Recap: Cavs 131, Magic 127 (or, Shootout At The Magic Kingdom)
2018-01-07
If you like your basketball with more shooting and less resistance… then this contest between the Cavs and Magic in Orlando was for you. Defense was barely a rumor (with the exception of one decent quarter), as both teams fired away with regularity… putting up nearly 100 shots a piece (98 for the Magic, 96 for the Cavs) while hitting 50% of them. There were plenty of long range snipers (more than 70 combined), as well as point blank barrages with both teams scoring at least 60 points in the paint. Not to mention 25 fast break points each off of shots in transition. There just wasn’t a whole lot of cover to be found anywhere. When the smoke cleared… the Cavs were able to hang on and be the last ones standing. Yet, the shootout method of winning may not be as sustainable against the better teams in the league.
The major new development in this game, as mentioned in the Live Thread preview, was that it was the first game to feature Isaiah Thomas as the starting point guard… and, by extension, the first game to feature what promises to be the regular starting lineup from here on out. Things started out a bit rocky for IT, as he mis-fired on his first three attempts (two of them layups) on his way to just 2-7 for five points in the first half. But, he went on a tear in the third quarter (4-4 for 12 points in six minutes) to help the Cavs build a 20 point lead going into the fourth. Thomas finished with 19 points in just 21 minutes of play, and took another step on his road back to his All-Star form of a season ago, doing stuff like this…
Isaiah Thomas #NBAVote https://t.co/SlGJIQd5El
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) January 7, 2018
The starting lineup in general played well on the offensive side of the ball, as LeBron (33), Kevin Love (27) and JR Smith (10) all joined IT in double digit scoring. Jae Crowder had a rough shooting night (1-7, 0-4 from three), but did help contribute defensively, especially during the third quarter defensive surge. The bench also had little trouble scoring (they outgunned the Magic bench 40-35), but had significantly more trouble stopping Orlando from coming nearly all the way back in the fourth quarter. In particular, both Tristan Thompson and Jeff Green were unable to do much of anything in the way of shutting down the lane for easy alley-oop dunks and slashing layups in the closing minutes.
As per usual, when the Cavs struggled… LeBron was there to pick things up. When they got off to a slow start in the opening quarter (down 13-5 in the first four minutes), he started attacking the rim for his first nine points. Then his assault moved to the perimeter with a couple of 26 foot bombs. He missed the heat check, but finished the quarter with almost half (15) of the team’s 31 points. He played facilitator in the middle quarters (nine assists), while also snagging rebounds (10) and steals (six) defensively. Then, even though it looked like his services might not be required given the 20 point lead going into the fourth, he returned to help salt away the victory with eight points (including a savage dunk and a cold-blooded triple). LBJ came up just one assist short of his eighth triple double this season… and four steals shy of a quad.
LeBron James puts it down with power!#AllForOne pic.twitter.com/tykr10Fe9l
— NBA (@NBA) January 7, 2018
A common refrain is that the Cavs only really need one good quarter of defense to beat average teams on a nightly basis. That quarter tonight was represented by the third. After surrendering 64 points in the first half (to an Orlando team that resides in the bottom five of the league in scoring), the Cavs allowed the Magic only 23 in the third. And, to be fair, they still let them shoot almost 50% (9-19) for the quarter… they just turned Orlando over eight times in the frame to limit their attempts. On the flip side, IT and Love went nuts with 12 and 14 points respectively in the quarter to lead the Cavs to a 40 point outburst. Even Cedi Osman chipped in with four straight of his own off of LeBron dimes during the run… along with a unique full-court assist to Kev. With the team firing on all cylinders… and a 20 point lead to show for their efforts, it seemed like garbage time was imminent…
Alas, it was not to be, as the Magic turned the tables on the Cavs in the fourth… dropping a 40 point quarter of their own. Aaron Gordon scored 11 of his team high 30 in the period… mostly on dunks in the paint. Elfriid Payton scored on four drives to the hoop, and both Mario Hezonja and Evan Fournier connected on threes. The Magic seemed hell-bent on getting as many transition shots as possible to keep the Cavs on their heels, and they also repaid the favor by turning Cleveland over eight times in the final quarter. LeBron did help restore some order, but the Magic got it to a three point margin with 40 seconds remaining on a final Payton drive. Even though his night seemed over long since, IT was re-inserted by Ty Lue for offensive purposes. It looked like a good idea… until Isaiah air balled his 20 foot pull up jumper. Fortunately, Dwayne Wade was there to lay it up and in for a five point cushion, and the Cavs escaped Orlando after some shaky free throw work to put the game away.
