Although it’s been said far too much, the playoffs don’t truly begin until the road team wins. Neither team has lost at home in this ongoing first-round battle between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic.
So, with Orlando hosting Game 4, how can Cleveland break the trend? Well, it’s hard to imagine the Cavs make many changes with just a day between Game 3 and Game 4.
But some of it has to do with Donovan Mitchell’s efficiency, and the rest is with the Cavs having other players outside Mitchell or Jarrett Allen step up.
What can Cavs change?
While the Cavs are up 2-1 on the Magic, the recent Game 3 loss should have the team on high alert heading into a pivotal Game 4 battle. In that loss, Cleveland experienced an Orlando team that felt far more comfortable and emboldened at home to pressure the Cavs into making mistakes.
That pressure was mostly focused on Mitchell, with the Magic throwing one or both of Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris at him, forcing the ball out of the star guard’s hands. This helped spearhead a 38-point Orlando win, allowing them to get right back into this series.
The Magic clearly made adjustments, so what adjustments can the Cavs make to counteract what the Magic did? It starts and ends with Cleveland embracing the opposite of Carl Battershell and doing whatever they can to stop Orlando’s blitz.
A lot of that hinges on Darius Garland stepping up and being even a semblance of the All-Star he was two years ago. In this series, Garland’s averages of 11.3 points and 6.0 assists in 31.7 minutes per game won’t cut it, especially with Orlando seemingly not caring when he’s on the floor.
Garland plays best in matchups against the Magic when Paolo Banchero or Joe Ingles defends him. He scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting and 3-4 from the perimeter.
That’s why Orlando has tried to keep those options away from Garland. For most of this series, Garland has instead had either Suggs, Gary Harris or Cole Anthony defending him for the majority of possessions and has been held to 5-12 shooting and 3-7 from the perimeter.
So, if Cleveland wants to stop Orlando from trapping Mitchell and exploit the four-on-three matchups in front of them, it begins with the player everyone expects Garland to be. It isn’t a wholesale change, but the Cavs must be realistic with their options and make the adjustments required to right this ship and get back to Cleveland up 3-1 instead of tied at 2-2.
Garland stepping up and helping whenever Mitchell faces overwhelming pressure will also trickle down to the rest of the Cavs. Whenever the ball is in his hands, Garland is lethal when looking to create shot opportunities for others.
So, if Mitchell is under pressure and Garland is able to move the rock, then players like Max Strus, Georges Niang, Sam Merrill or even Evan Mobley could have an easier time finding a rhythm on the perimeter.
This, in turn, will force the Magic to stop focusing exclusively on Mitchell and defend the Cavs in a typical five-on-five scenario. If that were to happen, then Cleveland can continue to turn up the pressure on the defense, like they have all series long, and hopefully coast into a 3-1 lead over the Magic, looking to close things out at home.
More must-reads: