WEBVTT - Magic Stop the Streak 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:03.200 This crowd rises to its being. 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:04.680 What Carl slammed it? 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:11.680 Oh? Carle left wing reball, perfect handlift block the shot 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:15.120 at the rim? How with the left hand head of fowl. 0:00:16.160 --> 0:00:18.680 Hello and welcome to the Chase Down Pod. The Chase 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:21.119 Down is presented by Fubo, the official streaming partner of 0:00:21.120 --> 0:00:23.279 the Calves. Watch over three hundred and fifty channels of 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:26.360 live sports and TV, including fan Duel Sports Network without cable. 0:00:26.640 --> 0:00:28.800 There is no cost and there is no commitment. Try 0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:32.800 for free at FuboTV dot com Slash Calves. There's also 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:35.600 no Justin Rowan. We got a sick boy, a sick 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:40.239 lad with us. You know. It goes to show the 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:42.560 Calves finally lose a game and he ducks the smoke. 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:46.760 Just kidding. He's actually super bummed because he he loves 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:50.240 being on after losses. He loves a body to dissect. 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:52.880 But no, have no fear. I'm not here alone. You 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:55.200 don't have to hear me drone for forty straight minutes. 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:59.360 We've got host of lockdown Calves and the inside shot 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:02.720 on substack. Danny Cunningham, How you doing, buddy. 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:05.360 I'm well man, Thanks for having me. How are you doing? 0:01:05.640 --> 0:01:09.800 Oh? You know, doing fine and dandy going through you know, 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:13.600 doing bedtime solo night. So we're just blasting from thing 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.039 to thing to thing, but you know, we're feeling good. 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:20.440 And I was thinking, Danny. I was thinking, because yesterday 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:23.200 we had an afternoon mattin a loss, and those are 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:24.840 always a little weird because you just kind of have 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:26.920 to sit with the rest of the day, you know, 0:01:27.600 --> 0:01:31.280 And I was thinking that. You know, so I started 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:36.399 out like, you know, fine with the loss overall, but 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:39.080 then I thought about it more and I was getting grumpy, 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:43.480 and I realized that I am functionally like the president 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:47.400 of a homeowner's association in a nice neighborhood. You know, 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.840 I'm looking, I'm really my problems aren't too serious, but 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:56.320 to me they feel serious. You know, it's been such 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:59.600 a weird year where like you just have no sense 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:02.000 there's so little to poke at that like a loss 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:03.840 like that where they had the game well in hand 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.760 and then you know, blow it down the stretch does 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:08.640 feel kind of jarring. 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:12.880 It feels so strange to even talk about losses, and 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:14.760 like doing it on my own podcasts, like how do 0:02:14.840 --> 0:02:18.040 I approach this? Because the end listen, it's not as 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:20.840 if during this sixteen game winning streak can't sit here 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:23.880 next like every single game that they wondering that streak 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:26.720 was perfect basketball. I think they actually had one of 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:28.560 their worst weeks of the season and they went four 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:30.280 to oh in that week, which is an incredible and 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:33.040 remarkable thing. I think really does speak to their greatness 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:34.840 that they were able to find ways to win games 0:02:34.840 --> 0:02:37.679 that they didn't necessarily play their best. But the way 0:02:37.720 --> 0:02:39.720 I look at it is they had a really bad 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:40.399 shooting day. 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:41.440 That's gonna happen. 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:43.720 It doesn't happen to them very often because they're such 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:47.600 a good shooting team and Orlando, a team that's a 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:50.720 pretty awful shooting team, had one of its best shooting 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.680 days of the season, and though that combination just sunk 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.040 them for an afternoon, Like, I don't think that that 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.160 loss is anything that is repeatable. 0:02:58.200 --> 0:02:59.720 I don't think it's anything to be worried about. 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.919 It think, hey, sometimes when you play these two games, 0:03:03.040 --> 0:03:05.760 a game like that's going to happen, and for this 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.040 team to be where they're at at fifty six and eleven, 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:10.320 the fact that they haven't had many of those is 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:11.359 kind of incredible to. 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:15.760 Yeah, I mean, they are now a lowly forty eight 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:19.040 and one after heading into the fourth quarter with the leads. 