The Evil
Playing lazy defense against a lottery team in the first half on the road isn’t a great idea, but it’s sort of forgivable… but, almost surrendering a 20+ point lead (it was actually 23 at one point) in the fourth quarter isn’t. The Cavs were fortunate they built the lead as much as they did, because they required every bit of it to survive in the end. Ty Lue claimed things went south because Orlando “junked it up” and went small with Gordon at the five… but maybe that was just to deflect from his own questionable decision to stick with Tristan Thompson for so long. And, yes, the Magic got hot in the fourth, but they encountered little resistance from the Cavalier defense. The Cavs made the fifth-worst offensive team in the league look like an elite shooting Western Conference squad.
Speaking of TT… maybe Ty got lulled by his perfect shooting first half and his seven boards, but he was miserable defensively down the stretch. As one commenter said, Kevin Love may have his flaws on defense, but at least you know he can cancel that out some with his scoring. If TT can’t help keep the middle of the defense from being a dunk and layup line… then he’s a net negative on the floor.
Jeff Green also deserves some blame for the softness of the defensive center, as he was on the court for the bulk of the Magic point sprees… which resulted in a rough -27 for the night. He was a little less active in this game than he’s been recently.
Kyle Korver also had a difficult night both shooting (1-4) and making his rotations on the Orlando wings. He did still tie Paul Pierce for fourth place on the all time three pointers list, and thought he passed him with an incredible shot late in the second. However, upon further review (and maybe a call of protest from The Truth to Secaucus), it was overturned due to Kyle’s foot being out of bounds.
I’m not sure how Jae Crowder pulled off going 1-7 (0-4 from downtown) with two points, but still having a +29 differential for the game. Though his shooting was still woeful (not to mention his shot selection), he did contribute four boards, three assists and two steals while at least playing some solid defense.
It’s only going to get more challenging for Ty Lue once Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert are ready to come back… and he’s done a decent job on the rotations for the most part. However, the decision to stick with TT tonight was a head scratcher… even with Love’s foul issues later in the game.
The Genius
LeBron did it all for his team once again, coming up just shy of another triple double in his 1,100th NBA game. He also went 4-7 on threes to pass Tim Hardaway for 23rd place on the all time threes list. About the only thing he didn’t do was set the right tone defensively for the Cavs early on. He did come up with six steals though.
With this triple, LeBron James passes Tim Hardaway (1,542) for 23rd all-time in made 3-pointers!#AllForOne pic.twitter.com/8WD57EZeHx
— NBA (@NBA) January 7, 2018
Isaiah Thomas looked rusty to start, but once again became a scoring machine in the second half. Raise your hand if you thought he’d be good for 36 points in his first 40 minutes of play in a Cavs uniform… Well, here’s another crazy number with a small sample size… the Cavs are averaging 129 points per game in the two games IT has played so far… which is 19 points over their 109.9 season average, and just over 13 more than the league leading Warriors’ average (115.6). Again, too early to tell, but the returns thus far have the potential to be historic… It’s just great to see him finding his flow with the team.
Kevin Love had a monster return from his illness and twisted ankle that held him back against the Celtics. He scored 27 on 8-17 shooting… 6-12 from deep, and pulled down five boards despite some foul trouble. Still, there’s no reason he shouldn’t have come back into the game sooner for Tristan.
Vintage Wade was back in effect (offensively anyway), as he went for 16 points on 7-9 shooting with nine boards, three assists and a steal. He continued to orchestrate the second unit well also. One area he might want to put some work in on might be at the line, as he missed two key FTs in crunch time. He also committed a horribly timed foul on Evan Fournier at the end of the first quarter that got ruled a flagrant foul with three shots and the ball.
