April 22, 2024 • 38 mins
The hosts Tim Alcorn and Jim Chones sit down with Chris Fedor from cleveland.com to talk all things postseason and Cavs-Magic. Orlando play-by-play man Jake Chapman joins in the second half.
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Calves HQ Playoff Edition presented by bet Way.
Thank you for joining us on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers
audio verse. Now Here are your hosts, Tim Alcorn and
Jim Chones.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
From the Cavaliers production studios at Rocket Mortgage Field House
in downtown Cleveland. Hi again, everybody, and indeed, welcome to
the playoff edition of Calvs HQ presented by Betway. Great
to have you with us, and great to have joining
me on Calves HQ. Cavalier Legend Wall of Honor inductee
and certainly a great broadcast partner, one of the premiere,
(00:45):
if not the premiere radio color commentators in the NBA
in Jim Chones and Jim yesterday in the Calves jump
out to a one to nothing lead over Orlando in
this best of seven series, with Game two slated for
tomorrow night at Rock and Mortgage field House. And well,
we've got a lot of ground to cover on this
week's HQ. We'll have Chris feed Or stopping by to
(01:07):
pay us a visit and get his thoughts on what
happened Saturday, and we'll hear the Orlando side of the
story from their radio play by play guy Jake Chapman.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, it should be interesting, Tim. I want to really
hear what Jake has to say. He is a lot
closer to that team. I don't think they were discouraged
by the way they played. They know they can play better,
especially for the free throw line, and I'm not sure
if they could shoot any worse from the three point line,
but the free throws definitely hurt them.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, it was a tough loss for the Magic, but
as you said, they've got some things to build on
as they get ready for Game two tomorrow night. And
for the Cavaliers, an important Game one win at Rocket
Mortgage field House to jump into the series lead and
maintain home court advantage. Well, Saturday was a nice win
to start the series for the Cavs. When we come back,
(01:56):
Jim and I will look back at that Game one win.
Stay with us Kev's HQ presented by Betway continues after
this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio verse. Garland left
of the lane into lane Allen.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Pow how we posterized Jonathan Isaac Charon Allen with a thunderous.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
Dunk and Carol throws it out front ball to Fleck
and Mitchel has it pow the step tepness dunk leads
to a deafening roar.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
They call it defense.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Ti Garland on the driple steps right, three ball bag.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
He's got it.
Speaker 6 (02:36):
He had big Hugh the Dagger.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
DG delivers and we welcome you back. keVs HQ presented
by Betway. Of course, some highlights from yesterday's Game one
win by the Cavaliers as they took out the Orlando
Magic ninety seven eighty three at Rocket Mortgage field House
Game two Monday night, as those two teams will battle again.
(03:04):
Boy Jim, a lot to kind of dissect there, But
what's one or two things that really stood out for you?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah? I thought the Cavaliers team defense and their ability
to minimize the starting guards and the two starting guards
off the bench. I thought they were fantastic and keeping
those guys out of the paint and also contesting their shots.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
For Darius Garland, solid performance. You heard that huge shot
that kind of put the game away for the Cavaliers.
He had fourteen points to go along with eight assists.
And after the game, DG talked Dude, Jim and I
on the postgame show and I asked him, woy how
anxious were the Cavs to get started, and how important
was the start of the ball game.
Speaker 7 (03:45):
We guys come out with intensity, you know that they're
y'all and Air was gonna fight to forty eight and uh.
Speaker 8 (03:50):
Just trying to get a little jump start on him.
Just tried to play front of the first buzzer.
Speaker 7 (03:55):
Just to just to get us going and get everybody
into it, get the crowd into it because they got
six man and trying to maintain that for the whole
forty eight.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
They were all over you. You can tell that officiating
has changed since the All Star Game. They were holding
and grabbing, but then they allowed you to do the same.
I thought your defense in the second half was magnificent.
Great job theres.
Speaker 7 (04:19):
Yeah, all team defense was great I think for the time,
and I we had a couple couple of slip ups,
but I thought we regret that sorry night. We know
what the physicality is going to be like, we know
the mentalities from last year, so we just wanted to
reciprocate it.
Speaker 8 (04:35):
We wanted to be the first one up to punch first.
He wasn't going to be the one that just get
hit first. And that's what we did.
Speaker 7 (04:41):
We started the physicality early, and that's what I think,
that's what got us the big lead earliest in the
first half.
Speaker 8 (04:47):
A little bit yep DG.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
How anxious were the guys to get to this moment,
and not anxious in a bad way as and nervous,
but anxious just to get the postseason play Let's get
this thing started.
Speaker 7 (05:00):
Yeah, I mean we were super ready and we had
like five pays off but just practicing.
Speaker 8 (05:05):
So everybody's been eager. Everybody had been super super excited.
Speaker 7 (05:09):
Just had a first home game and first playoff experience
for some of us.
Speaker 8 (05:13):
But it was great.
Speaker 7 (05:15):
I mean, everybody's been waiting, everybody been anticipating this, so
I'm glad we got the first sea.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And obviously all around performances. Donovan with thirty, the two
big guys each had double doubles, Evan Mobley blocking shots
left and right. Just talk about what a team effort
this was today.
