Live Thread: Cavs vs. Magic
2015-11-23
The Magic travel to the chilly shores of Lake Erie tonight to take on the Cavs. Cleveland will have to contend without Mo Wiliams, who has been ruled out , while Delly is nursing a sore leg. Matt will reportedly “gut it out.” Timofey Mozgov is expected to be out for up to two weeks with shoulder strain, and Tristan Thompson will start in his place.
Orlando is at full strength. Look for Victor Oladipo to improve tonight after a lackluster couple of games following his return from the NBA’s concussion protocol. At 6-7, Orlando is no slouch, and with depth at the wing and the guard spots, they seem like the type of team that could give the Cavs trouble, given Cleveland’s current injury woes. Frenchman Evan Fournier has been tearing it up so far this year, scoring an eye opening 19.5 points per game in 38 minutes a night with shooting splits of 45%/38%/80%. (Warning, DO NOT image search Fournier). Orlando features five double digit scorers in their starting lineup: Nik Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Fournier, Oladipo, and Elfrid Payton, with Aaron Gordon playing the sixth man roll.
Key to beating the Magic will be outscoring their bench and limiting their transition and inside looks. Orlando has been running as many as 12 players in a game, so managing pace and controlling the ball will be paramount. Their bench features Channing Frye, Shabazz Napier, Jason Smith, Dewayne Dedmon, and rookie “Super” Mario Hezonja. These guys thrive off turnovers and easy baskets, but can struggle to score in the half court.
With fairly weak defenders at the power forward spot, if Kevin Love can get it going inside, he should have a decided advantage. Go Cavs.
Recap is up, fyi.
Our Twolve friends are playing like they want to spoil Sixers’ season. (i.e., give them a win)
The Twolves tried their best, but looks like the Sixers are gonna pull out the loss. They are on a mission.
Blatt saying Delly’s leg getting bad. He might not play next 2 games.
If Mo is back, then I bet he sits him….
Really unbelievable how the injuries keep piling up.
Is this for real? I begrudgingly missed chunks of this game. If so, who do we have to sacrifice to the basketball gods to get them off our backs? At this point, I’m not above blood sacrifice…
That’s a big hit, if so.
Tristan with 14 boards like it ain’t no thang
POST GAME INTERVIEW WITH RJ WAS GREAT —SO GLAD WE PICKED HIM UP NOT ONLY FOR HIS FLOOR SKILLS BUT ALSO GREAT TEAMMATE / LOCKERROOM PERSON —BELIEVE HE COULD BE A GOOD COACH / COLOR COMMENTATOR SOME DAY
He’s a real talker. Did you see the preseason game where he joined Fred and AC? The only thing he needs to learn is when to zip it so they can cut to commercials.
I really enjoyed his interview. Very knowledgeable. Someone get him a dang Super Hero sandwich!!
My one complaint and i know i am harping on this is i wish we played the starters less. Kind of think even with the injuries james shouldn’t be playing more than 32 minutes a night unless we are playing a west playoff team or the bulls, hawks, or heat. Love at 34 and kyrie when he comes back at 33. I will take the losses that come with that. In my mind better to put starters back in at the end if the game gets close than panic and keep them in in a 16 point game with 5… Read more »
They weren’t hard minutes… plus it really looked to me like LBJ was trying some stuff out there for future reference…
True, I wonder if It is Jame’s decision or Blatt’s. For instance the other night when Jame’s double digit streak was possibly in jeopardy i could see a player trying to protect that, but i dunno. Also especially, after James took that fall tonight, call me a nervous nelly, but damn that scared the crap out of me. That’s the type of fall where most mortals have a high chance of breaking their elbow, hip, or wrist.
Has to be Bron’s decision… Doubt Blatt would have kept him in there… Yes, it was a scary fall, and Bron did sit out for a while after that (I think he only logged like 15 minutes in the first half)
^ yep what EG said. If there’s something I could complain in this game (though it’s almost zero) is that we let them to a hundred points..
Yeah, that’s what I would complain about also (if I had to complain at all). Cavs let the Magic bench go all scrub-atomic in the first half before clamping down in the second…
Can this be accurate? 44 points in paint, 13 made FT, and 54 points from 3 (18 made)= 111 points. They scored 117, so only 3 baskets that weren’t from 3 or in the paint. Pretty damn efficient.
Super efficient game… efficiency has definitely been something LBJ has stressed this season…
Season high 34 assists tonight… awesome!
Ninja should be doing the Mikan drill at practice with two or three lefty shots for every right-handed shot.
I was too harsh on MDN. Now that I see what complete garbage looks like in Joe Harris, I find Cunningham’s amiability a refreshing thing to see on the court.
Yeah, it’s tough because he’s had a hard time finishing, and can’t seem to draw a foul, but the Ninja does at least bring energy and defense, where Joe brings very little to the floor on either end…
Yea Joe is useless. I still don’t think Cunningham gets off the bench much when the others come back though.