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:21.440 You know, I was really by the way talk about, 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:24.000 you know, the small tragedies, I was really excited for 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:27.000 that one to be like, didn't lose a game all year, 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:29.960 heading into the playoffs with the lead in the fourth quarter, 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:32.280 I was excited for them to have that stat in 0:03:32.320 --> 0:03:34.520 their back pocket. So, you know, I don't know, it 0:03:34.600 --> 0:03:38.480 is one of those things where there's been so few losses, 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.920 there's been so few poor like straight up just poor performances, 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:47.200 that it is hard to kind of analyze what's real 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:51.280 and what's not. You know, was this just a shooting 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:53.840 variance loss in your opinion, or do you think there 0:03:53.880 --> 0:03:55.680 was some stuff for the Cavs to pull out of it? 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:59.520 I mean, I never I think it's never one thing, right, Like, 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.120 if you look can any of the other ten games 0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:05.400 they've lost incredible, if you look at those, like, it's 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.080 never just one thing that necessarily goes wrong, And anytime 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:10.839 a team loses a game, you can't point to one thing. 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:13.200 I think that the shooting variance is the biggest part 0:04:13.240 --> 0:04:15.240 of that because look at some of the shots that 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:17.840 the Calves are able to generate on Sunday, like Sam 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:19.919 Merril had how many three pointers where he could have 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:23.440 kind of checked for wind inside of rocket arena And 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:25.480 those are shots that you're going to expect se him 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:28.520 to make. He's been shooting almost fifty percent on threes 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.839 from February first onward, like he's been awesome lately, just 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:35.040 didn't have a great day. Donovan Mitchell goes three or 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:38.520 fourteen from three, you expect Donovan to shoot the basketball 0:04:38.560 --> 0:04:40.560 better than that. Like, I think the shooting variance is 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:44.240 the biggest thing. I thought the turnover is certainly the 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.400 ones at the end of the third quarter where Ty 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:49.080 loses the ball twice Donovan loses it once, Like that 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:52.560 was I thought a really big swing because Sam had 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:54.280 one of those threes it was in the right corner 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:56.480 that if that goes in, the Calves are up by 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:58.960 eleven with two minutes left in the third quarter. 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:01.880 Instead, that doesn't go in, there's a foul. 0:05:01.960 --> 0:05:04.040 The magic split the free throws and then create three 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.000 quick turnovers and the game's tied. Like, I think that 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:08.960 is the ultimate sliding doors moment, if you will, of 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:12.000 that game. But I think the shooting is probably the 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:14.040 biggest thing that just went wrong, not to say they 0:05:14.040 --> 0:05:14.560 were perfect. 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:15.919 The ball movement could have been better. 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:20.000 They haven't played necessarily their best offensive basketball this season. 0:05:20.160 --> 0:05:23.000 Last month I think they're fifteenth in March in offense. 0:05:23.080 --> 0:05:25.440 But overall, it's just like, you know, if they make 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:27.760 a few shots that we're used to seeing them make 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:31.200 that they've made all season long, they win that game 0:05:31.240 --> 0:05:33.599 by ten to fifteen points, and no one even thinks 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:34.360 twice about it. 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:37.440 Yeah, I do think it is worth kind of keying 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:41.760 in on that turnover Leyden kind of stretch, because I 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:44.880 do think they win the game without it. You know, 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:47.080 a ten er run when you're kind of in firm 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:50.840 control of the game does And you know, I do 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:55.040 think if you're Orlando, you went from we're just hanging 0:05:55.080 --> 0:05:59.120 on to we think we can, we think we got 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:01.560 this now? Who can hang? You know? And they've just 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:04.240 had the season from hell. I mean after the forty 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.120 point drubbing, I kind of compared their arc to where 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:09.719 this team was a year ago, where you have your 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:14.000 really fun breakout and then you know, the year after 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:17.280 you just have a dump truck of bad luck. Everyone's hurt. 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:20.440 Even when they're playing, they're not hole and all that stuff, 0:06:20.880 --> 0:06:24.159 and you know so, I but like there's still a 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:26.240 team that with a lot of pride, especially coming out 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:28.160 of that out of that first round series last year. 