Speaker 7 (05:31):
It was a great team effort, man. I mean that's
been us to this high year. We've always been about
their team. We've always been about just finishing game strong
and did having each other's back. So I think that
we did a really good job of that tonight. And
this guy carrying on for three, hopefully three more games.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
What good start to the series for Darius Garland and
Jim As he mentioned at the end, not only for
DG a solid performance, but everybody that played for the
Cavaliers on Saturday contribute to that victory in some way.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Yeah they did, but no one contributed more than Darius Garland.
Why because he could score against this team. But what
he did is he got us into our offense. He
organized us, and he only took shots that were meaningful
and he only made passes where he made a good
read on the defense through his dribble penetration. Now look it.
(06:24):
You know, he could easily average twenty something against this team,
but I think fourteen and eight assists and getting us
into our offense. He all played the other opposition's guards
and they were hounding him all game, but he kept
his composure and he got us into our offense. And
that's one of the things I expect from him to
(06:45):
get us into our offense and also to be aggressive
on the defensive end. If he can maintain that, If
he can maintain those disciplines, the Cavs will win this
series in less than seven.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Good stuff from Jim Jones, says, Jim and I bring
you Cavs ahe Cooper presented by Betway. We've got further
insights coming as coming up next, we'll have Chris Fiedor
from Cleveland dot Com. He'll stop by and pay Jim
and I a visit. And then later on in the show,
but what's the Orlando side of the story, We'll hear
from Jake Chapman, the radio play by play voice of
(07:17):
the Orlando Magic. We'll get Jake's thoughts as to what
happened on Saturday afternoon. So don't go anywhere. We've got
a lot more to come. It's Cavs HQ presented by Betway.
Great to have it for you all along the Medical
Mutual Cavaliers audio verse. Garland's still on the dripple bounce
(07:38):
left in the lane of Mobley.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Spins Wow who by living with a spin move like
he was back at the high school dance rebound grat
by Mobiley the Garland ahead of LeVert.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Lvert tries put it up God and another fow Garland
Foulne shot perfectly.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
This guard play. We talked about it before the game.
The guard art play Donovan vigilant Darius Garland closes this
game out and.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
We welcome you back. It's Cavs HQ presented by betway
All along the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse Tim Elcorn
along with Jim Chones as Jim and I called that
game for you yesterday on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse.
Cavs with a Game one win over the Orlando Magic
and now game two tomorrow night at Rocket Mortgage field
(08:29):
House and Jim. Not only you and I there to
cover it for the state of Ohio and worldwide on
the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse, but a guy that
has worldwide followers on Twitter and x and wherever else
he puts his stuff up. Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot
Com was there to cover game one on Saturday as well,
(08:51):
and now he joins us on Cavs HQ. Chris, great
to see you. What's going on, guys? How are you well?
We're doing all right after yesterday's big wins. So let's
dig into it from your perspective. You watch it differently
than Jim and I. What you see in Saturday's when
that not only the Calves can build on, but that
you think Orlando will now adjust for Game two tomorrow night.
Speaker 9 (09:16):
I think as There were two things that stood out
to me about Game one, and the first one was
that the Calves looked like a team that had been there.
They were comfortable on that stage, They were comfortable in
that environment. They knew the level of physicality the playoff
basketball required. They were more ready for what the playoffs
are all about, more so than Orlando, and that was
(09:37):
to be expected because coming into the series, the Cavs
had three hundred and fifty nine total games of playoff
experience across their roster and the Magic had ninety one,
and all but thirteen of those are taken by Gary
Harrison Joe Ingles, so four total guys on the Magic
roster that have been in that environment, that had been
(09:59):
on that stage. And you could tell early on they
were turning the ball over, they weren't comfortable, They looked
a little bit rattled. That was one thing that stood
out to me is that the Calves handled everything that
playoff basketball requires better than they did last year against
the Knicks. The second thing, coming into the series, everybody
knew it. Orlando was the worst offense of any team
(10:21):
that made the postseason, they were the worst three point
shooting team in the entire NBA. And the way that
they get offense when they actually do is through ISOs
putting their head down, trying to get to the free
throw line, trying to get into the paint. But the
Calves defense is built to protect the paint. So it's
(10:43):
a clash of styles in that kind of way. And
I just don't know. One game doesn't tell you everything,
but I just don't know. Given all the questions about
Orlando's mucky offense to begin with, I don't know that
they have enough paths to success at that end of
the floor. They're going to have to win these physical, grimy,
(11:03):
low scoring games. But we saw it last year with
the Cavs in the first round of the playoffs. Guys,
you can only defend so much in the postseason. At
some point you have to score, and I just don't
know that the Magic can consistently do that against this defense.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
You know, I was just sitting here looking and I
was thinking about their rotation. Some might say it's too
early to shorten it, but I don't know. The Calves
they've got them defensively. Are you surprised that he went
with a ten man rotation, the same rotation that he
went with all season.
Speaker 9 (11:37):
Talking about Mosley, not really that surprised Jim, just because
I feel like in game one you try and lean
on the things that were successful for you in the
regular season. You have a plan going into a first
round matchup, you have a plan going into game one,
and then based on what happens throughout that, then you
adjust from quarter one to quarter two, two to three,
(12:00):
first half to second half, Game one to game two.
