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After three days off the 11-9 Cavaliers host the 14-6 Orlando Magic, who are one of the league’s biggest surprises this year. But they shouldn’t be a surprise; they started 5-20 last year but finished 29-28.
What’s fueling this big start to the season? Orlando’s defense is still top notch, which is impressive, considering its rotation’s average age (24.6 years) being raised by a little by Joe Ingles (36). After beating the Wizards, the Magic are third in defensive rating and 13th in offense. Jamahl Mosley has them playing stellar defense.
Do they have stars? Paolo Banchero is a legitimate No. 1 guy in this league. His numbers (19.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists) are modest, but he’s shooting 48.1 percent overall and 43.6 percent from deep. Franz Wagner (20.1 points) is their leading scorer and has an impressive game.
What are their shortcomings? They really struggle with shooting from deep and turn the ball over often. While Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony have played well, their guard play remains shaky. - Zach Harper, The Athletic
The Magic started this season 5-5, then won nine straight, mostly against weaker teams, before losing to Brooklyn 129-101 Saturday with two starters out; PG Markelle Fultz and C Wendall Carter Jr. They are both still out for tonight’s game so the Cavs got a huge break.
The Magic have played the 3rd easiest schedule so far so they are probably not as good as their 14-6 record suggests. Nine of their 14 wins have come against teams under .500 and four of their five wins against winning teams have come at home. The Magic are 9-2 at home and 5-4 on the road.
They obviously are good but they have been helped by a very easy schedule and they are just OK on the road. This is a winnable game, especially with the Magic having two starters out and having been blown out by a mediocre Nets team without them. In the game before that they squeaked by 3-16 Washington by five points at home. The loss of Fultz and Carter appears to have impacted them a lot. They combine to average 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.6 assists.
Offensively they are about average, ranking 14th in points per game. As Zach Harper mentioned, they are not an outside shooting team, ranking 29th in percentage of points from 3’s. They are 27th in 3-point attempts. They prefer to utilize their height and take it inside where they rank 5th in points in the paint and tied for 3rd in 2-point shooting percentage. They hit the offensive glass, ranking 2nd in second chance points at over 17 per game. The Cavs really need to emphasize getting on the defensive glass.
Their huge front line consists of three 6’10” players; C Wendall Carter Jr, Franz Wagner, and Paolo Banchero. Wagner leads in scoring at 20.7 on 47% from the field. Banchero averages 19.5 points on 48% overall and 44% on 3’s. Veteran journeyman Goga Bitadze will take Carter's spot. SG Jalen Suggs averages 12.8 points. Cole Anthony and Mo Wagner average 15.2 and 13.0 points off the bench.
The Magic bench ranks 3rd at +3.5 points while the Cavs’ bench ranks 27th at -3.1, but with two reserves starting the Magic bench will be thinner than usual.
As Harper pointed out, they turn the ball over a lot, ranking 26th, so the Cavs need to be aggressive and opportunistic on defense, creating pressure to force turnovers.
Defensively the Magic rank 6th in points per game. With all that height they excel at blocked shots (7th) and steals (4th). Darius Garland needs to watch out for that length blocking shots and lurking in the passing lanes. He can’t get so deep in the trees that he can’t shoot or pass his way out. He needs to show better judgement on when to dribble into a crowd in the paint.
The Magic rank 2nd in defensive rebound rate - with that big front line you rarely get a second shot. The one area where they are weak is fouling; they rank 26th in opponents’ free throw attempts per possession. The key is to beat those big but not particularly quick men off the dribble and force them to foul to prevent the layup. My guess is they get blown by against smaller, quicker players and have to foul. In their last game against Brooklyn the Magic committed 27 fouls with Fultz and Carter out. The Nets took 31 free throws. I want to see Mitchell, Okoor, and Strus taking it to the hole and racking up foul shots. Getting either Banchero or Franz Wagner or both in foul trouble would be great.
The Magic are about average in preventing buckets, ranking 18th in effective field goal percentage. What makes them a great defensive team are the blocks, steals, and defensive rebounding.
The Evan Mobley/Paolo Banchero matchup will be interesting to watch. Banchero is the better scorer while Mobley is the better rebounder and defender. At 44.3% Banchero is easily their best 3-point shooter, so Mobley needs to engage him at the 3-point line and prevent or contest all 3’s.
Assuming Allen checks their centers that leaves Strus and Okoro to defend the 6’10” Franz Wagner. He’s a 33% shooter from deep so keeping him out of the paint is probably the best approach, but with a big height advantage over both our small forwards it’s going to be tough. Dean Wade is listed as a game time decision. The Magic would be a good team to play a front line of Allen, Mobley, and Wade against. I can’t see Niang guarding Wagner effectively.
With Carter and Fultz out the Magic are starting Goga Bitadze at center and rookie Anthony Black, the 6th overall pick, at guard. They combined for 5 points in 34 minutes against the Nets. Bitadze has started 37 games in six years. Black, a 6'7", 200 pound guard, is averaging under 5 ppg in 19 minutes. I assume he'll guard Mitchell while Suggs, at 6'5", 200, takes Garland. I don't know if either of them is quick enough to stay in front of Garland and Mitchell. They could start Cole Anthony and Mo Wagner instead, but then they’d have no scorers coming off the bench.
Caris LeVert is out for the Cavaliers. He last played six days ago. Is his knee injured or just sore?
This should be a good matchup but with two Magic starters out the Cavs should have the upper hand, although they are just 5-6 at home.
