Moderators: ChosenSavior, SOUL, UCF, Knightro, Howard Mass, UCFJayBird, Def Swami
fendilim wrote:Skybox wrote:Just bought a carton of milk and it had Joe Ingles picture on it
j...but where is he? I would have thought his vet presence would have been deemed valuable in the playoffs with this young team
Veterans dont necessarily have to play. Having a veteran presence in the locker room is crucial.
Thus teams like the Heat were willing to sign Haslen until forever.
Optimus_Steel wrote:SOUL wrote:
10:30 in this from Cavs beat writer:
"Darius Garland and Jalen Suggs are chest-to-chest, face-to-face, nose-to-nose. And when Jalen Suggs went back to the bench, he said to a bunch of his teammates, "What did I tell you? What did I tell you? What did I tell you?" Like, he sensed something from the Cavs, that they were about to teeter, that they were about to fracture, and that's exactly what happened. He was the final person to push them over the edge."
There is lots of blood in the water and the Magic are circling…
eyriq wrote:?t=kLe7wlpAs8A8VdBzyeg9ow&s=19
Residual-Heat wrote:The stretch that turned the game around.
tooler wrote:Residual-Heat wrote:The stretch that turned the game around.
The question for me is whether they can do a stretch like that in Cleveland.
Maybe they don’t have to. They’re allowed to win a close game too.
Optimus_Steel wrote:fendilim wrote:Skybox wrote:Just bought a carton of milk and it had Joe Ingles picture on it
j
Veterans dont necessarily have to play. Having a veteran presence in the locker room is crucial.
Thus teams like the Heat were willing to sign Haslen until forever.
Uncle Joe is a de facto player coach.
jezzerinho wrote:This is becoming a fascinating matchup.
Technically elite but mentally suspect team versus mentally elite but technically suspect team.
That's not to say Cle isn't capable of being mentally tough or Orl doesn't have the ability to be tactically and technically great.
But right now the story is of a team who starts games taking advantage of the other's tactical naivete but ends them going away from what worked, because their opponent hustled them into it.
Cleveland, if they don't allow Orl into their heads, probably can still win this series with their better pnr game.
But I think Orlando has them so rattled they may never be able to sustain what works.
I heard Cle commentators in the home games comment how the Cavs work better when they push the pace. I think that's nonsense. They suit a halfcourt O where they work Allen open and get their shooters good looks.
Orl has looked better when stretching the game. Just driving at the paint and getting a mentally fragile Cavs on their heels and feeling the Magic are an unstoppable wave.
Can the Magic get those "unstoppable" juices flowing when away from home? I'm not sure, it's happened a few times in the season and they're growing all the time. My feeling is they don't have to reach massive heights of intensity for Cleveland to go into their shells. Cavs are ripe for collapsing, imo.
thelead wrote:I have a memory like an elephant.
Skybox wrote:jezzerinho wrote:This is becoming a fascinating matchup.
Technically elite but mentally suspect team versus mentally elite but technically suspect team.
That's not to say Cle isn't capable of being mentally tough or Orl doesn't have the ability to be tactically and technically great.
But right now the story is of a team who starts games taking advantage of the other's tactical naivete but ends them going away from what worked, because their opponent hustled them into it.
Cleveland, if they don't allow Orl into their heads, probably can still win this series with their better pnr game.
But I think Orlando has them so rattled they may never be able to sustain what works.
I heard Cle commentators in the home games comment how the Cavs work better when they push the pace. I think that's nonsense. They suit a halfcourt O where they work Allen open and get their shooters good looks.
Orl has looked better when stretching the game. Just driving at the paint and getting a mentally fragile Cavs on their heels and feeling the Magic are an unstoppable wave.
Can the Magic get those "unstoppable" juices flowing when away from home? I'm not sure, it's happened a few times in the season and they're growing all the time. My feeling is they don't have to reach massive heights of intensity for Cleveland to go into their shells. Cavs are ripe for collapsing, imo.
Agreed...but as long as Mitchell is out there, CLE is in it. He is, historically, as tough as nails and can duel with anyone in a playoff shootout. ORL has done an amazing job with him...I think it's imperative to ramp it up even more in CLE to let him know what's up before he gets himself going...We want his bruised up ass on the bench, thinking about where he wants to be traded
There's always talk about the refs killing us...no way can we ignore the fact that "letting them play" favors our style, so it's pretty clear that ORL is being allowed to play the physical defense that got them this far.
The-Stallion70 wrote:For us to win by 61 points combined in two games in a row at home is honestly perplexing. It makes you wonder how we not only lost the first two games but also how we lost by double digits.
Homecourt advantage is a factor. Is it that strong of a factor? To turn double digit losses into huge blowout wins? The Magic had a better record on the road than at home when they went to the Finals in 2009.
It's like our young team is still figuring out what they are capable of, like we never should have been down to this team in the first place or something. Like, they unlocking super saiyan for the first time or some ****.
jezzerinho wrote:The-Stallion70 wrote:For us to win by 61 points combined in two games in a row at home is honestly perplexing. It makes you wonder how we not only lost the first two games but also how we lost by double digits.
Homecourt advantage is a factor. Is it that strong of a factor? To turn double digit losses into huge blowout wins? The Magic had a better record on the road than at home when they went to the Finals in 2009.
It's like our young team is still figuring out what they are capable of, like we never should have been down to this team in the first place or something. Like, they unlocking super saiyan for the first time or some ****.
First ever playoff experience for most of them. They want to win so badly, they just came out super tight and not enjoying themselves.
I don't see their next showing in Cleveland being anywhere near as bad. They've loosened up now and the pressure is back on Cleveland.
thelead wrote:I have a memory like an elephant.
Yeah, that three is BACKthelead wrote:Just 4 games but Franz' splits are 51/39/81 while being aggressive and not hesitating from deep. Brings a smile to face.
