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GameDay Preview: Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic

Game Summary

The Wine & Gold continue their five-game homestand tonight against the Orlando Magic at Quicken Loans Arena. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Cleveland (5-7) aims to snap a four-game skid after falling to the Raptors, 110-93, Saturday night at The Q.

Over the last three contests, Anderson Varejao has a pair of double-doubles and is averaging 15.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in 30.3 minutes per game over that stretch. Coming into tonight’s game, he is shooting a career-best .574 from the field, which is the highest field goal percentage in the Eastern Conference.

Orlando (6-9) could be without their second-leading scorer, Tobias Harris, who sat out Saturday's 99-92 home defeat to Miami Heat with a calf injury. Harris is averaging a career-high 18.8 points and is second on the team with 8.4 rebounds per contest.

In the Magic's loss on Saturday, Nik Vucevic recorded his NBA-best 11th double-double and fifth in a row with a career-high 33 points and 17 rebounds.

BROADCAST INFO

RADIO: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega, AM 1590 WAKR (Akron) Cavaliers Radio Network

Discuss tonight's game with other die-hard Cavs fans. Discuss

Get everything you need to know about tonight's matchup. Game Notes

Probable Starters/Status Update*presented by Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic

Status Update: Matthew Dellavedova, (Left Knee MCL Sprain, Out)

Status Update: (Magic) - Aaron Gordon, (Fractured Fifth Metatarsal, Left Foot, Out), Tobias Harris, (Strained Right Calf, Questionable)

*Subject to change

Joe G's Three Keys

1. Bench Warrant – In a pair of weekend losses, the Cavs bench was badly outplayed. Cleveland’s reserves have to find their footing this season and Monday’s matchup with Orlando would be a perfect time. Tristan Thomson led the reserves in scoring with 11 points on Saturday and with just four on Friday. The Cavaliers need Dion Waiters to rediscover the form that made him the East’s top bench scorer last year and get more production from Mike Miller, Joe Harris or even Will Cherry.

2. Mitigate Miscues – The Wine and Gold turned it over 19 times in Friday’s loss to the Wizards and 20 more in Saturday’s defeat against Toronto – giving away a combined 46 points. The Cavaliers averaged just 11 miscues per game during their four-game win streak, and they’ll need to get back to valuing possessions to snap their recent skein.

3. Cut Out the Middle Man – Tobias Harris – who missed Orlando’s previous game with a strained right calf – leads the Magic in scoring, but young big man Nikola Vucevic is the guy teams gameplan for. He leads the league with 11 double-doubles and is coming off a 33-point, 17-rebound performance against Miami. He’ll be matched up with Kevin Love for much of the night, so he’ll have to work hard on both ends. The Cavs will need to limit Vucevic’s production to stop Orlando.

Head-to-Head Matchup

This will be the first of three meetings between the Cavs and Magic but the only contest that will be played at The Q.

The Wine & Gold swept the Magic during the 2013-14 campaign (4-0) and have won seven straight games over Orlando dating back to Feb. 8, 2013. During that stretch, the Cavaliers have won by an average of 12.2 points, as they have scored 106.3 points per game to the Magic’s 94.1.

Where to Catch the Action

TV: FOX Sports Ohio, Radio: WTAM 1100, 100.7 WMMS, 87.7 FM La Mega, AM 1590 WAKR (Akron)

Tune into #CavsLive on FOX Sports Ohio starting at 6:30 p.m. to catch these topics:

  • Getting Kevin Love More involved
  • Breaking down the Varejao/Vucevic matchup
  • Fred and AC go inside the Magic lineup
  • Exclusive interview with LeBron just before tip

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike, @chones22 and @ElalcaldeRafa on Twitter.

Game Promotions

Sword Yearbook Giveaway

Toy Drive presented Yonanas - 100% Fruit Soft Serve: More Info

On Deck

After tonight’s game, the Wine & Gold will host the Washington Wizards at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. ET.