Love to see Coach Lue continue to find minutes for Cedi Osman. Once again, the young Turk played with quickness and energy on both ends of the court, and he made some terrific cuts and finishes off of LBJ dimes. Plus, he showed us how to bend it like Cedi…
https://twitter.com/CLEsportsline/status/949823120059371520
Parting Shot
This wasn’t a “must win” scenario… but it was a “should win” one given the circumstances. This is not an easy road trip the Cavs find themselves on currently, and the remaining games on it are all challenging (Minnesota, Toronto, Indiana). The team had lost five in a row on the road going into Orlando, so it was important to get the win against a team they should handle easily. As a result, they were able to survive a fundamental lack of defensive attention for the majority to still win a shooting contest with the Magic. That strategy may not work against the rest of the foes on this trip… and certainly not in their MLK Day rematch with the Dubs back at the Q. I do have faith that they’ll be able to lock in and improve on the defensive end once they get IT fully incorporated and used to the rotations (and also figure out what to do with DRose and IShump when they return)… but, if they can’t, the trade rumors will be harder to shoot down.
Until next time… GO CAVS
Does anyone else find it annoying how Lue keeps referring to when teams play super small as “junking it up?”
if you are asking me (nate )—no still awake—-there is no rest (sleep ) for the wicked
Did you go to bed?
THANK YOU to Rick Carlisle on speaking out on the statements of LA -LOUD-MOUTH-BALL and for espn continuing to make him a “celebrity “——–Carlisle coming to the defense of Luke Walton —great job Rick !!!!!
Totally agree.
Also, did you catch Braymond yammering about how the refs are destroying BB by calling techs on Mr. Wonderful himself, king of the accidental kick?
Carlisle is my second favorite NBA coach. He consistently does more with less and has a Pop lite attitude and demeanor towards the media and bs. He is never afraid to speak his mind when he sees nonsense going on, similar to Pop.
RIGHT THERE WITH YOU JASON ( ON JACKSON )–GOT IN FOUL TROUBLE TODAY—BUT YEAH HE IS AN ATHLETE
AGREE MIKEO ( ON THAD )—EVEN DRANK A COUPLE BEERS WITH HIM —BUT THE PROGRAM NEEDED A CHANGE—THE LAST 3-4 YRS WERE NOT FUN
JACKSON HAS THAT SO CALLED ‘ELITE POTENTIAL “—-ALWAYS CONCERNED WHEN I HEAR THE WORD —“POTENTIAL “
I think he is #7 in the country in blocks & shoots 80%+ from the line & anchors the D on a top 5 team.
I will take that over TT right now. Better size. Better shooter. Better athlete.
Manziel sighting: http://www.espn.com/cfl/story/_/id/21994526/hamilton-tiger-cats-negotiating-contract-agreement-qb-johnny-manziel
Yikes! I hope all the “experts” stating that the Browns have to pick a QB with the #1 pick remember Manziel. Joe Thomas is the only good high draft choice the Browns have made since the return.
Winslow was pretty darn good before the injury. I would also throw Joe Haden out there off the top of my head.
Agree on Haden. Winslow is pretty iffy. It was a dumbbell self inflicted injury.
Recall that the Browns gave up an early #2 pick to move up ONE SPOT to take Winslow rather than take Roethlisburger. Butch Davis was always drafting guys who he had not been able to recruit for Miami, and getting a second chance did not work out well.
Manziel went 20 something to be fair. Way high for him. Not too high for a franchise qb. Not that I think any of these guys will be franchise qbs. Certainly far less than I thought Wentz’s chances were.
Good for the Buckeye players and coaches…just dominated MSU…nice to see people’s work paying off…
SO TRUE !!—-GET READY TO ‘STORM THE FLOOR ” !!!!
GO BUCKS!!!—T.T. SHOULD BE WATCHING WESSON –LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE POST —–PASS / MOVES / ETC .——-HANG ON BUCKS !!–GET THE “W”
Nice to see movement and an offense…
Awesome to see the basketball Buckeyes playing well and destroying MSU…
Just tuned in. Shocked! How has Jackson looked for MSU? I think he is likely a top 9 pick: Doncic, Ayton, Bagley, Porter, Bamba + Young, Jackson, Sexton, Bridges.
He fouled out…missed most of his minutes…
Thanks. Surprised the Bucks are doing this to MSU.