We’ll see a rematch in Orlando in five days. Both teams might be healthier then if we get Wade and LeVert back and they have Fultz and Carter.
What’s fueling this big start to the season? Orlando’s defense is still top notch, which is impressive, considering its rotation’s average age (24.6 years) being raised by a little by Joe Ingles (36). After beating the Wizards, the Magic are third in defensive rating and 13th in offense. Jamahl Mosley has them playing stellar defense.
Do they have stars? Paolo Banchero is a legitimate No. 1 guy in this league. His numbers (19.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists) are modest, but he’s shooting 48.1 percent overall and 43.6 percent from deep. Franz Wagner (20.1 points) is their leading scorer and has an impressive game.
What are their shortcomings? They really struggle with shooting from deep and turn the ball over often. While Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony have played well, their guard play remains shaky. - Zach Harper, The Athletic
The Magic started this season 5-5, then won nine straight, mostly against weaker teams, before losing to Brooklyn 129-101 Saturday with two starters out; PG Markelle Fultz and C Wendall Carter Jr. They are both still out for tonight’s game so the Cavs got a huge break.
The Magic have played the 3rd easiest schedule so far so they are probably not as good as their 14-6 record suggests. Nine of their 14 wins have come against teams under .500 and four of their five wins against winning teams have come at home. The Magic are 9-2 at home and 5-4 on the road.
They obviously are good but they have been helped by a very easy schedule and they are just OK on the road. This is a winnable game, especially with the Magic having two starters out and having been blown out by a mediocre Nets team without them. In the game before that they squeaked by 3-16 Washington by five points at home. The loss of Fultz and Carter appears to have impacted them a lot. They combine to average 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.6 assists.
Offensively they are about average, ranking 14th in points per game. As Zach Harper mentioned, they are not an outside shooting team, ranking 29th in percentage of points from 3’s. They are 27th in 3-point attempts. They prefer to utilize their height and take it inside where they rank 5th in points in the paint and tied for 3rd in 2-point shooting percentage. They hit the offensive glass, ranking 2nd in second chance points at over 17 per game. The Cavs really need to emphasize getting on the defensive glass.
Their huge front line consists of three 6’10” players; C Wendall Carter Jr, Franz Wagner, and Paolo Banchero. Wagner leads in scoring at 20.7 on 47% from the field. Banchero averages 19.5 points on 48% overall and 44% on 3’s. Veteran journeyman Goga Bitadze will take Carter's spot. SG Jalen Suggs averages 12.8 points. Cole Anthony and Mo Wagner average 15.2 and 13.0 points off the bench.
The Magic bench ranks 3rd at +3.5 points while the Cavs’ bench ranks 27th at -3.1, but with two reserves starting the Magic bench will be thinner than usual.
As Harper pointed out, they turn the ball over a lot, ranking 26th, so the Cavs need to be aggressive and opportunistic on defense, creating pressure to force turnovers.
Defensively the Magic rank 6th in points per game. With all that height they excel at blocked shots (7th) and steals (4th). Darius Garland needs to watch out for that length blocking shots and lurking in the passing lanes. He can’t get so deep in the trees that he can’t shoot or pass his way out. He needs to show better judgement on when to dribble into a crowd in the paint.
The Magic rank 2nd in defensive rebound rate - with that big front line you rarely get a second shot. The one area where they are weak is fouling; they rank 26th in opponents’ free throw attempts per possession. The key is to beat those big but not particularly quick men off the dribble and force them to foul to prevent the layup. My guess is they get blown by against smaller, quicker players and have to foul. In their last game against Brooklyn the Magic committed 27 fouls with Fultz and Carter out. The Nets took 31 free throws. I want to see Mitchell, Okoor, and Strus taking it to the hole and racking up foul shots. Getting either Banchero or Franz Wagner or both in foul trouble would be great.
The Magic are about average in preventing buckets, ranking 18th in effective field goal percentage. What makes them a great defensive team are the blocks, steals, and defensive rebounding.
The Evan Mobley/Paolo Banchero matchup will be interesting to watch. Banchero is the better scorer while Mobley is the better rebounder and defender. At 44.3% Banchero is easily their best 3-point shooter, so Mobley needs to engage him at the 3-point line and prevent or contest all 3’s.
Assuming Allen checks their centers that leaves Strus and Okoro to defend the 6’10” Franz Wagner. He’s a 33% shooter from deep so keeping him out of the paint is probably the best approach, but with a big height advantage over both our small forwards it’s going to be tough. Dean Wade is listed as a game time decision. The Magic would be a good team to play a front line of Allen, Mobley, and Wade against. I can’t see Niang guarding Wagner effectively.
With Carter and Fultz out the Magic are starting Goga Bitadze at center and rookie Anthony Black, the 6th overall pick, at guard. They combined for 5 points in 34 minutes against the Nets. Bitadze has started 37 games in six years. Black, a 6'7", 200 pound guard, is averaging under 5 ppg in 19 minutes. I assume he'll guard Mitchell while Suggs, at 6'5", 200, takes Garland. I don't know if either of them is quick enough to stay in front of Garland and Mitchell. They could start Cole Anthony and Mo Wagner instead, but then they’d have no scorers coming off the bench.
Caris LeVert is out for the Cavaliers. He last played six days ago. Is his knee injured or just sore?
This should be a good matchup but with two Magic starters out the Cavs should have the upper hand, although they are just 5-6 at home.
We’ll see a rematch in Orlando in five days. Both teams might be healthier then if we get Wade and LeVert back and they have Fultz and Carter.
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