Cavaliers Host Magic In Game 2
The Cleveland Cavaliers will host the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of their first-round Eastern Conference series at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Monday.

The Cavaliers have the edge in the series after winning Game 1 by a 97-83 score. Cleveland relied on the play of their star player, Donovan Mitchell, and the contributions of their big men to secure the win against an Orlando team that didn’t offer much on offense. The Cavaliers are the better team on paper and enjoy playing at home, where they posted a 26-15 mark during the regular season. The Cavaliers will simply rely on Mitchell to get the job done, as the Cavaliers star guard as a whole has far more experience at this stage than a young, unproven Magic team. Cleveland needs to continue attacking the paint to be successful, as Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen proved to be too much for Orlando’s interior defense.

The Cavaliers are listing Ty Jerome (ankle), Dean Wade (knee) and Craig Porter (ankle) as game-time calls for Monday.

There was a straightforward question mark regarding the Magic’s ability to upset the Cavaliers throughout a seven-game series due to their lack of offensive punch. Those questions remain after an underwhelming performance in the series opener. The Magic only scored 83 points while shooting 32.6 percent from the field and a meager 21.6 percent from three-point range. The Magic had the worst offense of the entire playoff field, but they simply can’t shoot the ball as badly as they did in the series opener. A return to the norm on offense and a few defensive adjustments might allow Orlando to put up a fight in Game 2. They also need their best players to be at their best on offense. Similar to what happens with Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland, Paolo Banchero must play at his best and carry the Magic offensively. However, his efforts won’t be enough if Orlando doesn’t adjust defensively.

The Magic are not listing anyone in their injury report for Monday’s game.
Posted on: 4/21/2024 11:09 AM