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:30.400 And I do think that is kind of where the 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.480 game changed. I think mostly gets a lot of credit 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:37.359 for springing in out of nowhere full court press that 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:40.719 I certainly was not ready for, and it certainly didn't 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:45.520 seem the Calves were either. I got to ask, we 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.680 have seen more often than not that when the Calves 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.760 have trouble, when they are knocked out of their rhythm. 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:57.800 You know, Justin I'll represent my dear sweet co host 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:01.480 who's laid up right now and saying that. You know, 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.320 the national media always points to long wings being what 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:08.440 bother the Calves, and Justin has always kind of persisted that, no, 0:07:08.680 --> 0:07:11.520 it's ball pressure. The Calves don't like it when people 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:14.800 are up in their grill and how does Orlando turn 0:07:14.880 --> 0:07:17.840 this game? It's ball pressure? And like, how much of 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:20.080 that do you think is kind of one of these 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:23.880 flaws that the team just isn't super well built to handle. 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:25.960 How much of that is just Avan not being there 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:28.480 to be an outlet and a release valve when that 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:31.680 pressure comes, Like how much do you index on that 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:33.280 because I still am not sure. 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:37.600 So I think it kind of depends where the ball 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:38.240 pressure is. 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:41.480 Like I view the ninety four feet ball pressure type 0:07:41.480 --> 0:07:44.040 of a thing is something that's not super concerning when 0:07:44.040 --> 0:07:46.960 the postseason arrives, because you know, and it's happened. 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.560 I can count probably four of their. 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:53.160 Losses, the one on Sunday, the one against Indiana, and 0:07:53.280 --> 0:07:56.040 both of them against Atlanta where you saw that right 0:07:56.040 --> 0:07:57.720 where it is into pressure. 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:02.400 Yeahertainly the loss. I think that. 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:06.920 Exact loss, that exact loss, so fiet I. 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:09.600 Don't think the one in Cleveland where they scored I 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:11.440 think it was one hundred and thirty two points in 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:13.920 a loss necessarily counts against Houston, but the one in 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.600 Houston does, and that gave me more so point two. Well, 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.720 Darius Carlin missed five free throws, which he's never done 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.360 in any other game as a professional basketball player. 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:23.760 That's not going to happen again. 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:25.640 So like there are all these little things, but you 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:29.720 look at the one at home against Indiana, both losses 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:31.960 to Atlanta around Thanksgiving, like he kind of felt like 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:34.320 that was part of the problem there. And I actually 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:36.960 equate struggling with that maybe a little bit more to 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:39.600 a focus type of thing. And I just don't know 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:43.199 that necessarily, for a full forty eight minutes of all 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:45.720 eighty two regular season teams, players are able to stay 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:48.400 completely focused. And I think that when the postseason arrives 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:49.960 that becomes a non issue. 0:08:49.960 --> 0:08:52.200 So I just don't know that that's necessarily the thing. 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:55.480 Now, if you want to point to how certain guys 0:08:55.760 --> 0:09:00.640 like upper tier perimeter defenders can handle maybe Derry Garland, 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:04.239 maybe Donovan Mitchell in postseason, I think that is a conversation, 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:06.880 particularly when you look at Drew Holliday with the Boston 0:09:06.880 --> 0:09:09.520 Celtics and the numbers that he has defending Darius Garland 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:13.040 at times in Garland's career, Like that could be maybe 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:14.839 the thing, But I don't view it as oh man, 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:18.319 Anthony Black really got into tide Rome in the third 0:09:18.440 --> 0:09:20.360 quarter of a game in March. The Calves might be 0:09:20.400 --> 0:09:22.280 in trouble dealing with ball pressure there. Like I think 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:24.800 that to me is maybe more of a focused thing. 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:26.679 Maybe it's more of a Hey, it was a one 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:29.800 o'clock Sunday game. It was the intensity level at a 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:32.560 playoff level. No, it wasn't like I think that those 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:34.960 things matter when you're having that conversation. 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:37.839 Yeah, I think that's fair. I think I think it's 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:39.640 a little bit of column A, a little bit of Columby. 