Cavaliers, Magic Tangle In Game 5
The Cleveland Cavaliers will host the Orlando Magic at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first round on Tuesday.

The Cavaliers looked in complete control of the series following the first two games in Cleveland, and the chances of a sweep following two games in Orlando looked realistic based on the difference between both teams early in the series. However, the Cavaliers left their offense back home, failing to reach the 100-point mark in the subsequent two games and allowing the Magic to recover to tie the series two wins apiece. The Cavaliers will need to find a spark in Game 5 at home because otherwise, they could be in line for a shocking exit in the first round despite flirting with a Top 3 seed during most of the regular season. The Cavaliers will hope some of their key players will bounce back from ugly games in Game 4, but for the most part, they need Donovan Mitchell to be better. Mitchell produced 18 points (5-14 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 7-7 FT), one rebound, six assists and three steals over 36 minutes during Saturday's 112-89 loss, but it’s worth noting he went scoreless in the second half.

The Magic are carrying all the momentum into a pivotal Game 5 on the road. Even though the team looked flat and overmatched in the first two games of the series, they found some much-needed new life after returning home and winning both games relatively easily. Winning on the road might be hard for the Magic, but if they can steal a win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, they could have an excellent chance of closing things out in front of their fans in Game 6. For that to happen, though, the Magic must be much better on offense. They looked poor in the first two games of the series, and while their shooting numbers were going to come back to normalcy, they need to translate their performance from Game 4 into Game 5. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner will ultimately carry the team on the road, but the Magic showed they have enough weapons to put up a fight in the series, something that didn’t look realistic in the first two contests in Cleveland.
Posted on: 4/28/2024 11:56 AM