The Eastern Conference’s fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34) and fifth-seeded Orlando Magic (47-35) meet in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs. The two franchises have squared off in the postseason once before: in the 2009 Eastern Conference finals, which Orlando won in six games.
They still whisper the legend in Northeast Ohio: If you say the name “Mickaël Piétrus” three times in a mirror, he will appear behind you, and drill another 3.
By being wobbly, dominant, wobbly and verrrrry careful.
After playing (just-over) .500 ball through 25 games with an underwhelming offense, the Cavs announced that point guard Darius Garland and power forward Evan Mobley needed surgery. They seemed poised to slip out of the playoff picture … until a run of superstar-level play by Donovan Mitchell, dominant interior play by Jarrett Allen, and a damn-the-torpedoes 3-point-heavy attack landed them in second place in the East at the All-Star break.
That midseason form’s been in short supply over the past two months, though. With Mitchell missing 18 of the final 29 games due to injury, and with Mobley, Max Strus and key 3-and-D wing Dean Wade (among others) also missing time, Cleveland posted the worst post-All-Star record and net rating of any playoff team.
The vibes got even shakier during Sunday’s regular-season finale against the lowly Hornets. With a win potentially moving them up into the No. 2 seed — and into a Round 1 matchup with either the 76ers or Heat following the play-in — Cleveland not only sat a handful of rotation players, but effectively tanked the end of the game, playing without ball-handlers for the final six and a half minutes to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The loss pushed Cleveland into a 4-vs.-5 matchup with Orlando … this time, with boos raining down from the stands at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
Those boos will turn to cheers if the Cavs are able to dispatch the NBA’s fourth-youngest team and advance to Round 2 for the first time since 2018. But if their matchup manipulation results in another ignominious first-round exit, it could be an awfully eventful offseason…
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