Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 103-83 road loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday.
1. Sometimes in the NBA, everything is just stacked against you. The schedule, the travel, the opponent, and hey, maybe even the officials.
2. While the refs weren’t a factor in this particular loss, it’s to easy understand why the Cavs couldn’t get it done.
3. They had just won their previous road game, Saturday at Atlanta. The Magic are good team that had lost two straight and was playing at home. And let’s not forget, the Cavs were without Darius Garland, who sat out his first game with a bum shoulder. They are also still minus two starters in the injured Kevin Love and Isaac Okoro.
4. If it sounds like I’m making excuses for the Cavs … well, I am. Nobody in the NBA wins every game. There are times when you’ll lose by double digits. It’s bound to happen and Monday was just one of those nights for the Cavs.
5. So how did the Magic turn a 51-49 halftime lead into a 20-point blowout? For starters, they just played with considerably more energy than the Cavs in the second half. The Cavs gave perhaps their worst defensive performance of the season in the those final two quarters, too.
6. Translation: Everything started clicking for the Magic, and the Cavs had plenty do with it.
7. Along with Love and Okoro, the Cavs lost replacement starter Dante Exum about a minute into the game. Exum suffered a strained right calf. He never returned. They were without six guys … on the road … against a quality opponent.
8. Other than that, the situation was perfect.
9. Damyean Dotson started in place of Garland, moving Collin Sexton to Garland’s usual position of point guard. While Sexton is plenty capable of holding down the job, it’s gotten to the point where he has grown accustomed to playing off the ball.
10. Sexton finished with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting. But it wasn’t enough, because he also committed six turnovers while passing for just two assists.
11. The only other notable performances statistically came from Cedi Osman (18 points) and Andre Drummond (10 points, 14 rebounds). So overall, it was a night to forget.
12. As an aside, this was the sixth different lineup used by coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Considering the Cavs (4-3) have played just seven games, that’s a lot.
13. Bickerstaff on the loss: “I think our guys played hard. They tried to do what we were asking them to do. … It’s hard to get structure when you have so many guys who are uncomfortable in different places.”
14. On the bright side, Sexton became just the fourth Cav to start the season with seven straight games of at least 20 points. He joined LeBron James, Austin Carr and Bingo Smith. That’s, like, some really good company.
15. Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Nikola Vucevic tacked on 23 and eight, respectively. Terrence Ross added 15, and that man just continues to be perhaps the league’s most underrated reserve.
16. Okoro should be back for Wednesday’s rematch, also in Orlando. We aren’t likely to know the status of Garland and Exum until closer to tipoff.
17. And who knows? Maybe Matthew Dellavedova and Kevin Porter Jr. will return someday. Dellavedova has been out for four weeks after entering the league’s concussion protocol. He entered the same day as Larry Nance Jr., but Nance has been available since the start of the season. That said, concussions can differ in severity. There are still no updates on KPJ.
