On day one of the 2024 NBA playoffs, the first game to tip off was the Orlando Magic facing off against the home team Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland has had playoff experience, getting bounced out in round one by the Knicks last year. They were thoroughly out-played and got bullied and tossed around by a tougher and more physical team. That experience for this group is most certainly in their minds as they face-off against the Magic. Orlando doesn’t have that playoff experience, which is absolutely a factor in this series. Both teams are young though, with the Magic having an average player age of 24 and the Cavaliers having an average age of 27. Orlando, however, has a 21 year old superstar on their team named Paolo Banchero.
Throughout the regular season, neither Banchero nor the team as a whole received much attention from the media and that is something that fuels them. Banchero averaged 22.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists on the season, and has clearly shown that he will be a force in the eastern conference for a long time. His co-star, Franz Wagner, has also blossomed into a legitimate star player and the perfect second option for Orlando. Wagner is active on the defensive end and has a knack for playmaking to go along with his three level scoring threat. Throughout the regular season, Orlando was elite defensively and very middle of the pack offensively. With defenders like Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Issac, Wendell Carter Jr, Markelle Fultz, and the activity of Banchero and Wagner on that end, defense was never an issue. For coach Jamahl Mosley’s team, that was exactly the case in game 1 against the Cavs.
Orlando only put up 83 points against Cleveland on Saturday, and that is absolutely a problem that needs to be addressed. However, they also held Cleveland to under 100 points, which shows that their elite defense has translated to the playoffs. The Magic simply could not buy a bucket, shooting only 35% from the field as a team. Banchero and Wagner were the only players who contributed offensively in that game, and they should be expected to continue that production given how they have played in the regular season and game one. For the Magic, the key is how their role players perform offensively. Suggs will always be an elite and pesky defender, but when he shoots 4-16 from the field that is hardly a winning formula. Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony combined to go 0-11 and Gary Harris went 0-6. That offensive performance is not going to happen again and the fact that Orlando only lost by 14 after that putrid shooting night is frankly impressive.
For Cleveland, the key is to continue playing lockdown defense. Last year their bigs faltered on the playoff stage against Mitchell Robinson and the Knicks’ physicality. So far this playoff series looks different, with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen making huge impacts rebounding, scoring, and defending at a high level. Orlando’s shooting performance was an anomaly for how bad it was, but Cleveland still needs credit for their defensive performance. Mobley had 3 blocks, Allen had 18 rebounds and 2 steals, and Donovan Mitchell had 3 steals, and the team as a whole had an absurd 86.6 defensive rating. Another huge factor for Cleveland is how Evan Mobley will play offensively. In game one, he showed signs of an offensive emergence, looking smooth and rhythm and even hitting two threes. If Mobley has a coming out party in this series, it will be near impossible for the Magic to win.
Fans of the Orlando Magic have no need to panic just yet. They have two stars in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner that will carry them offensively. Its up to players like Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Mo Wagner and the rest of the role players to win them this series though. Orlando has had offensive struggles all season and that can’t happen more than a couple times in this series. Their defense can only take them so far. The good thing is that Suggs has massively improved as a three point shooter this season and for the rest of the role players they can only go up from that first performance. Game two is crucial to make a statement for the Magic.