Cavs showed a toughness and physicality that held Orlando at bay.
All eyes were on Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, who, for the latter half of the season, was hampered and looked like he was using game time as physical therapy. With extended rest since last Sunday, the big question was what version of Donovan Mitchell would fans see when the postseason tipped off?
Mitchell flashed hints of greatness through various stretches of the series opener, but where it felt like the Cavaliers’ Superman was back the most was during the third quarter. As it appeared Orlando adjusted to the physicality that Cleveland played with in the first half. The Cavs offense appeared to be running dry.
Mitchell was not playing with his normal athleticism as a high flier, but he was methodical with the ball and was getting to his spots. Mitchell finished the game as the team’s leading scorer (30 points) and added to his Rolodex of playoff highlights.
— Crystal Scar (@crystalscarr21) April 20, 2024
If this is the version of Mitchell the Cavaliers will have, then this series will be much tougher for the Magic to catch Cleveland with any adjustments.
One of the major concerns for the Cavaliers’ offense heading into the 2024 postseason was the spacing and effectiveness of their two bigs. In Saturday’s battle with Orlando, it appears that both have started to recover from their nightmare of last postseason.
Mobley came out early and aggressive, while providing his now-expected three-pointer early in the first quarter, he continued the aggression throughout the first half. Mobley also reacted offensively much quicker to advantageous situations, putting himself in a great position off the switches, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Defensively, he was protecting the rim and against the likes of Paolo Banchero.
Jarrett Allen played the role of Mr. Consistent as he has done all season. Allen was a force on the boards pulling in 18 rebounds with 3 of those coming on the offensive glass. Jarrett also continued to excel off the roll and was constantly putting himself in the right spots.
The two bigs were a huge part in the Cavaliers outrebounding one of the league’s best rebounding teams. If they continue to meet the challenge throughout the series, this will be a great confidence builder for a team that can use confidence after last year’s struggles being the leading narrative for this series.
When one has thought about Niang’s role on the Cavaliers this season, it was mostly to operate as a way of drawing out the opposing teams’ bigs and spacing the floor. He spaced the floor, even though his shot wasn’t falling, but he did so with an edge and extra effort defensively, specifically in sequences when matched up with all-star forward Paolo Banchero.
It’s no secret that the Magic are a downhill type of offense and that all starts with the drives that Paolo can create. The Cavaliers as a whole did a nice job at either contesting Banchero and, in the case of Niang, matching the muscle that Banchero uses alongside finesse to get to the rim.
If Niang can hold this type of aggressiveness in this series, it would be huge for the Cavaliers who have few viable frontcourt options to pivot to in the absence of Dean Wade.