So I do think it's probably as this series goes on,
and probably even going into Game two, given the lack
of impact from Markel Foltz and Cole Anthony didn't provide
what he usually does off the bench, the leash is
going to get a little bit shorter as the series
goes on.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Again, we're talking with Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot Com
nice enough to stop by and join Jim Jones and
yours truly, Tim Elcorn on Cavs HQ. So let's try
to get into the minds a little bit of JB.
Bickerstaff and Jamal Mosley and maybe more coach Mosley since
they came out on the short end on Saturday, what
sort of tweaks and adjustments. Man.
Speaker 9 (12:40):
I just wonder if the Magic have a consistent enough
and a working enough five man lineup at both ends
of the floor. It just feels a lot like the
calves of last year in the series against the Knicks,
where every decision that JB. Bickerstaff was trying to make
as an either or proposition. If I'm going to go
(13:03):
to Jeddi Osman, I'm getting a little bit more offense,
a little bit more spacing, a little bit more three
point shooting, but the defensive problems compared to him and
Isaac Cacorro are pretty glaring, and I just feel like
those same things Jamal Mosley is being faced with if
he wants to go to Cole Anthony because he wants
a lift off the bench, and he was the leading
(13:25):
bench scorer for the Magic this past year during the
regular season, that's fine, But who's he gonna guard at
times because Orlando likes to switch, Because Orlando likes to
play certain kind of defense. Six foot two, six foot three,
Cole Anthony was matched up against Evan Mobley and it
was barbecue chicken. So it just feels like with every
(13:48):
decision that he could try and make he's giving up
something to gain something else. It'll be really really interesting
to see how he navigates that one and the other thing.
When it comes to JB, I think the one thing
that he's going to keep in his back pocket is
the Tristan Thompson Marcus Morris senior card. If things aren't
going well with Sam Merrill as the ninth guy in
(14:09):
the rotation, I could definitely see JB saying, all right,
we need a little bit more toughness, we need more physicality,
we need more size rebounding, let's go to either Tristan
or Morris. And I just feel like in this game
of playoff chess, JB has more pieces that can move
different ways.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Yeah, one of the things I didn't know that Suggs
was that goods Suggs is pretty good. He's really good
basically on one end of the floor, which is his
disruptive defense. But he did make a few shots at
the end. Can something like that carry over especially for
him at Franz and Franz Wagner and even from Benchero,
(14:49):
they seem to get into a rhythm in those last
six minutes of this game.
Speaker 9 (14:53):
I think both those guys are all three of those
guys really, Jim and Tim. They're going to get more
comfortable as this series goes on. They're going to understand
the playoff whistle, They're going to understand playoff level physicality.
They're going to understand how to be a little bit
more poised and keep their composure when an opponent goes
(15:13):
on a run in the playoffs. So I think these
guys are going to start to figure it out a
little bit more. They're going to be more accustomed to
everything that the playoffs is going to test them with.
And Suggs to me, look, I had a vote end
of season awards. Suggs was on my second team All Defense.
(15:35):
He is that level disruptive. He was picking Darius's pocket.
He was making it really really tough for the Cavs
to get into their offensive sets consistently. And he's one
of the best shooters that they have. He's one of
two guys on their roster that made more than one
hundred threes in the regular season. They had just two
guys on the roster that did that. He was one
(15:57):
of them. But if he's going to struggle shooting from
the outside the way that he did in Game one.
That's obviously going to make their offense look a little
bit more discombobulated. It's going to make the paint more congested,
and the Cavs just aren't going to honor that outside
shot the same kind of way. If he starts making
those outside shots, then all of a sudden, I think
(16:20):
it opens up the offense and it frees up Pollo
and Franz to have more driving lanes.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Good stuff. Chris Fiedor has always good stuff. Chris joining
us on Cavs HQ presented by Betway, A quick timeout
and more to come with Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot com.
So stay with us on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio verse.
Speaker 10 (16:46):
Last week, in collaboration with the City of Cleveland and
celebration of the community in basketball, the Cavaliers continue to
further its mission to support the development and well being
of youth in Northeast Ohio by opening the sixteenth Cavaliers
in the city. This grand opening event at Woodland Recreation
Center included a press conference followed by a ribbon cutting
(17:06):
of the newly renovated basketball court. Following the event, youth
in the community we're invited to participate in a basketball
skills contest and a playoff rally with Calves Academy coaches.
Calves in the Community is brought to you by Discount
Drug Mart. We'll be back with the second half of
Calves HQ presented by Betway right after this on the
Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
This is calvs HQ Playoff Edition presented by Betway on
the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse. Now back to the
second half with Tim Alcorn and Jim Jones.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Great to have you with us on Cavs HQ presented
by Betway. And obviously we're all in a pretty good
mood as the Cavaliers have a one to nothing lead
over the Orlando Magic after their Game one win on Saturday.
Game two Monday night at Rocket Mortgage Field House. Jim
and I will have it on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers
(18:06):
Audio Verse right now, Jim and I together on Cavs
HQ and our special guest Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot Com.
Jimmy want to get started with Chris here in our
second segment.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Thank you Tim. One of the observations I had Chris
was that the starters don't win the games for them.
