2024 NBA Playoffs - East 1st Round: #4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. #5 Orlando Magic (CLE WINS 4-3)

[Dirk]

You missed debate #768 of Barnes vs Wagner.

Why would Marcus morris take that shot end of game? Is that thread worthy for the GB?

Not only did he take that shot... he also threw the ball at Bitadze after it went in lol.

In a shocking turn of events, the Morris brother in Dallas is a calming/leadership voice in the team.

[Residual-Heat]

Magic need to keep the confidence going into Cleveland. They're almost making me believe they have a chance to win this series... almost

[mademan]

A first round exit for Cleveland makes a Mitchell trade nearly certain this summer, ya? Think you can get Jaquez and all of Miami's picks? Jaquez would be awesome long term between Mobley/Garland

I still have Cleveland winning in six, their offense will come alive eventually and they still have home court, but even if they do make it to the second round, they need to make changes regardless.

Mobley/Allen just doesnt work in the playoffs. You cant have that lack of spacing and Mobley just isnt a full time C yet. Cavs need a stretch 5, but losing Allen would hurt their defense too much.

Tough decisions to make. Mobley becoming a great shooter would solve all these problems, but thats living too much on hope.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

Surely the Magic broke some historical record.

No team 0-2 ever won two games by this much.

On a Thursday night 7pm and Saturday afternoon 1pm time start.

For those who don’t understand, I am making fun of the filters they will use for the stat not the games played.

[DowJones]

Niang cannot continue to get minutes. He has been borderline unplayable at this point.

When Allen rests, JBB has to play TT at center and Mobley at PF. Niang probably has to play with Allen when Mobley rests.

I would consider starting Thompson over Strus and just going all-in on the big lineup to really muck the game up. I think the Cavs have a better chance of winning an 88-84 type of game than a 115-111 type of game. Thompson at the 5 would really help the rebounding and Mobley floating around the perimeter playing defense would be a nightmare for Orlando. The offense will be terrible, but I think it will be terrible regardless of who we play. Maybe Thompson gobbles some offensive rebounds.

[bisme37]

NOT SO CAVALIER NOW ARE YA?!
-Magic fans

[WestGOAT]

i think the playoffs are telling every fan that they don't know anything about basketball. we all post and pretend like we do...but we don't. the nba is different now. there's no telling what's gonna work and what's not and to the degree things do work or fail. things are constantly changing and evolving. there's no real rules to follow anymore saying "A or B will win but C or D can't". chemistry, luck, health, matchups and sometimes randomness play just a big a part as talent nowadays.

Well I think we know some things.

Defense travels and is still very important for the playoffs.

Depth matters.

When a team tells you who they are in the regular season, believe them. All season teams like the Lakers, Suns, Clippers, have been spotty despite on paper looking like they should be great or looking great in spurts. Teams like the Timberwolves and Thunder have looked good all year yet people have doubted them severely.

Lakers, Suns, Clippers only look like they are struggling cause they play in the West... Lakers are playing the Nuggets and played them pretty much even in game 2, Clippers still won 1 game against a Dallas team that has been on fire, Suns are getting clamped by the best defensive team in the league.

No disrespect to Cavs or Magic, but they wouldn't have done better at all in the West.

[thelead]

I had the Cavs in 6... I'm going to stick with that but my fandom is trying to get me to flip-flop

[basketballRob]

A little befuddled as to why Isaac didn't get the start.

Minutes restrictions again? Injury? Magic/Cavs series has been put in bad time slots, with this being their first prime slot, so I'm not up to speed here.

He's not a center, and we have 2 forwards.

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[Iwasawitness]

A first round exit for Cleveland makes a Mitchell trade nearly certain this summer, ya? Think you can get Jaquez and all of Miami's picks? Jaquez would be awesome long term between Mobley/Garland

I still have Cleveland winning in six, their offense will come alive eventually and they still have home court, but even if they do make it to the second round, they need to make changes regardless.

Mobley/Allen just doesnt work in the playoffs. You cant have that lack of spacing and Mobley just isnt a full time C yet. Cavs need a stretch 5, but losing Allen would hurt their defense too much.

Tough decisions to make. Mobley becoming a great shooter would solve all these problems, but thats living too much on hope.

