In a rather unremarkable, not-so-shockingly one-sided game, the Magic sunk the Cavaliers, 93-80.
What was remarkable, however, is that all five Orlando Magic starters scored in double digits while doing so. Ryan Anderson led the pack with 17 points (but on a grisly 5 for 14 shooting). Other than that, Howard added 16, Turkoglu added 15, Richardson added 11, and Nelson added 10.
Even more strange, the Cavaliers followed this same trend. Four out of five of their starters also scored in double digits. Antawn Jamison led his team with 16 points (but also on a grisly 8 for 18 shooting).
Getting down to the meat of the game, no one is surprised the Magic downed the Cavs in this fashion. The question was not ‘if’ but ‘how’ the Magic would beat them. Sure, they collectively shot 47% from the field, notched 24 assists, and collected 47 rebounds, but they also accumulated 20 turnovers–a continuing trend for the Magic.
“We moved the ball and that’s when we play best,” noted Anderson after the game. He’s right, the Magic did have great ball movement… right into the Cavs’ hands…
Magic coach, Stan Van Gundy, has continually harped on his team to control the ball better, noting the roster is practically giving the other team free points.
“I don’t want guys playing in fear of making plays, but there’s some of the ones we’re just not even looking when we throw the ball, things like that we’ve got to cut those down,” Van Gundy said.
The Magic can get away with 20 TOs on a team like Cleveland, but not any of the elites. This was proven in our recent losses to Chicago and Miami, where–gasp–the team had a large number of turnovers.
It’s a shame too that such an ugly stat is haunting the team, especially when you consider the Magic are one of the only teams in the NBA with six players averaging in double figures. This style of balanced offense has generally been effective throughout the NBA’s history, so why can’t the Magic seem to stop passing the ball to the other team?
It’s also a shame that stat overshadowed some impressive bench play from both J.J. Redick and Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Davis, who has regularly struggled since being traded to the Magic, scored 9 points, collected 6 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and got a block and a steal.
Moving on, the Magic have some thing(s) to work on. Their offense has generally been productive. Their defense, while experiencing lulls, has also been stable. It’s really just the turnovers, when you stop and analyze the team’s play, that is hurting them.
If the Magic are serious about a playoff run, which they commonly state they are, they’re going to have to learn to stop passing the ball to the other team. Maybe Van Gundy needs to requisition jerseys with blinking lights so his team knows who to pass the ball to. Can we make that happen?
By Brandon Hayhurst