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:44.320 I do think these small guards would much rather, you know, 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:48.520 you hang back and play a conservative defense because they 0:09:48.559 --> 0:09:52.120 are one just faster, they can get to the spot 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:55.880 better than your big can and a drop coverage like 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:57.440 they're going to get to that spot. He hit their 0:09:57.440 --> 0:10:00.920 float to range, and when you're backpedaling against the calves, 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:05.120 you're just kind of toast because of how well Darius 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:07.840 and Donovan changed directions, to say nothing of the other 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:11.720 supplementary pieces on this team. Whereas when you are kind 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.720 of in their grow, when you're pushing them back one, 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.360 it gets a little harder for them to let their 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:21.160 tempo kind of control the game. You're kind of imposing 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:24.480 your tempo on them. And then also they're just smaller, 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:27.320 so it's a little bit harder for them to hit that. 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:29.719 You know, that guy in the short role, when you're 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:32.480 making the past thirty three feet from the basket as 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:34.880 opposed to twenty feet from the basket, you know they're 0:10:35.160 --> 0:10:37.280 Jared Allen's catching it at the top the three point 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:39.719 arc and has to make three dribbles on the way 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:42.320 to the hoop before he makes a decision instead of 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.959 you know, one step and then either a pass or 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:47.920 a floater. So, like, I do think there's something to it. 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:52.440 I do think it's the first thing that teams will 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:56.120 try against them. I just am not sure you know 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:59.520 how to your point, like, I think you're still going 0:10:59.559 --> 0:11:02.120 to have to have the right personnel to do it, 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:05.800 and really, like not to oversimplify it always is going 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.440 to come down to just how good are you add like, 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:10.600 how many different kind of looks can you throw at 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.880 this team? Because I don't think, you know, I don't 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:16.600 think seven games of ball pressure is necessarily the answer. 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:19.920 No, And I think that's a hard thing for opponents 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:21.880 to keep up for seven games too, because you know, 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.400 we look at this as a because it is a 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:26.640 thing that has affected the calves. It's the lens that 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:29.640 we view it through. But how how repeatable is that 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:32.080 To do that seven times in two weeks for forty 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:34.079 eight minutes, Like that's a really difficult thing to do, 0:11:34.600 --> 0:11:37.360 especially when the entire game is at a much more 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:40.720 intense level. In the postason because the regular season just 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:43.280 I mean, the effort level is obviously really high from 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:45.280 every team every single night, and that's something that probably 0:11:45.280 --> 0:11:48.120 doesn't get talked about enough. But the intensity level isn't 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:50.120 at the same in the regular season it is in 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:53.280 the postseason. It becomes harder to defend full court in 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:55.320 the in the postseason than it doesn't it. You know, 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:58.560 the defense in the half court, I think becomes tougher 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:01.560 in the post, and I think that actually makes it 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:03.480 tougher to pick up full court because you're having to 0:12:03.520 --> 0:12:07.960 expend so much energy on every single possession that sometimes defensively, 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:10.520 it might make sense to save that energy and just 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:12.400 defend in the half court because you're gonna have to 0:12:12.440 --> 0:12:13.000 do more there. 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:16.920 Anyways, Yeah, it's it's an interesting conundrum, you know, for 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:19.600 this team, and in some ways it does make me 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:23.520 think any that as much as I don't relish the 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:27.800 idea of an Orlando first round series because they're so physical, 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.200 because they're so tough, and you know, and for a 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:34.640 team this good, really just you know, there's a bit 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:37.640 of like, let's just get through this first. You know, 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.959 Round or two is unscathed as humanly possible. Part of 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.880 the reason I'm not crazy excited about playing Giannis in 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:47.520 the second round. Do you think that this is a 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:51.600 this is actually kind of an iron like a wetstone 0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:55.160 almost kind of match up for the Calves where if 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:58.080 you do play them in the first round and you 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:00.559 do figure out how to get your off going to 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:02.440 the way it was earlier in the seat in this 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:04.800 season series where the Calves put up one hundred and 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.480 twenty points plus in the first two games, if you 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.760 can prove that, hey, we you know, your ball pressure 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.560 actually doesn't mean anything to us, We're going to get 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:17.040 buckets on you, you think that's more valuable, even if 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:19.920 the series is a little more physical and hard fought 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:23.240 than playing a team like I don't know, like the 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:25.600 Bulls or the Hawks. 