CLEVELAND, Ohio — What’s the old saying that surfaces every spring?
A playoff series doesn’t truly start until the home team loses.
Yeah, that one. Kind of silly, right? So, the playoffs aren’t actually underway and the Cavs’ dominance in the first two games of this pressure-packed best-of-seven matchup, in an environment with playoff-level intensity and physicality, was what exactly, a fever dream?
The Cavs are up 2-0. They haven’t trailed at any point. The two teams have been tied once — for 16 total seconds. Orlando looks overmatched in every sense. Teams ahead 2-0 in a best-of-seven setup go on to win 93% of the time.
And yet …
“I think there’s a level we can continue to improve at,” Cavs star Donovan Mitchell said following the 98-86 wire-to-wire triumph. “It’s great we got the win and we’re up 2-0. But we’re not looking to be up 2-0. We’re looking to be perfect. There’s no such thing as perfection, but you continuously want to chase it.
“And if I’m not doing my job, then that’s kind of my mode right now. I started out great and didn’t really do my thing throughout the course of the game. I did a lot of different things, but I could be better for the group as a whole and I will be.”
Squinting hard enough, it becomes easier to see Mitchell’s point.
He scored 14 points in a tone-setting first quarter, going 5 of 7 from the field and 2 of 3 from 3-point range with six rebounds and two assists, his fingerprints all over the fast start in which Mitchell ripped off the first five and Cleveland was ahead by double digits by the end of the period.
But he tallied just nine points, missing 11 of 15 shot attempts over the next three quarters — a level of quarter-to-quarter inconsistency that has plagued the beat-up Mitchell and Cleveland since the mid-February All-Star break.
Technically, the Cavs were outscored by two over the final 36 minutes. Around the midway point of the fourth quarter, they allowed the feisty, hungry Magic to cut a one-time 22-point advantage to nine before thwarting that comeback attempt and claiming a second straight W.
“We did some good things. I’m not mad at how we played at all,” Mitchell said. “I just know we can be better. Being able to be the team that pushes the pace, runs and when teams are physical and picking you up full court, how do we continue to get to our sets, get to our offense while being pressured? That takes the mental fortitude. I have no doubt we have that, but it’s just continuing to do it. Got to do it again and again and again and again.”
Through two games, the Cavaliers have been the tougher team — mentally and physically.
The league’s seventh-best regular-season defense has climbed into the postseason’s first spot, holding the offensively inept Magic to a measly 84.5 points on 34.3% shooting. Third-year forward Evan Mobley has helped neutralize Orlando’s leading scorer Paolo Banchero. According to NBA.com matchup data, Banchero has mustered six total points on 2 of 11 shooting while being guarded by Mobley, the unicorn-like game-wrecker who is equally comfortable inside and on the perimeter.
The Cavs have won the rebounding battle, 102-81. Starting center Jarrett Allen, the target of offseason criticism following a no-show against the burly Knicks last April, has 38 boards. The five Magic starters have combined for 49. With Allen on the court, Cleveland has outscored the Magic by 13.3 points per 100 possessions. He has dominated inside and rendered slender defensive ace Jonathan Isaac unplayable.
“It’s very satisfying,” Allen said. “It shows that we’ve grown, not only as a team but as individuals. We are not folding under pressure. I mean, we do have our moments where we can still improve, but as a whole, I feel like we’ve taken huge steps forward.”
And yet …
“They’re going to be a different team at home. They were all year,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of the upstart Magic. “Being a younger team, being able to play in front of your crowd gives you that confidence that you can. The road games are going to be tough for us. It’s important to us that we make sure we come out with the right approach. It’s fun to quiet an opposing crowd as well.”
There isn’t any sense of satisfaction. No complacency. Much to improve as the series shifts to Orlando — a city that will be hosting its first playoff game since April 21, 2019, and a building that helped the Magic to a 29-12 home mark compared to just 18-23 away from Kia Center.
Bickerstaff pointed to Cleveland managing just 16 fourth-quarter points and not handling Orlando’s timely on-ball traps properly. The Cavs shot 7 of 20 (35%) from the field and 1 of 9 (11.1%) from 3-point range while committing three turnovers in the final 12 minutes Monday night.
Despite a suffocating defense, Cleveland’s offense has looked anything but dynamic — a carryover from last year’s postseason exit. The sometimes-stagnant Cavs have not yet topped the 100-point mark. They rank 11th out of 16 teams in offensive rating — a standing that could worsen depending on what else happens in other Game 2s. They rank last in turnovers, committing 33 in all. Point guard Darius Garland has nine — only three fewer than his assist total (12). Mitchell has seven miscues, equaling his overall assist mark.
Those supposed summer shooting improvements haven’t shown, with the Cavs ranking 11th in 3-point makes and 13th in percentage. Even though they are doing numerous other things to make a positive impact in this series, Max Strus and Georges Niang — two marksmen added to knock down jumpers, threaten a defense and space the floor — have combined to shoot 2 of 18 from long-range. Garland seems like the only one who can consistently knock down outside shots, hitting 50% from the field and 47% from beyond the arc.
“I think we can execute a little bit better and do the little things a little bit better maybe. There’s always room to improve,” Strus said. “They’re a good defensive team, too, so they’re taking us out of what we do, and we’re finding ways to win. That’s the name of the game in the playoffs is making adjustments to their adjustments and finding ways to take advantage of the defense and score any way possible.”
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday at Kia Center. Allen is expecting another physical battle.
“First one to 85,” Allen reiterated. “lt’s been a defensive-minded series and let’s keep it that way. We know when we go to their place, they are going to be a completely different team. They’re going to have their home crowd behind them. They don’t want it to get to 3-0. They’re going to try to come at us like we’ve been doing to them.”
By late Thursday night, the Cavs could be one win away from their first playoff series win since 2018, the first playoff series win without LeBron James in. They will have a 3-0 lead.
Forget that old adage. The home team losing wouldn’t feel like the start of this series. It would feel more like the end.