They really count on that bench to be physical, to
play defense, and even put in some combinations of bench
players to win the games. Your thoughts on their starters
versus their bench play.
Speaker 9 (18:34):
Well, guys, I think you're right about that one, and
Jimmy hit that one exactly. Orlando came into the series
with an advantage in terms of their bench versus the
Cavs bench based on effectiveness. During the regular season, the
Magic had a top ten bench in the NBA. But
you have to wonder, is Cole Anthony an eighty two
game player or is he a sixteen game player?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (18:56):
Is Joe Ingle somebody at this stage of his career
that can provide the spark offensively coming off the bench
that Jamal Mosley would want from him. Is Markel Fultz
ready for this level of playoff basketball given his limitations
as an offensive player, given his limitations as a shot maker,
as somebody who can stretch it out to the perimeter.
(19:19):
I just think when you get into a playoff environment
and you have weaknesses as a player, because everybody does,
unless you're Lebron James, basically those are going to get
preyed on by the opponent and like, how do you
make the counters to those sorts of things. And that's
one of the things that I'm going to be fascinated
to see from some of the Magic guys that didn't
(19:40):
play up to the standard that they were used to
in the regular season. How did they make the adjustments?
How did they make the counters when everything is designed
to take away what it is you do best.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Chris, you mentioned earlier in our first segment how Orlando
really tried to mock the game up, but it became
a very grimy game on Saturday afternoon. But I was
very impressed with how the Calves responded to that. Just
talk about your take as far as how the Calves
kind of said, Okay, you want to make this a knockdown,
drag out kind of brawl, we can play that kind
(20:12):
of basketball.
Speaker 9 (20:13):
It's interesting because there's a reputation guys that the Calves have.
It's clear across the NBA. Teams around the NBA believe
that they're soft. Teams around the NBA are going to
test their mental. Teams around the NBA are going to
test them from an emotional standpoint, from a physical standpoint,
and the only way that you can prove that you're
different is by showing that you are different. And I
(20:35):
thought it was great for the Calves to see Isaacacorro
bump Mo Wagner in the back and not take anything.
I thought it was great for George Niang to try
and set that physical tone and get into it with
Markel Fultz and not take any of the mess from
the opposing team. And I thought also the most important
thing for the Calves is that when Orlando went on
(20:58):
that run early in the third corps of Game one
and they cut the lead to five at various points
last year against the Knicks, that was Oh the Calves
probably would have folded last year, and this year they regrouped,
they came together, and they responded the way that you
need to respond in the playoffs. And I think that
(21:19):
shows a level of maturity. I think that shows a
level of evolution for this team. And that was a
really really important moment because it could have gone the
other way for the Cavs, and it has gone the
other way in the past. They didn't allow that to
happen this time.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
You know, it was almost like Chris remember last year
when teams would make a run or it was time
for us to do something. It seemed like we would
try to shoot our way out of it, you know,
and taking bad shots four step shots. But this team,
when the Magic had a couple of runs, they stepped
(21:56):
up their defense. Yeah, and they were able to get
turnovers and get some easy look in early in the clock.
Talk about that.
Speaker 9 (22:02):
That was the other thing, guys that stood out to me,
you know, in the second half of the regular season,
understanding that there were so many circumstances tied to the
way that the Calves played in the second half of
the regular season, but their defense was bottom ten in
the NBA. It just was not up to their standard.
To see them and yes, I know part of it
has to do with the fact that Orlando is a
(22:23):
flawed offensive team, especially in a playoff environment where they're
not going to get the same Withstole, They're not going
to get to the free throw line at the same rate.
But to see the Calves get back to the defense
that made them the team that they have been for
a majority of the last two and a half three years,
that I think was really really important for them to
(22:44):
understand that we can lean on that end of the
floor still, we can still get stops on demand. We
can use that to potentially fuel our offense. I thought
that was really really important for the Calves to see
that they could crank it back up to that same
kind of level and get back to the identity that
(23:05):
has made them the team that they are.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Chris, you have great relationships and insights with the guys
on the team, and I want to ask you about
two in particular that had terrific games on Saturday. In
game one Donovan game high thirty points in Jared Allen
and going back to last April, I think they were
the two guys that really took that first round playoff
loss to heart and they weren't just disappointed, they were
(23:30):
angered by it. And you know those guys and you've
talked to them throughout the year, how much were they
highly anticipating yesterday's game?
Speaker 9 (23:39):
Yeah, I think in a big way. I think it
helps Jared Allen that he doesn't have to deal with
Mitchell Robinson, one of the premier offensive rebounders in the
last ten years. It's interesting because coming out of that series, guys,
there was this reputation that the Cavs were not physical enough.
And I kept saying to myself. You know, is it
(23:59):
that they they just aren't physical overall or were they
not physical enough against that team, against that group of players,
because how many teams would have been overwhelmed physically against
those dudes, probably a lot of them.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
That's who they were.
Speaker 9 (24:15):
That's why the Knicks are the Knicks, because they play
with that level of physicality. The Magic don't. They are physical,
they are grimy, they are defensive minded, but they're not
the Knicks. They don't have the same players and they
don't have the same level of physicality because, as you
guys know, there are levels to this. There are levels
to greatness, there are levels to physicality. So I thought
(24:36):
it was really important for Jarrett to be able to
dominate on the boards the way that he did, to
be able to anchor the paint. And for Donovan, look,
he has not made any kind of excuses about this.
