Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic series: Preview, team news and our prediction
The 2024 NBA playoffs begin and an exciting clash Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic awaits us in the first round of the Eastern Conference. The 4th seed Cavaliers face the 5th seed Magic in a duel between two ambitious upcoming teams that have limited post-season experience.
Which of these sides will dominate the paint? Can the extra days of rest between matches in round one of the playoffs help the Cavaliers as they deal with injuries? Is it Banchero-time in Orlando? Here’s everything you need to know for the Cavaliers vs Magic series, as well as our prediction.
Cavaliers vs Magic series – schedule of play
As it is traditional in round one of the NBA playoffs there are extra days of rest between matches. As the higher seed the Cavaliers hold a home-court advantage. This means that if the Cavaliers vs Magic series goes to game 7 it will be played in Cleveland.
Here is the full schedule for the Cavaliers vs Magic series:
- Game 1: Magic vs. Cavaliers; Saturday, April 20 (in Cleveland)
- Game 2: Magic vs. Cavaliers; Monday, April 22 (in Cleveland)
- Game 3: Cavaliers vs. Magic; Thursday, April 25 (in Orlando)
- Game 4: Cavaliers vs. Magic; Saturday, April 27 (in Orlando)
- Game 5: Magic vs. Cavaliers; Tuesday, April 30 (in Cleveland)
- Game 6: Cavaliers vs. Magic; Friday, May 3 (in Orlando)
- Game 7: Magic vs. Cavaliers; Sunday, May 5 (in Cleveland)
* = If necessary
Cavs vs Magic is the most NBA TV bound series of all time
— Jake (@SuperiorNBA) April 14, 2024
Cavaliers vs Magic – regular season matchups
The regular season saw Cavaliers vs Magic face each other 4 times and they split the series with 2 wins each. The Cavs won games 1 and 3 of this matchup during the regular season. Both their wins were double-digit blowouts.
Magic won games 2 and 4 by 10 and 7-point margins respectively. Both teams won once at home and lost once.
Cavaliers vs Magic: Stats and Storylines
It seems that the Cavaliers vs Magic series will be decided by which team can play better defence. Both teams ranked top 10 in defensive efficiency during the regular season.
Both teams had impressive records when able to hold their opponents to below 100 points – the Magic were 21-2 in such situations, while the Cavaliers were 14-0.
The one decisive advantage the Cavaliers have is their backcourt. During the regular season 4 matches Cavaliers vs Magic the Cavs outscored Orlando on average by 15 points from beyond the arc. Not just that but the starting backcourt for the Cavaliers Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland averaged 27.3 and 26.7 points against the Magic during the regular season. At the same time, the two highest-scoring point guards on the Magic Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony averaged less than 20 points combined against Cleveland.
Cavaliers vs Magic – injury reports
Cleveland Cavalier injury report
The Cavs had many injury issues throughout the entire season. They certainly don’t enter the playoffs in the best of shape. Here is the latest injury report from their camp:
SG Donovan Mitchell – day-to-day – expected to play in game 1
PG Darius Garland – day-to-day – expected to play in game 1
SG Carles LeVert – day-to-day – late call for game 1
SG Sam Merrill – day-to-day – likely to miss game 1
PF Dean Wade – non-contact training – likely to miss game 1
Orlando Magic injury report
The Magic come into the Cavaliers vs Magic series enjoying a clean bill of health.
Cavaliers vs Magic – the main matchups
As is always come NBA playoff time every individual series tends to be decided by the specific matchups. Here is what we think are the most important matchups for the Cavaliers vs Magic series.
Mitchell – Suggs matchup
In the backcourt, the most important duel is likely to be between the main scorer of the Cavaliers Donovan Mitchell and the tall disrupted defender Jalen Suggs. If Suggs finds a way to limit Mitchell’s scoring the Magic will be in with a real chance of winning this series.
Mobley – Banchero matchup
The main battle in the Cavaliers vs Magic series is likely to take place inside the paint though. This is where the big star of Orlando and the 2022 NBA Draft number 1 pick Paolo Banchero is expected to dominate against another young talented big Evan Mobley. Mobley had a year ravaged by injuries, he played only 50 of the 82 games during the regular season.
Considering how bad Magic are shooting from a distance, they rank only 28th out of 30 teams in terms of 3-point percentage, Banchero will need to dominate big time against Mobley to give his team a chance.
Cavaliers vs Magic – others to keep an eye on
A few of the other exciting duels we expect to see feature the battle between the two centres Jarrett Allen and Wendell Carter Jr, both likely to average double-doubles in the Cavaliers vs Magic series.
Cavaliers vs Magic – our prediction
We back Cleveland to win the Cavaliers vs Magic series 4-2 and progress to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
The health of the Cavs is a slight concern, but in round 1 there are extra days of rest between games and this should help them. Here, we also factor in the lack of playoff experience for the Orland Magic. The Magic are making their first playoff appearance since 2020. They last won a playoff series way back in 2010!