They look like a different team this year. I love Thad Matta, even met him a couple of times, but they needed a change. May have one of the best coaches in the country now…
either Lue is playing TT a lot and hoping he improves a lot or is playing him for possible trade bait and a team takes his bloated contract….itll be interesting to see how Rose/Shump play (if they do a lot) when they come back cause I think the Cavs may make moves to get George Hill and have a competent ball handler off bench in addition to Wade, plus Hill is solid defender.
any chance cavs drop ty lue ?? and get a coach that will play only our best players and not play the bad ones even when their healthy, and not play players based on old reputation/salary ! and someone that can hold players responsible of their laziness, (lots of examples but just one classic would be k love on defense usually not bothering to but his hands up to contest a shot!!!) and telling them to stay within their game ! no more long 2s by wade green even love , they just dont go down ! you dont see… Read more »
I don’t think so. I think unfortunately Lue is here for LeBron’s remainder.
Actually, you need to play more than five players.
MIKEO –have said that several times also—-why is he still the same (T.T. ) OFFENSIVE PLAYER that he was when he 1st got drafted —–HAS NOT put the time in working on his craft ( offensive game )—-again this is what frustrates me (us ) with him —NOT becoming more of an offensive threat that we CAN play him with LeBron / others and not have the negative effects
RL–would love to have 1/5 of the ‘herculoids ” (Walton ) back—just don’t see magic giving into LA-LOUD-MOUTH —-still think the lakers ( they do have talent on that roster ) will turn it around and start winning games —T.T. –” damned if you do—damned if you don’t ” as far as signing /giving him that contract—remember who is agent is–and also LeBron was working on a year contract / am sure if we don’t sign T.T. and we don’t make it to the finals—LeBron uses ” his Miami cheap card ” and walks
Haha, I was just spitballing about Walton. J doubt the Lakers give in to Lavar.
I hope Magic sides with Lavar so that Walton walks and we can scoop him up. We need a better coach.
LOL, what exactly has Luke Walton does that makes him a better coach than Lue? What do you have against Lue, he run over your dog or something? I would never hope for a guy to get fired.
Have you been a witness to the horrible coaching by Coach Lue, specially during past finals when he overplayed Shump over D. Williams and took any chance of winning away from the Cavs?
Or how about this season, specifically now that he’s playing Tristan over Frye, even though the awesome winning streak by the team happened while Tristan was hurt and Frye, Wade and Korver took over the see unit.
Lue is not a good coach. He’s just lucky LeBron plays on this team.
See = second
what id love to see is the efg% of opponents being guarded by TT. everyone talks about how he switches on to guards, but everytime i see him do it they score on him
He’s too bulky for the way he’s playing, IMO.
Not that I don’t think TT has some decent defensive attributes. He does. However, they don’t justify leaving him on an island. He isn’t that good in space (Gordon ate him alive). He is not a good defensive rebounder. He is not a real good post defender. Nor much of a shot blocker.
For $5-$7 million TT is fine. For $15? Ouch. Does anyone think he is the 3rd best player on the team?
It’s not even about the money, it’s about his productivity, specially against GS. He doesn’t fit the game needed to be played against them. If you are not an offensive threat, you are a liability.
He should have spent the last 4 years practicing a 6 foot floater so many times he could make them in his sleep. Any maybe he did, who knows, but it hasn’t shown up on the court. All he would need is one thing, a baby hook, a money 12 footer, anything….but he doesn’t have the one thing…
Still it was nice to see Thompson impact the game in the second. He finally appears close to being in shape.
TT was great in the first half, especially in second quarter. The problem is that he thinks he’s a star who can turn it off and on when he wants (the Lebron mentality infecting the whole team). The whole key to TT’s game is his motor, and he’s horrible in idle/low gears.
It’s so depressing how the Celtics owned this year’s draft and and somehow got a lottery pick in next year’s draft which might be one of the most loaded in history. Philly, LA, and Koby Altman all screwed up.
Only so much you can expect to get back after your player says he doesn’t wanna play here. Sucks cause I hate Boston fans but Uncle Dan didn’t have that many choices.
Not anticipating that the Lakers could be worse than Nets and insisting on the best of those picks was a fail.