He was not good enough against the Knicks last year.
He did not meet the star standard, and he was
not good enough two years ago against the Dallas Mavericks
(24:57):
when Jalen Brunson got the best of him the first time.
So for Donovan, he came into this postseason with a
lot to prove He is the eighth leading scorer in
NBA playoff history, but a lot of that came early
on in his career when he became Spider Mitchell, when
he was having individual success and fifty point games and
forty point games. I think Donovan had to show that
(25:21):
he still is Donovan, that he can be a high
level playoff performer, that he can be the explosive, athletic,
change of direction type guy that was in the MVP
conversation at the beginning of the season as opposed to
the wounded second half player that was kind of dragging
his knee at various points. So for him to have
(25:44):
that dunk, just his second one since the All Star Break,
big moment. For him to have that spinning dish to
Jared Allen also a big moment, And I think Donovan
is on a mission to show that he can still
be a guy that per forms at his best in
the biggest moments. Donovan has aspirations to win championships. Donovan
(26:06):
wants to be the face of the NBA when Lebron
and Steph and Katie and those guys are gone. Donovan
considers himself one of the best players in the entire league,
you have to perform on this stage to live up
to that, and this was a really really good start
for Donovan given everything that happened in the series against
(26:26):
the Next last year.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Yeah, he did it on Saturday. We'll see if he
can do it again tomorrow night and throughout the playoffs
for the Cavaliers. On that note, Chris feed Or, we
know you're a busy guy. You've got to get ready
for tomorrow night in Game two. But hey, we appreciate
you stopping by cravs HK.
Speaker 9 (26:43):
You gotta guys. The games just keep on coming. That's
the best thing about this time of year, right.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
It is an unrelenting schedule, no doubt. Wait. Great to
have Chris Feedor from Cleveland dot Com joining us on
this week's edition of Cavs HQ presented by Betway. What's
the Orlando side of the story. We'll hear from there
radio play by play guy Jake Chapman. We'll have Jake
join us right after this on kev's HQ presented by Betway.
(27:11):
On the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Speaker 11 (27:17):
Mitchell opened for three to two defenders, went mc darling
Edny Angle miss that a big three point makeer Donovan Mitchell,
time out, Jamal Moseley and the Magic, and the lead
is up to fourteen eighty eight seventy four, four forty
four to go. Rocket Mortgage field House is rocking well.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
It sure was, as the Cavaliers secured Game one win
on Saturday afternoon to take a one to nothing the
lead in the best of seven opening round series against
the Orlando Magic. Game two tomorrow night, right back in
downtown Cleveland, seven o'clock tip, which means a six thirty
Huntington pregame show all along the Medical Mutual Audio verse.
(28:01):
Now on the Orlando side of things, there's Jake Chapman
there radio play by play voice. I don't know if
you've ever had a guest two straight weeks on Cavs HQ,
but we had Jake on last week to preview the series,
and now we thought we'd get the Orlando's side of
the story with Jake joining us once again to talk
about Game one yesterday afternoon, and Jake, just a quick
(28:25):
synopsis from your viewpoint as to what happened on Saturday.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
Yeah, well, Tim, I was a little bit more optimistic
when you had me on last week. I mean.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
I got to bottle that up here.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
I think, look, here's the thing I got done with
the broadcast yesterday. I got done with a game call
and we jumped on the post game show and I said,
you know, the silver lining is the defense was solid, right,
you held the Caves under a undred points.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
There were a lot.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
I think the physicality wasn't anything that the Magic backed
away from. So there were certainly things to like. I said,
we played Magic basketball for better or worse because we
haven't been a good free throwing team all season. I
thought that was the swing in the game. Magic shoot
a higher free throw attempt rate than any team in
the league, but they're twenty six in free throw percentage,
and that, to me was your ballgame that in the
(29:12):
lack of shooting period, like the Magic missed open looks,
they miss covered up looks, and they missed the most
open looks, which is eleven free throw attempts. Nineteen to
thirty ain't gonna cut it. The turnovers were an issue,
right Paula had nine of them. There were twelve turnovers total,
but many many points generated off of those turnovers. They
were those live ball turnovers. I think the Cavs converted
every single steal they came up with, finished the game
(29:34):
with nine steals and had what eighteen points off those turnovers, So,
you know, offensively, I think there's a whole bunch to
work on. There were times where I felt like it
was working, but I think we really struggled finding open looks,
and credit to Cavs defense certainly for that. I had
a feeling Donovan Mitchell was going to have that type
of game. I think we could probably still win a
game allowing thirty to Donnie, but the sixteen and eighteen
(29:57):
double double for Jared Allen was pun of So the
magic I think, you know, probably feel like, look, we
didn't know what we didn't know. They're gonna have a
sense of what the atmosphere will be like, and hopefully
they're able to adjust and put more than eighty three
points on the board, because that's just.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
Not going to cut it.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
You know, I was looking at some of the numbers,
and I know that your bench is a fundamental reason
why you win. Are you surprised that they went five
or twenty four because you've got a lot of experience
on that bench.
