Postgame Pindowns: Cavs out of sync in back-to-back, fall to the Magic

The Cavs return home after a victory in Milwaukee to play host to the Orlando Magic; but they’re playing the second leg of their back-to-back without Derrick Rose, leaving Jose Calderon as the starting point guard. Obviously, LeBron James will take on a majority of the ball-handling responsibility, but expect Dwyane Wade and J.R. Smith to step into a facilitative role tonight. Here are some pindowns for tonight’s action, thoughts for your thoughts.

1. It didn’t take long for the Cavs to take out Calderon and Wade. Five minutes in, the Cavs found themselves in a double-digit hole and unable to hit open shots. Smith and Korver, immediately entered, and while the shooting didn’t improve instantly, they found better shots. Cavs didn’t reach double-digit points till nine minutes into the game.
2. With no Aaron Gordon available tonight, the Magic elected to throw length at James, putting rookie Jonathon Isaac on the 15-year veteran. It didn’t work.
3. Cavs made similar mistakes against the Magic as they did in the first quarter against the Bucks a night ago. Overreacting to the penetration and not swarming to kick outs. The Magic scored 21 of their 36 first quarter points from deep while the  Cavs finished the first quarter with 18 points.
4. Wade’s timing with teammates continues to be a progress. He’s had trouble seeking passing lanes. He missed three easy passes to Iman Shumpert in the first minute of the second quarter; two of those errors were passing just a second after Shumpert began cutting.
5. Kevin Love continued to exploit mismatches tonight. Similar to the Bucks game plan of throwing length at the Cavs, whenever he found the longer and thinner Isaac on him in the post, he went to work. The Magic quickly went to ex-Warrior Marreese Speights, but that didn’t change much. Love was instrumental to put the game within reach, going on a personal 8-0 run to bring the Cavs back within 13.
6. Cavs won the 2nd quarter on both ends. On defense, it was communication, led by the efforts of Shumpet (+7 in the quarter). On offense, it was about getting to the rim, led by the post play of Love (+9 in the quarter).
7. Wade’s struggles continued in the second half. Fortunately, he becomes noticeably more dangerous once he’s able to get within 20 feet of the rim, finding shots for himself and rollers. Unfortunately, his jumper still showed inconsistency and he’s not always on the same page as his teammates in transition just yet. He even missed a Kevin Love outlet pass because his eyes were down while he was up court.
8. Calderon did not play after the first five minutes of the game.
9. Magic stayed hot in the 3rd and 4th quarters and the Cavs simply couldn’t find an rhythm. Easy to chalk this one up to a lack of ball handling, but it just wasn’t Cleveland’s night.

Cavs next game will be on Tuesday at home against Chicago. More pindowns will come your way!