Recap: Cavs 109, Magic 103 (or, when you wish upon a star)

Like a 35-year-old substitute teacher with braces, I missed my Disney window (4-8) as a child, and the first time I experienced the “Happiest Place on Earth” I was already dripping with an oppositional defiant disorder against all forms of authority. Just before I relocated back to Ohio, I went to Disneyland and had an absolute ball and a biscuit. There was so much I didn’t appreciate about my first Disney visit. The attention to detail was remarkable. Lightbulbs don’t burn out there. I’d rather eat off the ground at a Disney park than a food stand at Six Flags.

What really really got me was how bought in all of the employees were. They drank the corporate kook-aid, and it made the experience at the park to a level that their competition fails to match.  They were all committed to their job, as meager as it could be. The midway sweepers picked up trash so quickly, that if you blinked, you would have never known it was there in the first place.  The silverware sparkled. The service was impeccable. In retrospect, I’m envious in a way that the Cavs collection of multimillionaire men,  don’t have close to the level of commitment to the process, that these kids do to theirs.

Mad Tea Party

Perhaps the most underrated ride at the park. From the outside looking in, it’s nothing special. Just your normal spinning flat. It’s so much more though. The theme song stays in your head for weeks, and while it doesn’t have the sizzle of the modern rides, it’s a fricken classic, and there will always be a place for it. If Delly was a ride, this would be it.

There will always be a place on championship level teams for the selfless role player who couldn’t care less if he scored.  There are multiple times this season that I’ve questioned if Delly is actually the Cavs third most important player. From looking at the end of game stat sheet, this may have been Delly’s worst games of the year as he put up just a single point, four boards, and one dime. He is the leader of the second unit though, and the bench squad is where the Cavs actually had a plus on the scoreboard.

Tom Sawyer Island

There’s times where I wish LeBron James was a little more like Huckleberry Finn, and a little less like Tom Sawyer. Finn grows through his journey emotionally, and intellectually and that’s the morale of his tale. Sawyer was initially introduced just a contract to Huck’s evolution. James’ near constant passive aggressive manipulation of his teammates through the media, always  having things on his terms, and flat out using people are very, very Tom Sawyer.

I anticipated a rejuvinated LeBron after his rest sabbatical as had become the norm. There were a few moments tonight where he had a little more spring to his step, but overall it was a flat performance. Maybe he was still dizzy from the Tea Cups yesterday. I dunno. LeBron’s shot was astray again, and he had a pedestrian 18 points on 15 shots and he was 0-3 from downtown. If he would only jack them up from the left wing, that would be victory.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

This here is a PG blog, with the exception to the occasion emotionally induced podcast profanity, so I won’t go into detail on my state while riding the riding the Pooh ride last year. I have always found Pooh to be the most fascinating Disney brand because of the disorders of so many of he characters. Piglet with his anxiety disorder. Tigger with his ADD bouncing from subject to subject. Eeyore with his major depressive disorder. Every character is flawed in their own way, which makes them so much more relatable.

I’m not entirely sure what J.R. Smith’s aliment is, but he’s certainly bipolar on the court. When he’s good his celebrations reek of a mania episode. When he’s struggling or in a bad situation, his body language screams of a depressive episode. This season has been more on the fun side of the spectrum and I’m hoping it lasts into the playoffs. If he’s on, he can win them a game.

It’s a Small World After All

Walt Disney had many faults as an actual person, but I chalk most of those up to his generation and the times that he lived in, but even with his generational bias, he wanted something better out of the world, and he wanted to be an active participant in the growth of our culture. Sure this one is a bit boring for kids, and animatronics are always a little creepy, but the message underneath this simple water floom dark ride, makes it so much better

Of all of the Cavs players, I have the most attachment to Irving. The burden we put on him to replace James was ridiculous, and as much as we gripe about his short comings, he’s handled himself so well with those circumstances. Keeping perspective on the problems of the world is the point of the ride as well. It’s concept followed the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the theme was that we can live in peace. While I agree that no player is untradable, Irving would be the closest to it for me on the roster. He still hasn’t hit his prime, and he’s their most reliable player in the waning minutes of a game, as he showcased tonight with LeBron struggling from the field. Also, the league is currently being dominated by a cat with a nearly identical skill set, and Irving’s career numbers thus far, are on point with Curry’s at the same age.