Speaker 6 (30:25):
Yeah, and Jim, it was the guards period, right like
Jalen was four of sixteen in the starting lineup. Gary
waszer of six and Gary deserved a little bit of
a reprieve because he was chasing It's the top of
an a round all game, doing a pretty good job.
But between Cole Anthony over seven off the bench, Marcello
oh for four, you just didn't really get anything from
the backcourt. Moe Wagner gave you ten points in thirteen minutes.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
But you're right.
Speaker 6 (30:46):
I mean, the Magic had the second best offensive rated
bench in the league during the regular season, behind only Indiana,
and there wasn't much And so you know, part of it,
I think is you made this switch now in the
last week within the starting lineup. Ji is now a
part of the starting lineup, a Glendell Carter junior is
coming off the bench, So I think there's a little
bit of unfamiliarity there. But that to me was a
(31:08):
big swing. We need some offensive pop coming from that
second unit. Typically it's coal, it's Joe Ingles setting up
two man action with Moe Wagner, and just didn't see
a ton of that at all. So look credit to
the Cavs defense. I thought George Kneeing was one of
the most important parts of the game. Defensively, you know,
he was really really sound. He's a plus thirteen while
he was out there. Not an easy came while he
(31:30):
was on the floor. He just talks so well. I
think he keeps them organized defensively when he's on the floor,
and that makes up for some of the lack of
you know, lateral movement and things like that with knee aang.
But but I thought between niang Acoro and Lavert, the
Cavs bench, you know, severely outplayed the Magic bench, and
as you mentioned, that's been a part of the formula
(31:51):
all season. So I'm sure they'll go back to the
drawing board there again.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
We're talking with Jake Chapman, the radio play by play
voice of the Orlando Magic, nice enough to join us
on have his HQ. And of course, if you were
with us last week. Jake a Northeast Ohio guy from Shardon.
His parents faithfully listened to him. Uh, well, they're over
in Shardon, and Jake, I want to say, or I
want to ask you about the physicality aspect of the game.
(32:16):
It became a real grind it out, down and dirty
kind of basketball game on Saturday. Is that the way
Orlando wins this series. If they do win the series,
it's a good question.
Speaker 6 (32:28):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (32:31):
I thought I thought the Magic answered the bell right,
Like you go down what eleven before the first time out,
you saw Joe Ingles tag the I forget exactly who
it was.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Who was it?
Speaker 6 (32:43):
Was it Garland? Joe Ingles threw a shoulder on a
tag early on in the first half, and then there
was a flagrant with Marcel. So I think the Magic
kind of had in the back of their heads like
we're not going to be intimidated and so I and
I think they acquitted themselves somewhat well.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
On that front.
Speaker 6 (32:58):
The rebounding was an issue. Now, the second chance points
didn't necessarily hurt you, but that's a big part of
our offense, Like we need to generate offense with second
chance opportunities. Those there's plenty of them if you're shooting
the ball the way that we did thirty two point
six percent from the field. So I think second chance
points like it probably needs to be even more.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
So than we saw.
Speaker 6 (33:20):
I think physically, I think the Magic can go toe
to toe with the Calves, But that looked like a
team in the Calves who had their wake up call
a year ago, and hopefully for Magic fans sake, this
isn't the wake up call here. I think we have
the personnel and the disposition to be as physical as
we need to be to win the series. But you
got to figure out a way and Jim can speak
to this to kind of channel it right in the
(33:43):
right way. Something you know, pick it up cheap flagrant
files is probably not the best way to do it.
So I think you come back not feeling like he
got smacked around, but knowing that you're gonna have to
be a little bit smarter with your physicality.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Yeah, I totally agree with you, because many times these
games come down there with one to two and three
point Uh could you see this series staying in the nineties?
Could you see that?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
I could?
Speaker 6 (34:06):
I mean, I think it's probably gonna it's gonna be.
That's probably the way that we want to play it, right, Like,
I think, once we get into the the Cavs scored
almost one hundred and nineteen points per one hundred possessions
against the Magic and four regular season meetings, and that
was That's not what the Magic did right. The rest
of the league was up around one to eleven. So
I think if it gets into shot making contests and
(34:27):
one twenty one ten type finals, that plays into the
Cavs hands. You know, this the third game all seasons
that the Magic loss holding the team under one hundred points.
And the Magic did it twenty three times this year, right,
So it's happened a lot of times the Magic defense,
or excuse me, it wasn't that many. It was thirteen times.
But the Magic defense is certainly capable of winning games.
(34:50):
And I think playing games kind of like this, you know,
one oh five to one hundred type final score, but
you're gonna have to find some offense from somewhere because
the problem with the Calves is I think they're comfortable
either way. And you saw that on Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
All right, Jake, as they say in radio, we got
about a minute left, So just ask you real quick,
what do you expect tomorrow night.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
I expect a better offensive performance from the Magic. I
expect the Calves to make some requisite adjustments. I think
it'll be a little bit tighter than this, but I
expect something similar. I don't expect one twenty to one fifteen.
I expect something around the one hundred point range and hopefully,
and I don't know how you get much better at
pre throws in forty eight hours, hopefully.
Speaker 11 (35:34):
You get in the gym.