For sure, but he looks like he can be a much more useful stop-gap piece than JH for injury, rest or foul trouble reasons…
I like MDN.
On Joe tho.. Despite having a reputation as a guy who can shoot from college, he seems to have an inconsistent release on his shot. And I never really saw another very good game from him since early part last year when he scored like 12 points and Lebron called him an “integral” part of the team’s success.. Lol.
Neither of them are good, Smokin’ Joe just has the contract advantage. I like MDN better, but meh.
I’m a sucker for players who play with energy and defensive intensity… MDN does both, even though his shot isn’t great. He definitely seems like he could be groomed into a Shump-esque type of player though…
He also know what he’s doing on offense with his passing and movement. He’s in the flow of the game.
Same here. A guy who seems to want to learn, and playing with something to prove without going outside the structure (no not you Dion..) and still contributing. A guy like that would definitely have a place in a roster.
Cunningham is intense. He fights so hard on defense. I have never seen that in Harris.
Harris sucks, no argument.
Ninja literally got no calls at the rim today
Yeah, he got fouled a lot going to the rack…
Wow, Joe Harris with two brilliant plays already. This guy is terrible.
Good lord joe…
MDN shoulda flushed there.
After love three starters out now
Why can’t we have hard minute caps for starters like the spurs? Sure we might lose a few more games but who cares during the reg season?
35 still isn’t bad especially given their depth issues due to injury… also, it felt like LBJ was out there working on some stuff (kind of like a starting pitcher working on adding pitches during a regular season game with the lead).
eventhough its a november game, I love it, the Cavs are 18-33 , 55% on 3’s. That is ridiculous
Ninja has a nice floor game.
If he just cleans up a few mental mistakes… he’ll be a real asset off the bench…
Tristan is starting to learn to pass when he crosses the lane instead of always shoot. A sign that he is much more comfortable
JR SWISH!!
Seriously. UGH. I get it. No Delly, you have to keep Bron in, but lord, I don’t like it.
He’s barely playing tho. Literally playing assist man from the top of the key and walking around.
Sounds like how Kaun plays so why not let him in?? Lol kidding..
We want Kaaaauuuunnnn!!!
Bron has still only played 33 mins… wonder if he played longer with Delly having the calf issue…
Please let the zoo crew come in.
Ball movement leads to the SWISHHH
Ok, NOW take out LeBron. Please?
Seriously, why we still got starters in.
Touchdown, Cavs!
Just looked it up, best stat of the night, Orlando had 17 points off of 8 Cavs turnovers in the first half, and so far in 18 minutes in the second half we have 0 turnovers. Now thats a transformation
Whoever wrote the live thread intro said that was key.
Hahahaa I wonder who wrote that!! :D
Pretty smart individual… ;)
And your last sentence turned out to be so true.
31 assists on 39 made shots ?
This would take being the stat of the night for me compared to what I just wrote.
I really like how JR stepped up this week offensively and defensively, in the absence of all our other guards.
Hezonja looks like he has a dead muskrat on his head.
And muskrats are hard to find these days…
Seriously. Worst hair in the NBA?
That or Vasquez. No, Vasquez #2.
Heyward’s Hitler Youth cut is pretty awful.
Hayward’s Hitler hairdo always makes me feel ill…
HAHA. Just got that. Nice. For a minute there, I lost myself.
That’s what you’ll get… when you mess with us….
Cavs have broken the 30 barrier with 31 assists already…
Lebron sit yo a$$ down ;)
Yeah, THIS would be the time to walk off and get a T.
I dont think Cavs have any TO’s in the second half, which would be great news after having 7/8 in da first half
Aaron Gordon is like that D Lineman who flexes after sacking the backup QB in the fourth quarter when his team is being boatraced by 30…
Small victories for the Orlando Magic
lebron gets bodies up by two defenders? No foul…they touched the ball cuz he couldn’t elevate with two sets of hands pulling him down
Get Delly in for that double double
Yep. 8 rebounds already in 12 mins for Andy. Who’s washed up now??
Yeah, it’s fun to Tweet that @FTS…
I was thinking on posting this same thing, in comparison TT has 13 in 29 minutes
Delly needs a double double
This is the young gun squad at the Y that is getting smoked by the old men.
MDN SHOULD BE WITH “COACH ” JONES EVERYDAY ON HIS JUMPER —-IMPROVES THAT AND HIS LEFT HAND “HANDLES –HE IS A KEEPER
104 points and 7:30 left.
Ninja aint trying be on any poster lol
THis on FSN? Wow blowing Orlando out big
Ok, time to take out LeBron.
Just toying with the Magic now. Can we sub out bron yet?
Lebron just having fun out there lol
CHALUPAS!!!
I dont even know how RJ get that layup to go
Andy doing Andy things out on the court…
Lebron is Loving Andy so much right now