Cavaliers vs Magic Series General Discussion Thread

[Skybox]

Heard some really good analysis of Mosley's adjustments and they're real...completely different team and more than just one game sample (of good and inept). What will game 5 bring? Honestly, I don't expect this kind of destruction back in CLE, but I don't know how you favor CLE in the series after the way ORL evolved and erupted most recently...fascinating.

Question: Can Franz and Paolo and Suggs ALL have big games at the same time. Particularly, Franz & Paolo are so iso-heavy when successful...can they both have their way in a game. Not sure it's necessarily a problem - maybe a blessing ...both will benefit from shooters in the next couple of years. I was at the game Thursday and it felt like they couldn't miss a shot, but they were actually much higher 3pt% today.

Tuesday...let's go!!

[MagicMatic]

after the first two games i saw a lot of raptors fans talking about how their core of IQ-Scottie-Barrett is better than the Magic's core

They are delusional.

Scottie Barnes isn’t scoring anywhere near 35 points in a playoff series.

Barrett legitimately sucks. And that’s coming from a Duke fan.

[Skybox]

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

[Residual-Heat]

after the first two games i saw a lot of raptors fans talking about how their core of IQ-Scottie-Barrett is better than the Magic's core

They are delusional.

Scottie Barnes isn’t scoring anywhere near 35 points in a playoff series.

Barrett legitimately sucks. And that’s coming from a Duke fan.

They are. Anyone who actually watched Barnes saw that he had a couple of good months shooting the ball from 3 this season and completely fell off. Raptors fans will reference his 3pt% this season and compare it to Wagner's but i have much more faith in Wagner's three.

I like Barnes, he is a player I would like to have on a contender, but he's not the easiest fit on many teams (and thats partially why they blew up their team), and likely more like a #3 or 2 option. IQ is 25 years old, and as a starting PG he's probably below average. I dont love their core TBH, and I feel like they arent on a path to become a contender anytime soon. I think its more likely it will be a failed rebuild and Masai gets fired. The fans have convinced themselves that its okay that they suck so bad because "theyre in a rebuild" but their core isnt that young.

[MagicMatic]

after the first two games i saw a lot of raptors fans talking about how their core of IQ-Scottie-Barrett is better than the Magic's core

They are delusional.

Scottie Barnes isn’t scoring anywhere near 35 points in a playoff series.

Barrett legitimately sucks. And that’s coming from a Duke fan.

They are. Anyone who actually watched Barnes saw that he had a couple of good months shooting the ball from 3 this season and completely fell off. Raptors fans will reference his 3pt% this season and compare it to Wagner's but i have much more faith in Wagner's three.

I like Barnes, he is a player I would like to have on a contender, but he's not the easiest fit on many teams (and thats partially why they blew up their team), and likely more like a #3 or 2 option. IQ is 25 years old, and as a starting PG he's probably below average. I dont love their core TBH, and I feel like they arent on a path to become a contender anytime soon. I think its more likely it will be a failed rebuild and Masai gets fired. The fans have convinced themselves that its okay that they suck so bad because "theyre in a rebuild" but their core isnt that young.

They also tanked their season for arguably the worst draft ever. So there’s that.

They are missing a #1 and #2 option. Good luck.

[SOUL]

[Skybox]

Wonder what the betting line will be for game 5

[Rainwater]

They are delusional.

Scottie Barnes isn’t scoring anywhere near 35 points in a playoff series.

Barrett legitimately sucks. And that’s coming from a Duke fan.

They are. Anyone who actually watched Barnes saw that he had a couple of good months shooting the ball from 3 this season and completely fell off. Raptors fans will reference his 3pt% this season and compare it to Wagner's but i have much more faith in Wagner's three.

I like Barnes, he is a player I would like to have on a contender, but he's not the easiest fit on many teams (and thats partially why they blew up their team), and likely more like a #3 or 2 option. IQ is 25 years old, and as a starting PG he's probably below average. I dont love their core TBH, and I feel like they arent on a path to become a contender anytime soon. I think its more likely it will be a failed rebuild and Masai gets fired. The fans have convinced themselves that its okay that they suck so bad because "theyre in a rebuild" but their core isnt that young.

They also tanked their season for arguably the worst draft ever. So there’s that.

They are missing a #1 and #2 option. Good luck.

Not getting into the Scottie vs. Franz debate but seen Scottie a few times this year and he is definitely capable of being a #1 option.

[eyriq]

It's an insane build TBH

[J the Drafter]

Heard some really good analysis of Mosley's adjustments and they're real...completely different team and more than just one game sample (of good and inept). What will game 5 bring? Honestly, I don't expect this kind of destruction back in CLE, but I don't know how you favor CLE in the series after the way ORL evolved and erupted most recently...fascinating.