Speaker 6 (35:35):
I do expect the Magic to protect the basketball a
bit better. Again. The twelve turnovers not something that you
can't live with, but those live ball turnovers. I think
the Magic will be a a little bit better in
that regard, but we'll see. It's it's going to be
constant adjustments. And it feels like Calves have the leg
up right now just as far as identity goes and
knowing how they want to play. So I want to
(35:57):
be shocked if we're headed back here down oh two.
But I think the Magic is very at least know
what to expect now in that building.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
There you go. That's exactly right. Thank you very much, Jake.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
We appreciate it. Look forward to uh again talking to you.
Who knows, maybe a third straight week, we shall see,
but appreciate you taking the time on this week.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
You very much, great.
Speaker 6 (36:17):
Stuff anytime, guys. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Jake Chapman, the radio play by playvoice of the Orlando Magic,
joining us on Calves aheq A quick time out Jim
and I will put the finishing touches on this week's show.
After this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse. It's
gonna do it for this week's edition of Caves Aheq
presented by Betway Boy Fun Show. It's always fun to
(36:43):
have Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot Com stopping by to
pay us a visit. And you just heard from Jake Chapman,
the radio play by playvoice of the Orlando Magic and Jim.
I thought both Chris feed Or more from the Cavs perspective,
but Jake from the Orlando perspective had some great insights
as to what happened yesterday at Rock and Mortgage field
(37:04):
House and what we might see tomorrow night. Well, our
fans deserve to have another opinion other than us. You know,
I've been called a homer for thirty years, so I
sort of relished that title. But there's a couple things
that they talked about. It was our bench with Kniang,
o'corro and Lavert. You know, they played outstanding. They only
(37:25):
scored fourteen points, but they did some things out there
that will contageous to winning, especially on the defensive side.
The other thing is how well the Cavaliers defense played
Orlando's starting guards and then the two off the bench.
I thought they were magnificent in challenging those guys to score. Yeah,
really good stuff. So Game two tomorrow night at Rock
(37:47):
and Mortgage Field House. It will tip off at seven,
which means the Huntington Tip Bob Show comes your way
at six thirty on the Medical Mutual Cavalier's Audio vers
Thanks to the dynamic duo Kurt McLoughlin along with Marty
Alan Jim. Thanks to you, Thanks to our guest Chris
Fiedor and Jake Chapman. Biggest thanks goes to you the listeners.
Talk to you again tomorrow night from the Joe Tate Perch.
(38:10):
It'll be Cavs and Magic in Game two. So until then,
thank you so much for listening, and so long everybody,
Welcome to Calves HQ Playoff Edition presented by bet Way.
Thank you for joining us on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers
audio verse. Now Here are your hosts, Tim Alcorn and
Jim Chones.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
From the Cavaliers production studios at Rocket Mortgage Field House
in downtown Cleveland. Hi again, everybody, and indeed, welcome to
the playoff edition of Calvs HQ presented by Betway. Great
to have you with us, and great to have joining
me on Calves HQ. Cavalier Legend Wall of Honor inductee
and certainly a great broadcast partner, one of the premiere,
(00:45):
if not the premiere radio color commentators in the NBA
in Jim Chones and Jim yesterday in the Calves jump
out to a one to nothing lead over Orlando in
this best of seven series, with Game two slated for
tomorrow night at Rock and Mortgage field House. And well,
we've got a lot of ground to cover on this
week's HQ. We'll have Chris feed Or stopping by to
(01:07):
pay us a visit and get his thoughts on what
happened Saturday, and we'll hear the Orlando side of the
story from their radio play by play guy Jake Chapman.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Well, it should be interesting, Tim. I want to really
hear what Jake has to say. He is a lot
closer to that team. I don't think they were discouraged
by the way they played. They know they can play better,
especially for the free throw line, and I'm not sure
if they could shoot any worse from the three point line,
but the free throws definitely hurt them.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, it was a tough loss for the Magic, but
as you said, they've got some things to build on
as they get ready for Game two tomorrow night. And
for the Cavaliers, an important Game one win at Rocket
Mortgage field House to jump into the series lead and
maintain home court advantage. Well, Saturday was a nice win
to start the series for the Cavs. When we come back,
(01:56):
Jim and I will look back at that Game one win.
Stay with us Kev's HQ presented by Betway continues after
this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio verse. Garland left
of the lane into lane Allen.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Pow how we posterized Jonathan Isaac Charon Allen with a thunderous.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
Dunk and Carol throws it out front ball to Fleck
and Mitchel has it pow the step tepness dunk leads
to a deafening roar.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
They call it defense.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Ti Garland on the driple steps right, three ball bag.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
He's got it.
Speaker 6 (02:36):
He had big Hugh the Dagger.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
DG delivers and we welcome you back. keVs HQ presented
by Betway. Of course, some highlights from yesterday's Game one
win by the Cavaliers as they took out the Orlando
Magic ninety seven eighty three at Rocket Mortgage field House
Game two Monday night, as those two teams will battle again.
(03:04):
Boy Jim, a lot to kind of dissect there, But
what's one or two things that really stood out for you?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah? I thought the Cavaliers team defense and their ability
to minimize the starting guards and the two starting guards
off the bench. I thought they were fantastic and keeping
those guys out of the paint and also contesting their shots.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
For Darius Garland, solid performance. You heard that huge shot
that kind of put the game away for the Cavaliers.