Evan’s already shown progression in that regard, he’s too young to give up on. But yes, Cavs are right back to the same problems they had last season.

[Zukkoyaki]

This Magic team is the one redeeming thing about Florida

[durden_tyler]

I feel bad for Cavs fans. I really do. This has to be disheartening regardless of what happens the rest of the series. This isn't going to impress Mitchell and that's all that matters at the moment.

Cleveland desperately needs a new coach. The only positive is that this has to be a wakeup call to the organization that we are too compromised on the offensive end. We are seemingly the only team in the NBA experimenting with the 2 traditional big lineup. I am confident that JB will be fired at the end of the year and I would imagine the new coach won't be obsessed with playing the way we currently play.

Nothing wrong with a traditional 2 big lineup. The problem is that they aren't that skilled offensively. I honestly thought that Mobley would be a 20 ppg scorer by now.

It’s not just skills though, those 2 bigs are very soft. When the opposition’s bigs start banging them (on both ends) they lose focus and just can’t toughen up (credit to Mo Wagner in setting an example of this in Game 4)

[mademan]

Bad game by Paolo and quietish game by Suggs on offense. And ORL still got the blowout win.

Not going to lie, I didnt think ORL was going to be able to pull together 4 games of enough offense to win this series. Im starting to walk that back now. Im not going to be shocked now to see ORL make it to the 2nd round.

My thoughts too. Now it feels like ORL's offense is more sustainable than Clevelands. Shades of last years playoffs where Cavs offense is an eyesore. Mobley/Allen doesnt work in the postseason. Hard to score with 2 non-spacers on the court (Mobley can shoot some but ORL plays him like a non-spacer, like the Knicks did last year)

[meatwad4343]

Cleveland is a really bad offensive team and I am not sure where they will get points from if they don't just get hot and start hitting their 3's at home. Mitchell is clearly compromised and the Cavs don't have any other player that can hurt you.

Orlando shot historically bad the first two games realistically this could have been a sweep for them or 5 at the very least. I think they are pretty forutunate this series is tied and they still have home court. They can still turn it around.

Magic are two very different teams at home and on the road. It’s been like this all year for them. 29-12 at home, 18-23 on the road.

I voted Cavs in 6 to start. I still think that’s the likely outcome as I trust Mitchell going off in a road game more than the Magic on the road. Although you have to wonder whether Mitchell is quiet quitting.

Maybe. It is pretty concerning not getting any points in the second half and the coaching not being able to respond to the adjustments Orlando made. Cavs have another gear they can get to i think though, they tanked the end of the season specifically for this matchup so I'm sure their confidence isn't too wrecked and they can turn it around at home.

[azcatz11]

NOT SO CAVALIER NOW ARE YA?!
-Magic fans

It would be cool if a magic fan was obsessed with Paolo like nba4lyfe and made a 1 hour video pointing the camera at their bed and ceiling

[SOUL]

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[Rainwater]

A little befuddled as to why Isaac didn't get the start.

Minutes restrictions again? Injury? Magic/Cavs series has been put in bad time slots, with this being their first prime slot, so I'm not up to speed here.

He's not a center, and we have 2 forwards.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM Forums mobile app

This series has shown he is not good as a starter, he has been way better off the bench.

[mademan]

I still have Cleveland winning in six, their offense will come alive eventually and they still have home court, but even if they do make it to the second round, they need to make changes regardless.

Mobley/Allen just doesnt work in the playoffs. You cant have that lack of spacing and Mobley just isnt a full time C yet. Cavs need a stretch 5, but losing Allen would hurt their defense too much.

Tough decisions to make. Mobley becoming a great shooter would solve all these problems, but thats living too much on hope.

Evan’s already shown progression in that regard, he’s too young to give up on. But yes, Cavs are right back to the same problems they had last season.

Cant give up on him, but if he cant become better offensively, he cant continue to play the 4 beside Allen. Either he needs to take big strides (and its not just shooting, he needs to improve offensively in every way), or they have to move Allen for a stretch 5. It just cant work like this

[GeorgeSears]

This Magic team is the one redeeming thing about Florida

I don't actually mind Florida, especially if you're only there for a couple of weeks in January, but I could never imagine living there year round with the rain and humidity. It's not necessarily a Florida thing, the south east is just not a pleasant place to live year round.

[thelead]

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retire this man's jersey