Question: Can Franz and Paolo and Suggs ALL have big games at the same time. Particularly, Franz & Paolo are so iso-heavy when successful...can they both have their way in a game. Not sure it's necessarily a problem - maybe a blessing ...both will benefit from shooters in the next couple of years. I was at the game Thursday and it felt like they couldn't miss a shot, but they were actually much higher 3pt% today.

Tuesday...let's go!!

So what adjustments did Mosley make? I know some things—starting Wendell over Isaac, having Suggs guard Mitchell, bringing help on Mitchell on off-ball screens, having screeners set screens near halfcourt to give ball-handlers more room to attack. Did I cover everything?

[SOUL]

They also tanked their season for arguably the worst draft ever. So there’s that.

To be fair, they only get that pick if it's the 6th pick or higher, was a no-brainer to try and tank to have a better chance to retain it.

They just shouldn't have traded a pick for Poeltl. Could've paid Goga or someone this offseason for a similar impact guy.

[basketballRob]

They also tanked their season for arguably the worst draft ever. So there’s that.

To be fair, they only get that pick if it's the 6th pick or higher, was a no-brainer to try and tank to have a better chance to retain it.

They just shouldn't have traded a pick for Poeltl. Could've paid Goga or someone this offseason for a similar impact guy.

Now they want a center that can hit 3s.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[eyriq]

We are still due for a big Cole game.

[Black and Blue]

after the first two games i saw a lot of raptors fans talking about how their core of IQ-Scottie-Barrett is better than the Magic's core

They are delusional.

Scottie Barnes isn’t scoring anywhere near 35 points in a playoff series.

Barrett legitimately sucks. And that’s coming from a Duke fan.

I was really hoping Barrett would blossom into a star but watching him on the Knicks was painful. He still has time, but it’s not looking good right now. His outside shot is super problematic, and all he can reliably do is creative layups.

I agree Barnes is rather overrated overall, but he did show glimmers last season of star potential. Time will tell if he takes that next step.

[SOUL]

So what adjustments did Mosley make? I know some things—starting Wendell over Isaac, having Suggs guard Mitchell, bringing help on Mitchell on off-ball screens, having screeners set screens near halfcourt to give ball-handlers more room to attack. Did I cover everything?

A lot of the smaller moves are byproduct of big moves. Isaac moving back to the 4 means he can roam and disrupt around the perimeter and provide help defense in the paint easier. Moe isn't a great defender but they're going to live with JA/Mobley contested twos in the paint if nobody else is doing anything.

Cavs not having any consistent big men from the perimeter is hurting them a lot. Mobley can make 'em but he doesn't feel comfortable. Niang is useless with Isaac on him.

So we're essentially forcing them to go super small (which hurts their defense) or they will just have to play their starters basically 40 minutes a game or something. Obviously them hitting threes is important but that's not really a game plan thing, but I think that's the biggest thing to watch out for is what they can do to exploit Moe's defense and keep Isaac at bay.

[fendilim]

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.

[fendilim]

Heard some really good analysis of Mosley's adjustments and they're real...completely different team and more than just one game sample (of good and inept). What will game 5 bring? Honestly, I don't expect this kind of destruction back in CLE, but I don't know how you favor CLE in the series after the way ORL evolved and erupted most recently...fascinating.

Question: Can Franz and Paolo and Suggs ALL have big games at the same time. Particularly, Franz & Paolo are so iso-heavy when successful...can they both have their way in a game. Not sure it's necessarily a problem - maybe a blessing ...both will benefit from shooters in the next couple of years. I was at the game Thursday and it felt like they couldn't miss a shot, but they were actually much higher 3pt% today.

Tuesday...let's go!!

So what adjustments did Mosley make? I know some things—starting Wendell over Isaac, having Suggs guard Mitchell, bringing help on Mitchell on off-ball screens, having screeners set screens near halfcourt to give ball-handlers more room to attack. Did I cover everything?

Franz vs Mitchell too

[SOUL]

Watch on YouTube

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."

[Residual-Heat]

The stretch that turned the game around.

Watch on YouTube

;t=4s

Paolo only scored 2 points but he had a bunch of assists to 3 point shots, and one miss on an assist to Harris who was open. Played great defense and on one possession chased Mitchell down and forced him to travel. Set good screens too. Just all around great. Franz also had a similar all around game but with more scoring less assisting.

Suggs- had 2 threes. He turned the ball over twice here, but also had atleast 2 nice assists. One turnover was when he tried to find WCJ in the paint. Bad pass, but I actually love that he wanted to reward WCJ after playing great defense on the other end. WCJ had just contested Levert's drive to the rim that made him miss, then on the same possession shut down Mobley's post up.

WCJ was amazing. He hit open threes, battled at the boards, set good screens, played great defense on multiple possessions. He did exactly what we needed him to.

[Optimus_Steel]

Watch on YouTube

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…