OMD Roundtable: Key to the Orlando Magic's series with the Cleveland Cavaliers and staff picks
OMD Roundtable: Keys to the Series & Staff Predictions
Brandon Daniels: Jalen Suggs vs. Donovan Mitchell
How effective will Jalen Suggs and the Orlando Magic's defensive backcourt be in stopping Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland?
That is the X-Factor in a series against two fairly similar rosters.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' biggest edge is in its high-volume scoring duo of Mitchell and Garland. Hot nights by either or the two (or both, for that matter) could be an easy way for this series to get out of hand.
Mitchell has games of 57, 51, 45 and 44 in his postseason career (Garland also added a 32-point performance in last year’s first round). Mitchell, at least, is proven in the Playoffs.
On top of this, the Cavaliers are a more dangerous team from beyond the arc. One thing they tried to do to make life easier for Mitchell and Garland in the Playoffs is to bring in shooters like Max Strus and Georges Niang to give the guards more space to drive.
For a young team in Orlando with no playoff experiences out of their stars, it will be huge for the backcourt to step up defensively to limit a 40-plus point outburst from a guy with ample playoff experience.
With that said, I do not see this going more than six games in favor of Cleveland. Both teams’ defenses cancel each other out as a huge advantage, and in terms of star power, Mitchell’s playoff experience should be enough to carry his squad over Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner in close games.