mike Watters / USA Today)
