The Cleveland Cavalier suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday against the Orlando Magic, 116-97, which was disappointing for the Cavs for a number of reasons.
The Cavs lost at their home court to an underdog, scored their fewest points of the season, and shot just 38.4 percent from the field against the Magic, but perhaps even more frustrating for Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue was his team’s lethargic defensive effort, particularly on the perimeter.
According to Nikki Goel of Clutch Points, Lue took special notice of the Cavs’ inability to defend against the long ball in the Magic game.
The Magic took just four more shots than Cleveland, 90-86, and their fantastic touch from deep was the obvious difference-maker for Orlando. The Magic went 17-of-35 from the 3-point area, while the Cavs were just 7-of-25.
Perhaps the Cavs were caught a little off guard by Orlando’s move to start D.J. Augustin over the injured Elfrid Payton. Augustin gave the Magic a boost from the outside, as he made three 3-pointers to complement Evan Fournier, who also had three triples.
The Cavs had problems defending against 3-pointers last season, when they allowed 10.4 3-points made per game—fifth-most in the NBA in 2016-17—and based on the early figures this season, it appears that Cleveland hasn’t completely addressed that particular defensive issue. Prior to the loss to Orlando, the Cavs let the Milwaukee Bucks score 33 points on 3-pointers last Friday.
