Of the NBA’s eight first-round playoff series this spring, a pair were four-game sweeps, two more wrapped up in five games, and three others took six games to decide a winner. That leaves a single Game 7 in round one: The Cavaliers will host the Magic in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon to determine the last of the eight teams that will advance to the conference semifinals.
Sunday’s Game 7 looms larger for the Cavaliers than it does for Orlando. Cleveland won 51 games and finished as a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference a year ago, then was quickly dispatched from the postseason by the Knicks in just five games. Another first-round exit this spring as the higher seed, especially against a relatively inexperienced Magic squad, would likely result in major offseason changes in Cleveland.
As Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) writes, the pressure will be on head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who figures to find himself on the hot seat if the Cavaliers lose Game 7 at home. For his part, Bickerstaff sounds relatively confident that his club will come through.
“We’ll be ready for the moment,” Bickerstaff said. “Our guys have been really good at home, and we don’t expect that to change.”
Even more crucially, Donovan Mitchell‘s future in Cleveland could hinge on how Game 7 plays out, Fedor notes. Mitchell is only under contract for one more guaranteed season after this one — he’ll be offered an extension this summer, but if he’s not enthusiastic about the Cavs’ ability to contend for a championship going forward, he may not be inclined to accept a new long-term deal from the team.
The good news for the Cavaliers is that Game 7 will be played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where they’re 3-0 this series. But after commanding victories in Games 1 and 2, Cleveland’s home-court advantage didn’t look like quite as significant a factor in Game 5’s win, which the club pulled out by a single point.
The Cavs are also dealing with injury concerns on multiple fronts. Rotation forward Dean Wade (knee) has missed the entire postseason, while Jarrett Allen (rib) has been sidelined for the past two games. Mitchell (knee) and Evan Mobley (ankle) also seemed to be playing through pain in Game 6 — both players finished the game, though Mobley (three points, six rebounds) was far less effective than Mitchell (50 points), especially in the second half.
While the Magic will certainly go all-out to win Game 7, their coaches and players are facing far less pressure entering the deciding game of their first-round series. Few league observers even expected Orlando to still be alive at this point in the season, so a spot in the second round would exceed all expectations. No one’s job is on the line based on Sunday’s outcome.
Still, the Magic have shown in the first six games of this series that they’re a talented enough defensive team to pull off this upset. Yes, Mitchell scored 50 points in Game 6, and Darius Garland contributed 21 more, but the rest of the Cavs combined for just 25 points on 10-of-33 (30.3%) shooting, and head coach Jamahl Mosley has made some savvy adjustments that helped his team win three of the last four games.
Orlando doesn’t have a ton of offensive firepower, but in Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs, the team has just enough scoring to stick with Cleveland thanks to its play on defense. Banchero, Wagner, and Suggs combined for 75 of Orlando’s 103 points in Game 6, which has been a common theme over the course of the series — no other Magic player is averaging over 7.0 points per contest.
We want to know what you think. Will the Cavaliers (3.5-point favorites, according to BetOnline.ag) hang on at home and avoid disaster? Or will the upstart Magic book a second-round date with the top-ranked Celtics?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to make your predictions!
The decision was a no-brainer, given that Ball hasn’t played a game since January 2022 due to knee problems. He has undergone a series of procedures on his troublesome left knee, including receiving a