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:28.720 I mean, at the end of the day, like in 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:31.880 I think that we learned this during the run from 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:34.280 twenty fifteen to twenty eighteen, where we would just routinely 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:36.120 see this franchise sweep through the first round, and you 0:13:36.160 --> 0:13:40.200 want to be able to conserve that energy for second, third, 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:42.960 fourth round playoff games, like you don't want to spend 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:45.080 more time in the first round than you have to. 0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:47.679 I actually look at the Orlando matchup as Yes, maybe 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:50.600 that series would be a little bit more physical, but 0:13:50.720 --> 0:13:52.840 I look at it as the Magic just don't have 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.480 an answer to what the Caves present from a math perspective, 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:57.400 like the Calves are going to shoot way more threes 0:13:57.440 --> 0:13:59.080 in the Magic. They're going to make way more threes 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:03.720 than the Magic. So Yesterday's game FO Orlando was the 0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:07.440 ninth time this season they've shot forty percent or better 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:09.400 from three in a single game. Like that's just not 0:14:09.520 --> 0:14:12.520 something that ever happens. That they are the worst three 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:14.920 point shooting team in basketball. They're not going to be 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:16.679 able to keep up with the Cavs offensively. I think 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:19.200 it would be a really short series because an average 0:14:19.200 --> 0:14:22.000 performance from the Cavs on offense is a ten to 0:14:22.040 --> 0:14:25.680 fifteen point victory over the Magic's average performance. Like that's 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:27.520 just the way that I view that. Yes, it would 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:29.240 be more physical. I think it would be a good 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.000 hump for the Cavs to get over really just to 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:33.600 prove how much different they are. And I understand that 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:36.320 the Magic, as you mentioned, have had a season from health, 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:39.640 like they've not had their full allotment of key players. 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:41.920 Jalen Suggs is not going to come back this year, 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.000 like they are a team that is going to look 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:46.280 different if they make the playoffs then they did in 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:48.280 the four to five matchup that we all watched seven 0:14:48.280 --> 0:14:50.600 games of last year. But I do think that getting 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:53.800 past that team, particularly in a quick fashion, which I 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:56.160 would expect to happen, I think that would be a 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:58.360 really good sign for this team, just like even if 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:01.760 it's internally feeling we are so much different than we 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:03.160 were last year, Like if they can look in the 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:05.400 mirror and say that after a first round series win 0:15:05.920 --> 0:15:08.640 in four or five games as opposed to seven games 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:10.000 that it was last year, I think that could be 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:10.800 a good thing for them. 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:13.320 I think so too, And I do think that the 0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:17.760 kind of the personnel that Orlando presents do help you 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:20.600 solve teams like you know, they're going to play a 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.800 very similar style to you know, in terms of their 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:25.920 ability to switch, in terms of their ability to close 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:27.960 out on your three point shooters and keep you from 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:32.720 getting your attempts up against teams like Boston. You know, 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.960 I'm not as worried about New York and Milwaukee on 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:40.040 the floor, obviously, but like you know, like I do 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:43.320 think there is some value in having a get the 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:48.200 offense going in a tough defensive series kind of thing, 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:50.480 and like to some extent it is like a bit 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:53.640 of a proof of concept, And no matter what data 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:56.360 we see and no matter what tape we see, I 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:58.520 do think every Cavs fan is going to have that 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:00.680 lingering concern in the back of their mind of like, 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:04.760 when the pressure gets ratcheted up and when the scout 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:09.080 gets good and teams are really locked in, is this 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:12.480 Cavs offense going to score at the level they've been 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.200 scoring in the regular season or at least in the neighborhood. 