5 Interesting Things to Think About Ahead of the Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Playoff Series

One of the commonalities between the Cavs and Magic is that both excel at scoring off cuts. Cleveland ranked No. 2 in the league this season in this department, while Orlando ranked No. 4. A difference, however, is that the Magic generate more of their points off cuts from paint touches, while the Cavs typically make their passes to cutters from outside the paint. 

Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in points scored off cuts per game, with many of those passes coming from Darius Garland, who’s very good at dropping dimes to cutters.

On the Magic side, the Wagner brothers are great cutters. Paolo Banchero, meanwhile, is one of the game’s best at locating cutters when he gets into the paint. A sneaky good facilitator, as far as finding cutters, is Joe Ingles, who, per Second Spectrum, averaged the fourth most passes to cutters per 100 possessions. 

Going into the final day of the regular season, we knew that if the Magic beat the Bucks in their last game, they would square off with either the Bucks, Cavs or Knicks in the first round. The Bucks play a lot of zone, the Knicks never play zone, while the Cavs sprinkle it in, typically, which makes this an interesting question. 

In the four regular season meetings between Orlando and Cleveland this season combined, there were 24 shots taken by the Magic while the Cavs were in a zone defense, per data. Orlando only made seven of those shots (29.2 percent), which was one of the Magic’s worst marks against any team playing zone.

In general, the Magic saw a zone defense more than any other team this season. They took a league-most 413 shots against a zone and made 44.3 percent of them, which ranked 17^th. Banchero and Franz ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in shots taken with the defense in a zone. 

The Magic took the second most shots from within five feet of the basket this season, averaging 32.4 of them per contest. The Cavs, meanwhile, were one of the best at defending shots from within close distance. 

Opponents shot just 55.5 percent against Cleveland from the paint, the third lowest mark in the league. Only Minnesota and Boston ranked higher. More specifically, from within five feet out, Cleveland’s opponents shot 63.5 percent, which ranked sixth. 

Also interesting, Cavs opponents shot just 47.6 percent near the basket on a drive, which ranked second. Orlando took the 11^th most shots near the basket on drives. Franz attempted the sixth most and Banchero 19^th most. 

Quite a fascinating stat, Caris LeVert and Max Strus, among the 97 players who were the ball-handler defender to at least 150 driving shots at the basket, ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in defensive field goal percentage in these situations, per Second Spectrum. LeVert’s was 37.3 percent and Strus’ was 39.6 percent. 

Unlike the Bucks vs. Pacers series or a potential Thunder vs. Lakers series (if L.A. ends up as No. 8 seed), where the teams involved love to run and play at a faster pace, this Cavs vs. Magic series will be one that’s played in the mud. These are two methodical and deliberate teams that want to decrease possessions for the other team. 

Cleveland’s opponents took the second-most shots with six seconds or less on the shot clock. Orlando, on the other hand, took the fourth-most shots with six seconds or less on the shot clock. Banchero and Franz each ranked in the top 10 in total shots taken with the shot clock winding down.

So to put it simply, you’re likely going to see a lot of shots taken with little time remaining on the 24-second shot clock throughout this series.

Those who watch the Magic regularly know what Jonathan Isaac has meant to this team. His defense is truly extraordinary. Opponents shot just 39 percent this season on 315 attempts when contested by Isaac. Of the 278 players who contested at least 300 shots this season, that mark ranked third overall and first among non-guards.  

The Cavs have a special defender, too. Evan Mobley is one of the best big men – not just of today, but all time – at defending in space. One could argue that nobody 6-foot-10-or-above has ever defended on an island better than Mobley. In isolation, opponents shot just 32.8 percent on 146 attempts this season with Cleveland’s 6-foot-11, 215-pounder guarding. That’s an outstanding, and unique, mark for someone his size. 

Neither Isaac nor Mobley are eligible for All-Defensive Team honors this year, however, because of the new 65-game minimum rule. Isaac finished the year playing in 58 games, while Mobley appeared in 50 games.