Recap: Magic 109, Cavs 104 (Make or Miss League)

Last night the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t buy a bucket, shooting only 40.2% and 27.3% from three, losing to the equally hapless Magic 109-104. Kevin Love and Darius Garland shot a combined 4-18 from three, but impacted the game in other ways, especially in their offensive ball movement combining for over half (16) of the Cavs’ 30 assists.  Love and DG also combined for over half (seven) of the team’s 12 steals, which is especially impressive since both of them make their marks on the game on the offensive end. But the name of the game is making shots, and they just couldn’t get it going despite the offense generating a lot of open looks at three. Let’s dive in on last night’s takeaways…

Game ball: Mfiondu Kabengele

It was a banner night for the 23 year old former FSU Seminole, who turned in a stellar performance off the bench, with an efficient eight points (3-4 FGs, 2-3 3pt FGs), three rebounds, and two assists in only 11 minutes of action. He impacted the game on both ends of the court, spacing the floor with his jumper as well as bringing in some much needed defensive energy. It’s a shame that Coach JB Bickerstaff didn’t reward Kabengele with a few more minutes since he was one of the precious few Cavs able to hit a three.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTcqNJ0vMEo

Honorable Mentions: Cedi Osman and Darius Garland

Cedi the Jedi did another admirable job in a spot start again, with an efficient 19 points (6-13 FGs, 6-6 FTs) in spite of going 1-5 from three. He also collected four rebounds and three assists. Cedi also helped the team post an elite defensive rating while he was on the court (105.6).

While casual fans and box score watchers would say DG had a crappy game, the advanced stats show that DG had a better game than one might think. The best thing about DG’s game last night was his ability to maintain his unselfishness (23.8 assist ratio) in spite of an insanely high usage rate (33.0%). DG was also the sole starter with a positive net rating (+1.3), driving the offense to a higher offensive rating than average (107.1 vs. 105.4) as well as contributing to elite team defense (105.9).

Unfortunately, what DG will remember most is an awful turnover in crunch time that assured defeat for the Cavs. He was caught up in his matchup with another NBA legacy point guard, Cole Anthony, son of Greg Anthony. Anthony got the best of DG in this matchup scoring the go ahead bucket with under a minute left, and in an attempt to outdo Anthony, DG tried a terrible pass into traffic that he was forced into because he had left his feet. The tough loss should drive DG to improve his crunch time decision making.

Notes on the Magic

All credit to the Magic for coming out strong and hanging on for the win in spite of losing the turnover battle (15-11) and assist battle (30-26). Watching the Magic, the first thing that stands out is their length and athleticism. They have a bunch of young, bouncy athletes that can jump out of the gym. Their defensive speed and length clearly had an impact on the Cavs’ offense.

Two guys to keep an eye out for are the aforementioned Cole Anthony as well as Auburn product Chuma Okeke. Both played great games, scoring 36 points combine on very efficient shooting. As it was said earlier, Anthony got the best of DG in crunch time and Okeke dominated the defensive end with five stocks.

Next up, Wizards

The Cavs will get a chance for a little payback in hosting the Washington Wizards tomorrow evening, and it would be doubly sweet to end the four game losing streak against a scorching hot play-in team. Until then, GO CAVS!