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:20.440 Because we're two years in to pretty precipitous dropoffs from 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:23.880 their regular season average in the postseason, I would continue 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.160 to argue that last year probably deserves a little bit 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:28.800 more grace than that. I'm not sure any team played 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:32.000 two tougher matchups on the other side of the floor 0:16:32.160 --> 0:16:37.240 than Orlando than Boston and very shorthanded versus Boston, mind you, 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:40.600 but like, we still haven't seen this team just go 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:43.480 for a four or five game series put up one 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:45.600 hundred and fifteen, one hundred and twenty five, one hundred 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:49.120 and twenty Like it's been a race to one hundred 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:51.520 for this team in the playoffs. So I do think 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.320 there's something I don't know. I kind of go both ways, 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:56.320 because like, it would kind of be nice just to 0:16:56.320 --> 0:16:59.400 play Atlanta and just be like, all right, let's just 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:02.120 let's just score, let's just play it, let's just play 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:05.560 our basketball, let's let's play. Let's get a taste of 0:17:05.560 --> 0:17:12.320 what focused playoff basketball looks like without any risk of 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:15.119 of of you know, bits and starts in an accidentally 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:15.920 long series. 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:18.760 Right, So I do think it would be to a 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:20.520 good thing for the Caves to play the Magic because 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:21.840 they get that test on the one end of the 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:25.520 floor where you know, we're going to see exactly what 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:29.119 their elite, elite, elite level offense looks like against a 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:32.200 really good defense, and the Magic are still a top 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:34.640 five defense. They haven't necessarily played like a top five 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:37.200 defense since you know, the turn of the calendar to 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:42.800 their best since yes, he has very much changed that team, 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:44.680 I think, on both ends of the floor, like he's 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:47.160 been a big, big absence for them. But I think 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:49.040 that this would be an opportunity for the Caves to 0:17:49.080 --> 0:17:52.400 get a taste at playing a really, really good defense 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:55.720 without necessarily being totally threatened on the other end of 0:17:55.760 --> 0:17:58.320 the floor, Like Orlando is twenty eighth in offense, They're 0:17:58.359 --> 0:17:59.639 not a team that's going to be able to win 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.080 race to for the most part, one hundred and ten points. 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:03.960 Like maybe it's not the first to. 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:06.160 One hundred and twenty five points the way that some 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:08.520 regular season games have been for the Calves, and the 0:18:08.520 --> 0:18:11.960 Calves have been since February first, the best defense in basketball. 0:18:11.960 --> 0:18:14.119 So that conversation is very much different now than it 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:17.040 was maybe in November or January when. 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:18.320 They were not playing great defensively. 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:20.480 But I think that you look at this and say, Okay, 0:18:20.560 --> 0:18:23.359 maybe that defense in Orlando is going to find a 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.440 way to slow down the Calves a little bit. 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:28.560 But there's maybe they're not scoring one hundred. 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:29.960 And twenty five points a night in the playoffs, but 0:18:29.960 --> 0:18:32.600 they're scoring one hundred and seventeen points a night, and 0:18:32.680 --> 0:18:35.040 like that, I think against an Orlando offense, which is 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:38.280 a tough watch at times, I think, to put it nicely, 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:39.960 I think that would be more than enough and I 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:43.360 think that would be a confidence builder as saying, Okay, 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:46.080 we might not see a tougher defense in the Eastern 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:49.360 Conference than what we see in the first round against Orlando, 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:51.879 then they can say, and we figure that out, so 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:53.920 now we can figure out anything else for us the way, 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:57.720 whether it's against Milwaukee, Boston, Indie, Detroit, whoever, they could 0:18:57.720 --> 0:18:59.119 see the rest of the way in the Eastern Conference 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:01.640 playoffs and then now in the finals. Like, Okay, C's 0:19:01.680 --> 0:19:03.840 defense is really really good too, but you worry about 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:05.080 that if and when you get there. 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:08.400