Cavs’ greatest weapon has abandoned them in playoff series with Magic

After two humiliating road losses in the opening round against the Orlando Magic, the Cleveland Cavaliers are lost. The Cavs will find their way home to host the Magic for Game 5 of this opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series, but they're lost on offense against Orlando. Cleveland has been unable to rely on one of its greatest weapons: Three-point shooting, which has hindered the Cavs from the moment the playoffs began, even while building a commanding 2-0 lead over the Magic.

Cavs can't hit the blindside of a barn door

Of all the teams participating in the first round, no one is shooting worse from three-point range than the Cavs, who are connecting on 26.7% of their three-point attempts. This hurts even more when knowing that Cleveland has taken the third-most in the playoffs, with 217 three-point attempts across five games.

Those numbers are a stark contrast for a Cavs team that finished 15th in three-point percentage, hitting on 36.7% of their attempts while taking the eighth-most in the NBA at 3,016. But, clearly, regular-season success doesn't translate to postseason results, especially after Cleveland made a concerted effort to add shooting last offseason.

“Call a spade a spade,” said veteran forward Georges Niang after the Cavs' disastrous Game 4 loss on Saturday. “Either we are not shooting the ball well, or we are not in the right position. We kind of have to figure that out as a collective group.”

Niang was one of the three-point shooting threats the Cavs brought in to give a shot in the arm on the perimeter. The same goes for Max Strus, who Cleveland moved heaven and earth to acquire from the Miami Heat in free agency.

During the regular season, Niang hit 37.6% of his 2.9 three-point attempts per game, while Strus connected on 35.1% of his 3.6 three-point attempts per game. While both players give more than just three-point shooting for Cleveland, their marksmanship is their greatest on-court attribute.

Unfortunately, in the playoffs, the numbers aren't as solid as they have been in the regular season. In four games against the Magic, Niang has connected on 9.1% of his 2.8 three-point attempts per game. Strus, meanwhile, has only hit on 17.6% of his 4.7 attempts per game. Donovan Mitchell (25.0%) and Caris LeVert (23.1%) are also firing bricks from deep. In fact, Darius Garland is the only regular rotation player shooting over 30% from three-point range in this series, with the sparingly used Sam Merrill 3-of-6 from long distance.

The Magic have done a phenomenal job defending the Cavs on the perimeter and have the personnel to make three-point chances as difficult as possible. However, Cleveland is limited on the perimeter, which directly influences Orlando's game plan since the Magic aren't the greatest three-point shooting team either.

During the playoffs, Orlando has taken the most three-pointers but has only connected on the 11th-most, shooting 31.1% from beyond the arc. Those percentages and attempts have been juiced while the Magic have played at home. On paper, the Cavs have the personnel to outshoot the Magic, and perhaps Merrill gets a longer look at some point to add more shooting on the court. But if Orlando limits these attempts, how can Cleveland find offensive stability?

Well, as easy as it seems, it requires putting pressure on the rim.

All series long, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley have consistently been the Cavs' greatest performers against the Magic. Both Allen and Mobley thrive in creating pressure on the basket, which, in turn, allows Cleveland to play to their strength shooting-wise, forcing opponents to try to defend all over the floor at once.

Thankfully, the Cavs will play Game 5 at home, where they haven't lost yet this postseason. But if they build on offense in the paint, it should let guys like Niang, Strus and even Mitchell find their mark on the outside, leading to a recipe for success.