First Quarter

The Cavs first points came off of LeBron working the block. As the defense collapsed on him, he found a cutting Moz for a pair. Two possessions later, the Cavs traversed the court twice with stellar ball movement. The play began off of a Love defensive rebound and outlet. A moment later, LeBron while in the left corner found a the trailing Love on the right wing. After a triple threat, then drive to no where, Love passed the ball across the court again to LeBron, this time on the left wing. As the defense shifted back to the left half of the court, LeBron immediately found a wide open Irving on the right corner. The defense was slow to shift, and it lead to three. If you’re new to the blog, this is a highlight of the importance of ball movement. Unlike iso-ball, it forces the defense to adjust, which give the offense the opportunity to capitalize on a poor defensive rotation. Also, over the  course of a game, it slowly wears out the defense.

LeBron’s vision and passing ability helped cut the deficit to one late in the quarter. LeBron ran a pick and roll with Tristan Thompson from the left wing and ran into a road block as Jason Smith switched onto LeBron and Hezonja went under the pick, trapping LBJ in the corner. Thompson’s roll wasn’t an option as he was surrounded by a pair of gray Magic jerseys. In an instant and while off-ballance, LeBron threw a perfect cross court pass to Shumpert on the right wing for the rubber rim three.

It felt like the Magic absolutely dominated the first quarter. Their points just seemed to come easier, as the Cavs were slow to get back in transition. Victor Oladipo absolutely dominated the first quarter like few players have this season. He scored 16 points in the frame from every imaginable way. He beat LeBron in transition for a two handed jam. He absused the Cavs back court multiple times off the dribble for easy layups. He found the holes in the defense for a pair of threes. If we were to compile a list of guys former GM Chris Grant missed on during the draft, we could have a championship team without the summer of 2014. The talent gap between who the Cavs chose in 2013 (Bennett) and who they should have (Oladipo), might be the toughest to swallow. Oladipo would be the perfect backcourt mate to Irving, and his defensive versatility on the wing would be ideal fit next to LeBron. As much as it felt like the Magic owned the Cavs in the first courter, at the end of the first frame, the Cavs only trailed 29-27.

Second Quarter

The start of the second quarter is where the Magic visibly wanted it more. The Magic scored the first seven points of the quarter as Thompson lost Ilyasova twice in the paint for a pair of layups, and Hezonja buried a deep three as Frye played the drive.

The Cavs comeback came near the midway point in the quarter on a pair of back to back conversions from downtown. The first of which came from the left wing as Shumpert began a drive on Hezonja, as the Croatian back peddled, Shumpert stepped back for the high-arching triple. On the following Cavs possession, Ilyasova sagged off of Kevin Love on the right wing to double Thompson in the paint. Thompson’s biggest growth from his first couple season is his court awareness. Two years ago he would have flung the ball at the rim through the double team. On this play he immediately found Love in the corner for the three. A moment later Kyrie Irving went coast to coast after grabbing the defensive rebound, then navigating his way through the lane past a pair of Magic defenders for the banking layup.

Ball moves and Love triples! #CavsNation #Cavs #Magic #NBA https://t.co/lRfWrocgjy

— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) March 18, 2016

On the following Cavs possession, Kevin Love’s ability to space the floor exploited the Magic defense. Love was perched on the left wing, pulling his defender out of the lane. LeBron exploited the numbers and drove through the uncluttered key and found J.R. Smith on the left corner. As the defense rotated to Smith, he kicked it out to the wing for a wide open Love triple. Two possessions later Shupert kicked it to Love in the same spot again, and the song remained the same.

.@KingJames on the cut from @KyrieIrving? Look out. #CavsMagic https://t.co/6Jg5lfvQkh

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) March 18, 2016

I’m assuming that once the playoffs start we’ll see more LeBron playing the four, and he and Kyrie running pick an roll punishment on the opposition. The Cavs went small near the end of the half, and we were treated with one as LBJ set a pick on Oladipo, and as both Dipo and Aaron Gordon clung to Irving, Kyrie found a cutting LBJ for the two handed jam.

LeBron’s passing ability from the block is so devastating that his prime could be extended a few years if he becomes a full-time front court player. J.R. dribble dished to a cutting LeBron. As James set to back down Gordon on the block, Smith’s man (Fournier) got caught inching his way into the paint. After Fournier was at the free throw stripe, LeBron darted a perfect off dribble underhanded pass to Smith at the top of the key for an uncontested triple pushing the Cavs lead to double figures.

