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

[Residual-Heat]

29 points in the second half for Cleveland, is this the least amount of points scored in a half this postseason? I know the Mavs scored only 30 in the first half of game 1

[Potential]

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[RIPskaterdude]

Read on Twitter

Wow rip off of light the beam

[Duke4life831]

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 las 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)

Ya Garland just isnt showing up and CLE really doesnt have much better spacing than ORL right now. And when you look back so far in this series, 4 games in and CLE has yet to crack 100.

Now ORL needs to show up on the road, and that is a huge question mark for them. But ya before the series I had CLE in 6. I think Im at the point of officially flipping that. I think ORL in 6 right now.

Outside of Mitchell I just dont see where CLE is going to get consistent offense. And he's got Suggs on him all game long so its not like he's going to have these easy days. He can still go off like he did game 1. But ya I kind of like how ORL is playing better as of right now.

[DowJones]

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.

You can't play 2 bigs that struggle to score outside of the paint. That is what I mean when I say traditional bigs. They just aren't playable in the playoffs. You might be able to get by a team like Orlando if you have a better offensive coach than JBB, but the really good teams will make it impossible to win with that lineup.

The Cavs really need to find a trade for Allen where they can get a wing coming back. Allen is an excellent player, he just isn't the right fit.

[bmurph128]

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.

Allen is clearly the better player.

No matter what we have to move Mobley.

I'll give JB another chance if we win the series.

If we lose, he's gone and I trade Mobley and then likely Mitchell too as I can't imagine he would want to stay.

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[Message Boar]

I voted Cavs in 5, happy to take that L

[Mad Guru]

Read on Twitter

Wow rip off of light the beam

playing a song from the 90's that started as a random internet meme this season hardly seems like a rip off of anything.

[JujitsuFlip]

Funny thing is, Cleveland wanted Orlando vs. Indiana. I didn't understand it at the time. The matchups were much better against the Pacers. If Orlando was playing Milwaukee, I feel like the same thing was going to happen (especially without Giannis).

Cavs can't beat the Pacers if they can't score 100pts.

Pacers have the 24th ranked defense, scoring against them wasn't gonna be the issue. jb was gonna get outcoahced by Carlisle but it is moot bc he's being outcoahced by Mosley.

[Mad Guru]

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.

Allen is clearly the better player.

No matter what we have to move Mobley.

I'll give JB another chance if we win the series.

If we lose, he's gone and I trade Mobley and then likely Mitchell too as I can't imagine he would want to stay.

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Players like Allen don't really age gracefully, he can't shoot and is much older than Mobely.

I think they should keep Mobley and actually develop him.

[Residual-Heat]

I voted Cavs in 5, happy to take that L

same here

[DowJones]

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 las 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)

Ya Garland just isnt showing up and CLE really doesnt have much better spacing than ORL right now. And when you look back so far in this series, 4 games in and CLE has yet to crack 100.

Now ORL needs to show up on the road, and that is a huge question mark for them. But ya before the series I had CLE in 6. I think Im at the point of officially flipping that. I think ORL in 6 right now.

Outside of Mitchell I just dont see where CLE is going to get consistent offense. And he's got Suggs on him all game long so it's not like he's going to have these easy days. He can still go off like he did game 1. But ya I kind of like how ORL is playing better as of right now.

Yeah, I have been real critical of Garland but for this season I just have to accept that he is who he is. He is a 14 point/6 assist type of guy in the playoffs. I do think he has tons of upside, but it's becoming clear that it is unreasonable for me to ask more of him this year. He really became submissive as a player this year and I don't t think it is something he can just snap out of. He needs a new coaching staff to come in and really demand more. He also has to ask himself what type of player the wants to be. Is he ok with just being more of a role player or does he want to be a star? I really think the choice this summer is his because he has the talent to be a star. Maybe he just wants to be a role player? For Cleveland's sake, I hope that isn't the case.

[Magiclee]

Does anyone else think Paolo is showing a little too much reverence to Mobley? He attacks the rim strong all the time but he won't even challenge Mobley. Not sure why.

[JujitsuFlip]

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.

I would start Morris for Strus.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

Does anyone else think Paolo is showing a little too much reverence to Mobley? He attacks the rim strong all the time but he won't even challenge Mobley. Not sure why.

He had a bad game today but he was all over Mobley last game.

[DowJones]

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.

I would start Morris for Strus.

I think Thompson is the better call. Thompson is an outstanding offensive rebounder and I trust him to bang in the post more than Morris. I would play Morris, just give him all of Niang's minutes.

[GelbeWand09]

And people think Barnes is better than Franz… foh

Barnes is for sure better, dude does everything and plays both sides of the ball

Strange that advance stats say Franz is the better defender. Thats just Black vs White euro cliche thing. Franz is a 2 way play

[Duke4life831]

My thoughts too. Now it feels like ORL's offense is more sustainable than Clevelands. Shades of las 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)

Ya Garland just isnt showing up and CLE really doesnt have much better spacing than ORL right now. And when you look back so far in this series, 4 games in and CLE has yet to crack 100.

Now ORL needs to show up on the road, and that is a huge question mark for them. But ya before the series I had CLE in 6. I think Im at the point of officially flipping that. I think ORL in 6 right now.

Outside of Mitchell I just dont see where CLE is going to get consistent offense. And he's got Suggs on him all game long so it's not like he's going to have these easy days. He can still go off like he did game 1. But ya I kind of like how ORL is playing better as of right now.

Yeah, I have been real critical of Garland but for this season I just have to accept that he is who he is. He is a 14 point/6 assist type of guy in the playoffs. I do think he has tons of upside, but it's becoming clear that it is unreasonable for me to ask more of him this year. He really became submissive as a player this year and I don't t think it is something he can just snap out of. He needs a new coaching staff to come in and really demand more. He also has to ask himself what type of player the wants to be. Is he ok with just being more of a role player or does he want to be a star? I really think the choice this summer is his because he has the talent to be a star. Maybe he just wants to be a role player? For Cleveland's sake, I hope that isn't the case.

Ya I cant lie, I havent watched all that much of CLE this year. But it was just 2 years ago that Garland made the all star game. And now in this series I keep forgetting he's on the court a lot of the time. He just seems to have zero impact on these games right now.

He either needs to become a top tier facilitator, or he needs to become far more aggressive with his shot. Because he doesnt seem to be an impactful defender either.

But right now, ya he is basically what you said. He's just a 14/6 kind of player. He's not out there flat out hurting CLE in these games. But he's not putting his fingerprints on the game either. He's just kind of there so far in this series.

[basketballRob]

Surely the Magic broke some historical record.

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

Franz had a historic game with 0 turnovers. I'm sure the NBA will come up with a first player in 40 years or something.

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

He looks good, starting next to a center but not against the biggest front line in the NBA as a starting center.

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