2023-24 Season | Game #21 | Magic @ Cavs | Dec. 6, 2023 | 7:00 p.m.

[Cavatt]

Seems like the guys were in a bad headspace and the interviews afterwards seemed like they are more upbeat and locked in.

Very interesting dynamic

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Those 2 missing starters for Orlando have been missing almost the entire season. And Orlando had as much rest coming in as the Cavs. So no, it WAS an impressive win

What's with the pointless negativity?

OK, you have a point. Fultz and Carter have only played in 5 of their 20 games coming in to last night. The Magic have been doing very well without them, with the caveat that they have played the league's third easiest schedule.

The main criticism I had was the Cavs allowing 31 free throws, but in fact Orlando leads the league in free throw attempts per game at 28, so allowing 31 wasn't that bad. How's that for some positivity?

More positivity; Orlando is second in offensive rebound percentage and the Cavs only allowed seven, so that's a huge improvement for a team that's been failing to rebound about 25% of opponents' missed shots.

I already mentioned that Garland played 40 minutes with no turnovers, which is a quantum leap forward.

On paper this was probably the most winnable game of the next five - the others being all on the road against Miami, Orlando, and Boston, so getting a W was important.

 

[jjvors]

Some positivity for you from Brad:

 

[Peacedog]

OK, you have a point. Fultz and Carter have only played in 5 of their 20 games coming in to last night. The Magic have been doing very well without them, with the caveat that they have played the league's third easiest schedule.

The main criticism I had was the Cavs allowing 31 free throws, but in fact Orlando leads the league in free throw attempts per game at 28, so allowing 31 wasn't that bad. How's that for some positivity?

More positivity; Orlando is second in offensive rebound percentage and the Cavs only allowed seven, so that's a huge improvement for a team that's been failing to rebound about 25% of opponents' missed shots.

I already mentioned that Garland played 40 minutes with no turnovers, which is a quantum leap forward.

On paper this was probably the most winnable game of the next five - the others being all on the road against Miami, Orlando, and Boston, so getting a W was important.

You were much better until that last paragraph lol.

No reason why the Cavs can't split the next 4 games!

 

[Dr No]

On paper this was probably the most winnable game of the next five - the others being all on the road against Miami, Orlando, and Boston, so getting a W was important.

This was a very big game considering the difficulty of the next 4. If we can manage a split in the next 4, we are in position to put a good number in the win column the rest of the month. Go 1-3 and, while discouraging, its still not a disaster. What we can't do is go 0-4. To wake up with a losing record on December 15 would be more than a little bit worrisome.

 

[Holden beach]

Banchero looked like vintage Carmelo Anthony in the game highlights.

 

[jjvors]

I found this good highlight of Mitchell:

 

[Dr No]

Banchero looked like vintage Carmelo Anthony in the game highlights.

but 3 inches taller and 20 lbs heavier. He has the tools to be great.

 

[buzzdog]

Almost no NBA teams play 48 perfect minutes.

The Cavs EARNED that big lead. A stretch of another good team punching back doesn’t discount that.

After The Magic cut it to 5, the Cavs then outscored them, a really good team, by 5 for the final 12-15 minutes of the game

Like what would anyone be bummed about from this game in December as we push, playing very imperfectly, to 8-3 in the past 11 games

Edit: removed unnecessary snark and also, I missed the entire 4th quarter so maybe I’m talking out of my ass. Idk

Nobody has any reason to be bummed about how the Cavs played yesterday. Solid team win in spite of the huge discrepancy in fouls called, which was not because the Cavs weren't being fouled all game long. For whatever reason the refs just let the Magic hack our guys with no whistles, but it wasn't a two-way street. JBB winning two contested calls tells the story on the refs. But the Cavs did what they needed to do and played through it.