The quarter began with the a Magic run and a nine point deficit. After a Love scoring assault, and Cavs small ball nuCLEar run, the Cavs finished strong for a 63-54 at the conclusion of the half.

Third Quarter

The Cavs struggles in the third quarter continued as the Magic chipped away at the Cavs lead. The Magic made up six points in a hurry on a pair of three point strikes. The first of which came in transition, and neither Smith, nor Irving picked up Oladipo as he drilled an unchallenged three from the top of the key.  On the following Magic possession LeBron never picked up Fournier. As LBJ closed out on him late, Fournier buried a three from the corner and left his hand in the air and bounced on his right leg sticking the landing.

Oladipo continued his career night on back to back scoring possessions. The first of which came as Irving got stuck on the pick and Dipo hit the midrange j. On the following trip down the floor the Magic took the lead as Aaron Gordon found Oladipo for a left wing three that prompted a Fred McLeod “oh my goodness,” and a coach Lue timeout to regroup.

Out of the time out, the Cavs returned with another small ball lineup. This time featuring Love at center, with LeBron at the four. To a surprising result, the Magic run continued and they went on a 7-0 scoring run. Lue shuffled the deck again replacing Love with Frye and the Cavs quickly erased the deficit. Their initial jab came on LeBron passing the rock out of the paint to Smith on the wing. Smith quickly swung the ball to Frye for a long corner two. On the following Cavs possession, Frye hit his third triple of the night from the left wing. The director was slow to take to the live feed during a replay, and LeBron scored on a driving layup a moment later.

A @KingJames steal & slam gives @cavs some momentum headed into the 4th, as they trail by three after 3. #CavsMagic https://t.co/u0S6hXxoo0

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) March 19, 2016

Oladipo established a new career high off of a transition jumper. There’s still work to do for the Cavs small ball lineup, and that it isn’t quite ready to save them when the offensive is sputtering. The highlight of the quarter for the Cavs came as LeBron James stole an errant Oladipo pass and took it cross court for the jam. The finish was impressive as LBJ adjusted midair to an Oladipo attempted chase down block. In total the Magic outscored the Cavs by a dozen in the quarter and they trailed 86-83 after three.

Fourth Quarter

The Cavs comeback was immediate in the final frame as Irving hit jumper from the left elbow even though C.J. Watson had a handful of Kyrie’s jersey. On the following possession, Thompson muscled his way through the lane for a driving layup to give the Cavs the lead.

Kyrie flashed some impressive defense as he found himself guarding Ilyasova on the block. He blocked the big man’s first attempt, then promptly challenged the second and snared the board of a fast break the other way which led to Irving drawing a trip to the line, and converting both freebies. Two possessions later, Irving banked a jumper through contact from Watson from behind and converted another free throw giving the Cavs the lead again.

Don't worry @KyrieIrving. @RealTristan13's got your back.

A monster put back by TT comes at a big time for @cavs. https://t.co/iGZr6moUaG

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) March 19, 2016

For all of the criticism Irving draws he’s still the Cavs most trusted, and consistent scorer in crunch time. Nearing the midway point in the quarter he came off of a pair of cross screens and hit a three from the right wing to extend the Cavs lead to four. After a minute long scoring drought on both sides, Thompson flushed a one handed put back dunk off of an Irving miss.

LeBron scored on a finger roll off of an inbound pass from Irving at the baseball. On the following Cavs possession, LeBron once again put his drive and dish skills on display, as he waiting for the defense to collapse on him, then kicked it out to Frye for another corner three. After a string of meaningful contests from Frye, I think its finally time for the Charlie Frye guy to dust off the suit, and hit the road with the team.

Thompson once again followed up an Irving miss, this time with a soft slam. Gone are the days of gathers and rejections. He might not be worth the contract he signed in the offseason at the moment, but the growth in his game from two years ago is remarkable, and with his dedication to the game, he make that deal look worthwhile in the near future. On the following Cavs possession Thompson earned a trip to the line after a hard foul, and he buried both of them for his 21st double double of the year. The Thompson freebies pushed the lead to double digits, and the Cavs survived a late Magic run to win 109-103.