I don’t think anyone would have imagined the Nets to be better than the Lakers.
Cept me.
That is true, and I agree with your previous comment that the Cavs should have demanded “best of Nets or Lakers pick”. However, I do not recall anyone saying that at the time, as no one dreamed the Nets could be better than the Lakers.
The Lakers have the “Curse of the Balls”, which is worse than the “Curse of the Kardashians”. LeVar said today that “of course” LeBron is coming to the Lakers next year to play with boys #1 and #2. He also said the team has quit on Walton, and other moronic stuff.
Oh yeah. Like Walton will be out of work for five seconds if Lakers dump him.
Corby aint the guy who paid shump, jr, and tt.
Not germain to my point, but true. But JR and TT were cost of doing business with LeBron/klutch. Cavs had few other options at the time. Shump signing wasn’t awful given the market (though still lemming level dumb). Screwing up the Delly situation was the sin. Should’ve traded Shump after the ship to keep Delly.
Agree 100% on all that. We were so far over the cap we had no choice. Plus, if Durant isn’t such a choker/baby, we win last year as well.
@Jason – true :(
Everyone would have justifiably scorched Griffin or Corby if he/ they didn’t sign those guys. Smith and TT, anyway. They aren’t great contracts, but they has little choice.
They only get a pick if the Lakers land 2-5. A pretty narrow landing strip.
Plus, they get Gordon back next year. Should be scary next year.
LeBron really stopped trying defensively on the last half of the fourth quarter, which led to the Magics getting a bit closer than what was needed. No biggie, the Cavs still won and IT showed some great moves.
I just really hope Lue gets the rotations down before the All-Star break.
If the Clippers are selling, I’m buying. DJ would work great next to IT and LeBron.
JR is just a corpse out there :(
might be why ty is giving him (cedi ) more minutes with the regulars —to see if cedi is ready to ‘step up ” to that spot——–do you think Magic regrets drafting Ball after Lavar went on “still another rampage ” about lakers coach Walton —-Waltons ‘ ol man “–Bill ( never known to be shy) may have a few words to LA ( STUPID ) VAR —-CAN’T THIS GUY JUST SHUT UP ALREADY !!!!
cedi should be in for JR smith. cedi plays really good defense. jr so rarely takes open looks any more, electing to swing to crowder or wade or someone far less effective
Nets update. They narrowly lose to Boston. Kings beat Denver. Pacers house the Bulls. Wins:
10 = Hawks
11 = Lakers
12 = Magic, Grizzlies
13 = Mavs, Kings
14 = Bulls
15 = Suns, Nyets, Hornets
16 = Jazz
17 = Clippers
Today:
Jazz at Heat
Knicks at Mavs
Thunder at Suns
Hawks at Lakers
You can stop following if you want. We’re getting the tenth pick
That’s crazy stat about IT bringing cavs point total per game to 130….small sample size but that’s insane if it keeps up….just have this feeling cavs will make move for dj from clips and possibly George hill too
Clips are 2 games out of the #8 spot and 3 in the L column from 6th despite all the injuries. I don’t foresee a sell off. Now, George Hill…..
Nice recap. Haven’t got to watch many games recently.
As a random tangent, anyone watched Trae Young from OU? If so, does he look like the real deal, or is his production due to being his team’s only option combined with a weak schedule?
He set a record with 22 dimes the other game. I say real deal. Handle. Pass. Shoot. Score. Good place to start for a PG. He will never be Gary Payton on D, but whatever.
Agree 100% on TT. He is a defensive guy by reputation only. Like Shump.
Fun game. Not worried about final score, Cavs stopped trying. Highlighted by LeBron committing back to back turnovers with behind the back passes
IT has been instrumental with breaking open both games he’s played in. So nice seeing a Cavs player get some respect from the refs. I guess Love does too
Love that Cedi highlight
good recap evil—-can see the cavs going 3-0 on the next 3 games but I can also see them going 0-3 — that is how inconsistent they are —–YES on more cedi time —he at least will bring the energy every night —-would just like to see this team put together a FULL 4 qtrs. of basketball—–Raptors could possibly beat them by 20 (or more ) if cavs don’t come ready to play—Toronto ready to send a message