Well, they did it. The Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic. And they overcame an 18-point first half deficit to do it.
Early on, the Cavs couldn’t make a shot on offense and defensively couldn’t stop Paolo Banchero, who had 24 points in the first half.
The game may have turned oddly enough when Max Strus and Darius Garland, who were a combined 1 for 8 from the floor, missing all five of their three-point shots, both had to leave the game in foul trouble.
J.B. Bickerstaff went to Caris LeVert, who he benched in the second half of Game 6, and Sam Merrill, who hadn’t been playing much at all, probably because it was all he had.
LeVert hit 4 of 6 shots and Merrill hit two threes and two free throws the remainder of the half and Cleveland trimmed the lead to a more manageable 10 points at the half.
In the second half, Donovan Mitchell took over, scoring 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting, Strus got it going, knocking down 3 out of 4 from long range, and Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro played tremendous defense.
Mobley was a force inside, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking five shots in addition to 11 points. Okoro forced Banchero into a 4 for 15 half from the field, putting the young Magic all-star into check.
In the end though, it was Mitchell. He scored 39 points in all and attacked from the opening tip off, getting to the line 17 times, making 15. He kind of willed the Cavs to victory.
So now it is the #1 seed in the East, the Boston Celtics, who had the NBA’s best record in the regular season going 64-18. They ranked first in the league in offensive rating and third in defensive rating.
And they have stars on top of stars: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and one of the league’s unsung very good players in Derrick White.
However, Porzingis is currently on the shelf with a calf injury, so actually from a size standpoint, the Celts are a much better matchup for Cleveland. Beyond him, the Celtics have only one player who gets more than 20 minutes per night and is 6’9″ or more in Al Horford.
Boston loves the three-point shot, leading the league in attempts and makes, and second in percentage. Their flaw has been when they aren’t going in, they just keep taking them.
The biggest thing though for the Cavs is they have to get offensive production out of someone besides Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, if he can get healthy.
This means Darius Garland simply must play better. Garland hit a three in the fourth quarter and the whole team seemed to celebrate because he’s struggled that much.
Actually, he did shoot well in the series, it was everything else that was awful. He seemed to be very shaky with the ball in his hands and defensively is a problem as well. If he can move the ball (meaning he stops dribbling the air out of the ball) and hit shots, he can be a big asset.
We would also like Bickerstaff to reset. Go back to playing Georges Niang at least to start the series, and we would still go 10 deep, giving time for Sam Merrill, Marcus Morris, and Tristan Thompson.
It’s a new series. We don’t think the Cavs can win; it will be more about how competitive they can play in the series to determine how the team should be reshaped this summer.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 