3 Keys to an Orlando Magic Playoff Series with the Cleveland Cavaliers
By Alfred Ezman
3 Keys to an Orlando Magic Playoff Series with the Cleveland Cavaliers
What Offense will Step Up More?
The Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers are two teams that depend upon their defense for their success. As for their offenses, they both rank in the bottom half of the league in efficiency at 23rd (the Magic at 113.0 points per 100 possessions) and 16th (the Cavs at 114.8) respectively. So the question becomes, which offense can pick up the slack down the stretch?
The two wins the Cavaliers had were marked with 120-plus point performances. This came on shooting nights where they were better than 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point land. On Jan. 22 in particular, they shot an astonishing 52.6 percent from three and took 38 three-pointers. If they can repeat that kind of success, they will be a hard team to stop for the Magic.
On the flipside, the Magic also had a hot three-point shooting night on Feb. 22 as the Cavs did a month before. They went 56 percent from behind the arc while taking 25 shots. Their field goal rate in both wins was 45-plus percent.
The Cavaliers should have that edge. But their offense has struggled since Donovan Mitchell left the lineup with a knee injury on March 1, the Cavs have an offensive rating of 111.6 points per 100 possessions. His return has not helped matters much as the Cavs have struggled going 8-11 during that stretch.
So, the big question is can either of these highly defensive teams get their own offenses going at the right time. Depending upon who does, that team could come out on top in this series.