Going to the Big(ger) Dance: Cavs-Magic, Behind the Box Score

Cleveland Cavaliers (49-19) 109
Orlando Magic (29-39) 103
Box Score

Cleveland Cavaliers fans would be forgiven for not making Friday’s rendezvous with the Orlando Magic appointment television. Unless you were one of the dozens of Cavs fans in attendance, a March matchup was probably not circled, starred, and replete with event reminders on your calendar. It was a routine game short on subplots, significance, and intrigue. Plus, there were three or so NCAA Tournament games it was competing with; it was a Friday night, which is a big deal to people with social lives (so your trusty and dependable author is told); or you may have been too emotionally drained from your St. Patrick’s Day hangov- err, I mean tummy ache (three corned beef sandwiches can really do a number on the ‘ol GI tract) to focus on mid-tier NBA basketball.

But let me (your trusty and dependable author) provide a short list of reasons to watch this particular March Friday Cavs game against the Orlando Magic: your bracket’s already thrashed and college basketball is an inferior product (anyone up for some sub-50 basketball???); your Friday night date is just not that into you, plus he/she has two cats, and we all know to be wary of multi-cat people; and nothing cures hangov- err, I mean tummy aches better than professional basketball of moderate quality (not so exciting to make you queasy, not too dull to let your mind wander to your ailing body).

Finally, the Cavs had a chance to clinch a playoff spot (which they did), and after the horror show that was the 2010-14 seasons, it’s important not to take these small landmarks for granted. For as exciting as the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament is, half of the champions feel like total flukes, whereas the NBA Playoffs are a grueling trial of will and skill. If March Madness is The Big Dance, the NBA Playoffs are The Bigger Dance: bigger stage, bigger series, bigger stakes, and even bigger players. And the Cavs are going! So that’s fun. But let’s go behind the box score and see how they stamped their ticket to the Bigger Dance.

45 – Third-year Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo erupted for 45 points against the Cavs on Friday, a career high and the most points the Cavs have forfeit to one player since (astoundingly) February 2008 (!), when Manu Ginobili scored 46 points against the Cavaliers.

You need to doff your cap to Oladipo, who shot a blistering 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) and 6-of-7 (as a career 33.4 percent three-point shooter, no less) on Friday. Oladipo has never been advertised as a shooter, but I’ll be damned if he could miss on Friday. Though the Cavs don’t allow many 30 or 40 point scorers, it is concerning that small, quick guards seems to give the Cavs fits. They made Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea look like Young Kobe Bryant on Wednesday, and Toronto Raptor Kyle Lowry stomped on the Cavs heart while scoring 43 points just a few weeks ago.

The Cavs finally started to, you know, try making Oladipo’s shots less easy (a novel concept, I know) in the fourth quarter, as Oladipo only had six points in the fourth and was forced to pass by Cavs ball pressure. Matthew Dellavedova guarded Oladipo for much of his spell in the fourth, but it was really a team effort. But even in the third quarter, Cavalier defenders like Iman Shumpert were sagging off Oladipo and going under screens, giving Oladipo more space than a midwestern prairie to shoot a jumper — which he would inevitably make. Channing Frye once showed hard on a pick-and-roll, but then let Oladipo run around him, which not only defeated the purpose of showing, but also caused Frye to effectively screen his own teammate, a trailing Shumpert. I wasn’t sure anyone on the Cavs felt challenged to stop Oladipo. The real credit goes to Magic coach Scott Skiles, who sat Oladipo for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter even as Oladipo was having the game of his life. In any event, it might be a fatal flaw that the Cavs can’t defend something as simple and commonplace as the high pick-and-roll with these small, quick guards.

I don’t think it’s a shot below the belt to mention that Oladipo was drafted second overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, just one pick behind Cavs selection Anthony Bennett, who has since washed out of the league and become a candidate for the worst draft pick (or even just “choice”) made by anyone in anything ever.

10 – Kyrie “HE NEEDS TO PASS IT MORE ARGH!” Irving scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Cavs regain the lead after a third quarter in which they were outscored 32-20. Yes, fans (and players) like to complain that he doesn’t pass the ball enough. The guy is a natural scorer, though. Does anyone in U2 tell Bono to pass the ball more (metaphorically)? No, they don’t. They let Bono do his thing. And when LeBron James goes to the bench, Kyrie Irving needs to be Bono. Irving scored 10 points (and even had two assists!) in the quarter. He finished with 26 points and five assists (including the nice pocket pass in the clip below) with a .529/.667/1.000 shooting slash. He even played nice defense on Ersan Ilyasova (6-10) in the post once in the fourth quarter. So what are we gonna complain about today?

https://vine.co/v/ideM7vTu5pO

9 & 10 – Another Cavalier had a big fourth quarter, and it was probably not the candidate you’d expect [insert Trump joke]. Thompson had 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter alone, including four offensive rebounds. Thompson even scored in the fourth, and he never does that! (Nine points worth, to be exact.) He was also active on defense. Thompson finished with 11 points and 15 rebounds. It would be an immense help if Thompson could actually become a productive offensive player, but as-is he’s one of the most annoying players in the league for opposing teams — no one in the league wants to be in the war zone with a rabid Thompson trying in vain to get a defensive rebound from the Cavs in the fourth quarter.

https://vine.co/v/idednQaF5mB

18, 7, 8 – LeBron James perfunctorily posted another 18 point, seven rebound, eight assist game. James produces 15-7-7 games like I use a Xerox machine or ignore my boss’s emails, and so, in that regard, it was just another day at the office for James. He only shot 6-of-15 from the field and insisted on missing three three-pointers though, so I guess it was good that Irving was aggressive in the fourth quarter.

4-of-6 – Channing Frye made four of his six three-point attempts, some tasty revenge against his former team that he deeply despises after their acrimonious split and treacherous betrayal. (Actually, I have heard nothing indicating Frye and the Magic are anything other than neutral toward one another, but my revenge fantasy sounded much cooler.) Frye has exceeded my expectations of his shooting, shooting 21-of-44 on catch-and-shoot opportunities since joining the Cavs, the 10th highest effective field goal percentage (70.5) in the NBA during that span. Here’s Frye knocking one down after James found him open in the corner.

https://vine.co/v/idep3T2X6OF

It was an uneven game in which the Cavs showed only mild interest, but they did what they had to win the game. Now for the despicable Miami Heat on Saturday night.