Three thoughts after the Magic’s 106-74 loss to Cavaliers

Channing Frye said after the loss to the Clippers last week that at some point the Magic are going to have to beat a Playoff team. All six of the Magic’s wins are against teams with losing records — OK, the Bucks are at .500. The Cavaliers are under .500, but no one is under the impression that will last long. The win over the Hornets is the only one against a widely considered Playoff team.

Before the game, LeBron James talked about how he has played poorly. About he needed to be better to get the Cavaliers out of a four-game funk. Kevin Love called it a must-win game.

The Cavaliers treated it accordingly, particular James, in a 106-74 beatdown of the Magic on Monday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

ScoreOff. Rtg.eFG%O.Reb.%TO%FTR
Orlando7480.839.428.919.718.8
Cleveland106115.655.630.814.227.2

LeBron James makes good on promise

LeBron James made it clear this game was pretty important for him and his team before the game. There had to be the feeling that he was going to come out with a little bit of anger and intensity on his mind.

Oh boy.

James scored 16 of his 29 points in the first quarter, setting a tone for the Cavaliers. That matched the Magic’s first quarter total and the Cavaliers just had things rolling from there.

LeBron is LeBron. He is going to put up some really gaudy numbers. He noted he needed to be a better leader before the game and show the Cavaliers how to be great and he did that tonight. James attacked the basket and dictated the offense. He ended with 11 assists and made 9 of 17 shots. It was a quintessential LeBron James performance.

The Magic could do nothing with him. Their defense is still too much in development to handle James when he is turned up to 12 like he was tonight.

Magic shooting struggles continue

Orlando had a nice run of offense with made 3-pointers and great ball movement. Against the Cavaliers’ weak defense, it seemed the Magic might get a little bit of respite. But Cleveland awoke and played like the team it was expected to be all along.

Still, the Magic’s offense continued to have its struggles that carried over from the Heat game and even early against the Hornets. Orlando shot 36.3 percent from the floor and 5 for 17 from beyond the arc. The Magic just struggled to get efficiency shooting.

Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo each shot 8 for 15 from the floor. Both contributed well on the boards too. That is about all you can say positive.

Maurice Harkless got the start to handle James and went 1 for 7 from the floor. Channing Frye was 1 for 4. Evan Fournier was 2 for 9. Willie green was 1 for 7. And Elfrid Payton was 2 for 7. This was just not going to be the night for Orlando to convert on the offensive end. And against a team with so many weapons like the Cavaliers, that is going to spell trouble.

But the defense is more concerning

The Cavaliers are a team with a ton of offensive potential. But the Magic are struggling to create their defensive identity that they professed for much of the offseason and early season.

The Cavaliers shot 51.9 percent from the floor. And, really, outside James, no one played that spectacular. It was an even, balanced effort from Cleveland with LeBron stirring the drink.

Orlando though has had defensive struggles throughout the season. The team’s defensive rating entering the game was a 104.7. That is really in line with last year’s number, but this team was expected to be a little bit better. Or at least make some more strides.

The defensive effort has been a bit uneven so far this season. The Magic have had only three games where they have held opponents below a point per possession. And just four games where they have been below that 104.7 average. Certainly a small sample size plays a role.

But the Magic are not getting the defensive identity they want to have. Not consistently at least.

This team relying on offense is a risky proposition. The offense is figuring to be pretty streaky and right now the Magic are on a down streak offensively. That could spell trouble for this young team as they try to find their way out.

This is one game though. Against a team with a superstar that will bounce back and be a Playoff team. So a blowout is bad, but it is only bad if it happens again Wednesday night.