Cleveland, OH—A young inexperienced Magic team was exploited on Saturday afternoon in their first playoff game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers as they came out on the losing end 97-83.
An afternoon where the Magic never led in the game, and struggled offensively to shoot all afternoon long. Orlando finished the game shooting 29 of 86 (32.6%) from the field, 8 of 37 (21.6%) from deep, and they struggled from the charity stripe as they were 19 of 30 (63.3%).
The Cavs got off to a blazing hot start to begin the game as they went 5 of 5 from behind the arch, and put up 33 first-quarter points as they came out the gates firing on all cylinders. In the second half, Cleveland continued to put their foot on the gas pedal and they used an 18-2 run late in the third period to lead them to victory.
Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 30 points, two rebounds, three assists, and three steals while shooting 11 of 21 from the field and 3 of 8 from the three-point range. Cleveland as a whole did an incredible job on both sides of the floor as they shot 44.4% from the field, limited the Magic to just 83 points, and forced Paolo Banchero into nine turnovers.
Despite a poor offensive outing from the Magic, on the bright side, it can’t get much worse and you only have room for improvement. All four of Orlando’s guards Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, and Gary Harris combined to shoot a horrid 4 of 33 from the field (12.1%) and they will have to be better moving forward if the Magic want any shot of winning this series.
Jonathan Issac was inserted into the starting lineup now in back-to-back games and held his own versus Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Issac finished with 10 points, three blocks, and three steals as he did everything in his willpower defensively to keep the Magic in the ball game.
Orlando’s first-time All-Star Paolo Banchero was by far the best player on the court for the Magic, despite his nine turnovers. Banchero in his first career playoff game finished with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and was 9 of 17 from the field.
“I think we definitely feel better going into game two.” Banchero on experiencing a playoff atmosphere and getting prepared for game two. “It was a tight game even though we were down a little bit— it’s a lot that we could’ve done better to make this a better game for us. So going into game two, you know, you just clean up on those things, come in with more confidence and we’ll be good.”
This first game of this series proved for Cleveland that they have the advantage in terms of postseason experience, and that very well may continue to be the case moving forward. Orlando has the talent, the players, and the depth to compete with this Cavs squad on any given night, but a lack of playoff experience was very evident from this Magic team in game one. The only players on Orlando’s roster that have playoff experience before game one were Joe Ingles, Jonathan Issac, and Gary Harris.
“I think the physicality. Stuff that is getting called in the regular season is not getting called now,” Franz Wagner on the difference between the regular season and Playoffs after Saturday’s game. “Even with that, I think we did a good job adjusting and being physical ourselves. A lot more is allowed and expected on both sides. Just a little different basketball, I’d say.”
Orlando will be looking to bounce back in a big way in game two, and potentially steal home-court advantage in their favor. The Cavs and Magic will tip off game two of this series on Monday at 7 P.M. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
