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Key: Goin' Streaking
After nearly blowing an 18-point lead and holding off the Celtics for the win in Tuesday’s opener, the Wine & Gold – both starters and second unit – really put it all together in Friday night’s road win over the Bucks.
In the second half of their first back-to-back of the campaign is a squad the Wine & Gold has completely owned over the past few years as they look to win their franchise-long winning streak over the Magic to 18 straight. Orlando hasn’t beaten the Cavaliers since November 23, 2012 (although that was their 10th straight win over Cleveland) and Frank Vogel’s squad comes to The Q tonight looking to snap the skid and earn their second win of the season.
The Magic dropped Miami in their home opener before falling to the Nets, 126-121, on Friday night in Brooklyn.
The Cavaliers were razor sharp over the final three quarters in Milwaukee. On the night, Tyronn Lue’s team shot 54 percent, went 17-for-17 from the stripe and got a combined 45 points from their bench.
Key: Changing of the Guard
Coach Lue has had to make several changes to his rotation from a season ago – still a work in progress – and he’ll have another lineup change to deal with on Saturday night after Derrick Rose sprained his left ankle early in the fourth quarter in what should have been a flagrant foul on Friday in Milwaukee.
With Rose on the shelf, the Cavs will turn to Jose Calderon, who’s seen just over a minute of game action through the first two games. Calderon was the first signing of the summer, viewed as an insurance policy at the time. But the 12-year veteran will get the start on Saturday night. Of course, that’s nothing new for Calderon, who’s averaged 10.9 points in 28 meetings against the Magic.
And he’ll get plenty of help on the ball, with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Iman Shumpert picking up some of those responsibilities throughout the night.
The Magic might also be without their starting point guard – with fourth-year man Elfrid Payton having to leave Friday night’s matchup in Brooklyn just before halftime with a strained left hamstring.
Key: Big Challenge
Kevin Love’s M.O. – and the team’s gameplan for him – since arriving in Cleveland has been to get his game going early.
That was definitely the case on Friday night, with Love leading the way with 11 points and three assists in the first quarter against Milwaukee. Love finished with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for his second straight double-double.
The Wine & Gold also looked for Love more down in the post, with the four-time All-Star still getting acclimated to his starting center role. Like the rest of the Cavaliers, Love has had much success against the Magic – averaging 18.4 points and 8.9 boards, with three double-doubles, in his eight meetings against Orlando in a Cleveland uniform.
After going against Al Horford in the opener and primarily Thon Maker on Friday, Love will have his hands full when the Magic roll in on Saturday.
Nikola Vucevic has had some big games against the Cavaliers, and he comes to Cleveland on the heels of a career-high 41-point outing against the Nets, going 17-for-22 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, to go with 13 boards. Through two games, the seventh-year big from USC is averaging 30.0 points and 12.5 boards per.
Key: Signs of Reign
After taking on Kyrie Irving – who sought to escape his shadow in Cleveland – and Giannis Antetokounmpo – who’s worked his way into the MVP conversation – LeBron James is no worse for the wear, leading the Wine & Gold in scoring and assists in each of the first two contests, barely missing a triple-double in the opener after piling up 16 rebounds.
In Friday night’s win over Milwaukee, the King led the Wine & Gold with 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting – (and is .629 for the season) –to go with eight helpers, five boards, one steal and a demonstrative fourth-quarter swat on the Greek Freak.
The Magic were LeBron’s first Christmas Day opponent as a rookie and they’ve been the gift that keeps giving ever since – with LeBron running his career mark to 34-15 against Orlando – winning each of his last 18 meetings dating back to 2012.
Evan Fournier, who finished with 22 points in the Magic’s Friday night loss in Brooklyn, will start out on James, but Frank Vogel – who’s done his share of game-planning against the King – will try to through different looks his way again tonight at The Q. But Fournier has also had some good offensive games against Cleveland of late – averaging 19.3 points in three meetings with the Cavs last season.
Key: Bolstered Bench
The Cavaliers knew that their bench would be a strength this season and, after combining for 25 points in Tuesday’s win, went for 45 in Friday’s victory in Milwaukee.
Kyle Korver didn’t attempt a shot against the Celtics, but he caught fire in the second quarter against the Bucks – drilling two straight bombs to give Cleveland a lead they wouldn’t relinquish just before half and drilling three straight late in the third that put the game out of reach – finishing with 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
Jeff Green, who’s played for both Boston and (most recently) Orlando, has been rock-solid in both contests with his new squad – averaging 8.0 points through the first two contests. J.R. Smith shot the ball well in the opener before struggling from the floor on Friday in Milwaukee. And Tristan Thompson has been … well … Tristan Thompson. On Tuesday, the blue collar big man finished with five points, six boards and two assists; on Friday, it was eight points and eight boards – going a combined 6-for-9 from the floor through two games.
The Magic fortified their bench in the offseason and have some solid veterans in relief. D.J. Augustin and Jonathan Simmons each notched double-figures in Friday night’s win in Brooklyn. Shelvin Mack and Bismack Biyombo have had some big outings against Cleveland in the past and, of course, they’ve seen plenty of Marreese Speights over the years.