Despite the Cleveland Cavaliers bullying them to open this playoff series, the Orlando Magic weren't about to sing their swan song. Instead, the Magic liked their wounds and took what the Cavs have done to them all series long, which Cleveland had learned from the New York Knicks last postseason, and flipped the script.
Whenever Donovan Mitchell was on the floor for the Cavs, the Magic challenged Jalen Suggs, their top perimeter defender, to slow him down. While Suggs has been plenty effective in that role, defending him the second-most for Orlando and holding Mitchell to 50% shooting, it's what Orlando applied from Cleveland's beatings that turned things around for the Magic.
How the Magic flipped the script on Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs
On top of Suggs, the Magic would send an additional defender, trapping Mitchell and forcing the ball out of his hands. That can spell disaster for Cleveland since no one has been consistent offensively from the wing, Mitchell included. But, unlike the subpar performance the Cavs have been getting offensively on the perimeter, Mitchell has been able to take and make tough shots.
Unfortunately, in this Game 3 blowout, the worst playoff margin of victory in franchise history, Suggs and the Magic made Cleveland and Mitchell's life hell, holding him to 13 points on 6-16 shooting.
“He’s a good defender,” Mitchell said of Suggs postgame. “But they put two on the ball. I continued to try to make the right plays. . .That was their adjustment. The first two nights, they weren’t putting two on the ball. Tonight, they did to get the ball out of my hands. [I need to] figure it out and get ready for Saturday.”
But this approach allowed the Magic to execute their defensive strategy against the Cavs, forcing the ball out of Mitchell’s hands, packing the paint, and daring anyone for Cleveland to shoot over the top of them and hurt them for focusing in on only Mitchell. Unfortunately, the Cavs could not meet the challenge, shooting 15.4% from the perimeter distance in the first three quarters before Cleveland threw up the white flag and couldn’t reach the rim.
“We’re missing open shots, and it’s all of us. Not just one individual or two individuals,” Mitchell said of the Cavs' horrid shooting numbers. “Been the name of the series on both sides. Gotta find a way to score. It starts with me.”
While it's only one win for Orlando, it has given them a formula to possibly even up the series against a Cleveland team that had seemingly broken their spirit. Everything now rests on head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his coaching staff to try and beat the Magic's blitz on Mitchell, even if Bickerstaff had said in the past that they'd have a plan to combat it.
A lot of that hinges on Darius Garland stepping up and being even a semblance of the All-Star he was two years ago. Simply put, Garland's 11.3 points and 6.0 assists in 31.7 minutes per game won't cut it, especially with Orlando seemingly not caring when he's on the floor.
In matchups against the Magic, Garland has done his best when being defended by Paolo Banchero or Joe Ingles, scoring 15 points on 6-8 shooting and 3-4 from the perimeter. That's why Orlando has tried to keep those options away from Garland. For most of this series, Garland has instead had either Suggs, Gary Harris or Cole Anthony defending him for the majority of possessions and has been held to 5-12 shooting and 3-7 from the perimeter.
While Mitchell hasn't seen nearly as much Anthony, he's seen a healthy dose of Suggs and Harris, the same players holding Garland in check. But in total fairness to Garland, the trio of Suggs, Harris, and Anthony have held Mitchell to 10-23 shooting and 3-9 from the perimeter. While Mitchell's shooting numbers, like Garland's, aren't great, it's still obvious that the Magic are more focused on slowing him down and daring Garland to make a difference for the Cavs, just like the Knicks did last postseason.
So, if Cleveland wants to stop Orlando from trapping Mitchell and exploit the four-on-three matchups in front of them, it starts and ends with the player everyone expects Garland to be. It isn't a wholesale change, but the Cavs must be realistic with their options and make the adjustments required to right this ship and get back to Cleveland up 3-1 instead of tied at 2-2.
If they don't, it could get a lot worse before it gets better.
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