After an embarrassing first-round exit last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers got this year’s playoff journey off to a good start with a comfortable win over the Orlando Magic in Game 1 on Saturday. They’ll look to take full control of the series on Monday night when the teams meet again for Game 2.
The Magic, on the other hand, will hope to feel more comfortable following what was the first postseason game for their young core. As a team, they finished 28-of-86 (32.6%) from the field for their worst shooting performance of the entire season. Even for a team that can struggle to score at times, Game 1 was brutal.
Ahead of Game 2, here’s everything you need to know:
Cavaliers vs. Magic Game 2
- Date: Monday, April 22 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse — Cleveland, Ohio
- TV channel: NBA TV | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Cavaliers -5.5 | O/U 203.5
Storylines
Cavaliers: The best news for the Cavaliers in Game 1 is that Donovan Mitchell looked like his usual self again as he finished with 30 points on 11-of-21 from the field. He struggled down the stretch, failing to reach the 20-point mark in five consecutive games at one point, which is a major reason they weren’t able to grab a higher seed. They need him playing like the All-NBA version of himself if they want to win this series, and he did in Game 1. Now, can he keep it up against an elite Orlando defense?
Magic: Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner played fairly well on Saturday considering it was their first-ever playoff game, but they got no help whatsoever. Gary Harris, Joe Ingles, Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz combined to go 0-of-19 from the field and Jalen Suggs‘ 4-of-16 effort wasn’t much better. That’s simply not good enough, and the Magic need their supporting cast to be much better moving forward in this series.
Prediction
Neither team broke 100 in Game 1, which is just the type of game the Magic wanted, and they still lost by double digits. That bodes poorly for their hopes the rest of the way. I’ll take the Cavaliers to win and cover. Pick: Cavs -5.5
