Cleveland displayed in game one against Orlando that the Magic will need to play outside their comfort zone to topple the Cavaliers in round one.
The first game of a series always feels like an introduction into who a team wants to be in the postseason, typically building off of the strengths they excelled in the regular season and avoiding their weaknesses. If Game 1 was any indication of the Orlando Magic, then simply the Cleveland Cavaliers knew who they thought Orlando was and it showed not only in the defensive scheme but also with the results.
Orlando entered the postseason as the league’s most interior-oriented offense. Orlando took 38.5% of their shot attempts this season at the rim. While having middling efficiency (14th in efficiency at the rim, just above league average) this was where the Magic felt they were most capable offensively throughout the regular season. Most of their identity starts and ends with their offensive engines in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
The Magic also struggled mightily from the perimeter and were well aware of that fact ranking 27th in frequency while only converting on 35.6% of those looks (25th).
In Game 1, the Cavaliers planned around offensive struggles and forced Orlando’s hand by crashing on drives and begging the Magic players to shoot their way into the lead. Orlando still tried to get to the rim to keep their offensive identity intact. The Magic still generated 40% of their looks at the rim. But it felt forced on more possessions than in the natural flow of the game.
One thing to note for Orlando, they have worked to attack matchups with Paolo Banchero have to set the screens to get Cleveland to react. A lot of slips, no shows and weakside gets to stay home. Have to keep that on the table in this series. pic.twitter.com/Ek1ormAIHY
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) April 20, 2024
Orlando has to make quicker decisions, Cleveland is working on defense. No show on the first screen, it’s a fake to get to a handoff on the second side and Merrill slides under. Advance and you see the weakside help on the roll. Cleveland helping on drives well. pic.twitter.com/S6VXkqNILA
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) April 20, 2024
The possession above illustrates the Cavaliers emphasizing preventing clean looks when driving to the rim. When the ball swings to Markelle Fultz and he drives he is enveloped immediately by Isaac Okoro and Evan Mobley with Georges Niang also adding to the congestion in the paint. When Fultz is forced to pass out to the weak side, it generates a clean look for Banchero who doesn’t convert well from the corner three only converting on 25% of his looks during the regular season.
Tempo for Orlando has to go up on offense. Cleveland is active and working to contain the paint but you can’t let them load up like this. Notice Okoro sells out to take the drive, Niang closes out to wing, Okoro flows to the corner. Have to find the gaps. pic.twitter.com/hhoB0Ap8dz
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) April 20, 2024
Orlando’s efficiency overall was abysmal, solely because when Cleveland shut the water on their downhill offense, they had to rely on their main offensive weakness, perimeter shooting. At times, it felt the Magic went into a possession with the mentality of breaking the Cavaliers’ interior wall, but when met with the physicality Cleveland brought to game one, had to resort to hoisting a three-pointer.
It was apparent the Cavaliers were comfortable with the Magic shooting open looks from three and the Magic simply would rather do anything else. The Magic as a whole shot 3-11 (27.3%) from the corner in Game 1 and the Cavaliers were playing like that’s where they wanted to funnel the Magic’s offense.
Orlando shot just 21.6% from three. When the offensive scheme that allowed for the most success gets clogged up early, how do you respond to being punched first? For the Magic, it appears the Cavaliers found a way to muck up their offense. Cleveland excelled in game one siphoning the offense for Orlando by forcing them to make the three-pointers they were allowing. For players like Wagner, Banchero, Gary Harris, and Jalen Suggs who combined for a staggering 5-25 from three, this is something to try and improve on in Game 2.
For the Cavaliers, it was evident that the physicality and toughness they showed got to Orlando and forced the Magic to play outside their comfort zone. For young teams like Orlando, it’s hard to adapt to on the fly especially when a series looks like a rock fight. Going forward, Cleveland needs to keep this level of aggression and attentiveness to the rim pressure for this game plan to keep proving fruitful.
The question for Orlando is how will they adjust and create more clean opportunities for them to get to their offensive strengths. Cleveland has made the first move and it’s the right one.