He had fourteen points to go along with eight assists.
And after the game, DG talked Dude, Jim and I
on the postgame show and I asked him, woy how
anxious were the Cavs to get started, and how important
was the start of the ball game.
Speaker 7 (03:45):
We guys come out with intensity, you know that they're
y'all and Air was gonna fight to forty eight and uh.
Speaker 8 (03:50):
Just trying to get a little jump start on him.
Just tried to play front of the first buzzer.
Speaker 7 (03:55):
Just to just to get us going and get everybody
into it, get the crowd into it because they got
six man and trying to maintain that for the whole
forty eight.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
They were all over you. You can tell that officiating
has changed since the All Star Game. They were holding
and grabbing, but then they allowed you to do the same.
I thought your defense in the second half was magnificent.
Great job theres.
Speaker 7 (04:19):
Yeah, all team defense was great I think for the time,
and I we had a couple couple of slip ups,
but I thought we regret that sorry night. We know
what the physicality is going to be like, we know
the mentalities from last year, so we just wanted to
reciprocate it.
Speaker 8 (04:35):
We wanted to be the first one up to punch first.
He wasn't going to be the one that just get
hit first. And that's what we did.
Speaker 7 (04:41):
We started the physicality early, and that's what I think,
that's what got us the big lead earliest in the
first half.
Speaker 8 (04:47):
A little bit yep DG.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
How anxious were the guys to get to this moment,
and not anxious in a bad way as and nervous,
but anxious just to get the postseason play Let's get
this thing started.
Speaker 7 (05:00):
Yeah, I mean we were super ready and we had
like five pays off but just practicing.
Speaker 8 (05:05):
So everybody's been eager. Everybody had been super super excited.
Speaker 7 (05:09):
Just had a first home game and first playoff experience
for some of us.
Speaker 8 (05:13):
But it was great.
Speaker 7 (05:15):
I mean, everybody's been waiting, everybody been anticipating this, so
I'm glad we got the first sea.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And obviously all around performances. Donovan with thirty, the two
big guys each had double doubles, Evan Mobley blocking shots
left and right. Just talk about what a team effort
this was today.
Speaker 7 (05:31):
It was a great team effort, man. I mean that's
been us to this high year. We've always been about
their team. We've always been about just finishing game strong
and did having each other's back. So I think that
we did a really good job of that tonight. And
this guy carrying on for three, hopefully three more games.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
What good start to the series for Darius Garland and
Jim As he mentioned at the end, not only for
DG a solid performance, but everybody that played for the
Cavaliers on Saturday contribute to that victory in some way.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Yeah they did, but no one contributed more than Darius Garland.
Why because he could score against this team. But what
he did is he got us into our offense. He
organized us, and he only took shots that were meaningful
and he only made passes where he made a good
read on the defense through his dribble penetration. Now look it.
(06:24):
You know, he could easily average twenty something against this team,
but I think fourteen and eight assists and getting us
into our offense. He all played the other opposition's guards
and they were hounding him all game, but he kept
his composure and he got us into our offense. And
that's one of the things I expect from him to
(06:45):
get us into our offense and also to be aggressive
on the defensive end. If he can maintain that, If
he can maintain those disciplines, the Cavs will win this
series in less than seven.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Good stuff from Jim Jones, says, Jim and I bring
you Cavs ahe Cooper presented by Betway. We've got further
insights coming as coming up next, we'll have Chris Fiedor
from Cleveland dot Com. He'll stop by and pay Jim
and I a visit. And then later on in the show,
but what's the Orlando side of the story, We'll hear
from Jake Chapman, the radio play by play voice of
(07:17):
the Orlando Magic. We'll get Jake's thoughts as to what
happened on Saturday afternoon. So don't go anywhere. We've got
a lot more to come. It's Cavs HQ presented by Betway.
Great to have it for you all along the Medical
Mutual Cavaliers audio verse. Garland's still on the dripple bounce
(07:38):
left in the lane of Mobley.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Spins Wow who by living with a spin move like
he was back at the high school dance rebound grat
by Mobiley the Garland ahead of LeVert.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Lvert tries put it up God and another fow Garland
Foulne shot perfectly.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
This guard play. We talked about it before the game.
The guard art play Donovan vigilant Darius Garland closes this
game out and.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
We welcome you back. It's Cavs HQ presented by betway
All along the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse Tim Elcorn
along with Jim Chones as Jim and I called that
game for you yesterday on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse.
Cavs with a Game one win over the Orlando Magic
and now game two tomorrow night at Rocket Mortgage field
(08:29):
House and Jim. Not only you and I there to
cover it for the state of Ohio and worldwide on
the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio Verse, but a guy that
has worldwide followers on Twitter and x and wherever else
he puts his stuff up. Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot
Com was there to cover game one on Saturday as well,
(08:51):
and now he joins us on Cavs HQ. Chris, great
to see you. What's going on, guys? How are you well?
We're doing all right after yesterday's big wins. So let's
dig into it from your perspective. You watch it differently
than Jim and I. What you see in Saturday's when
that not only the Calves can build on, but that
you think Orlando will now adjust for Game two tomorrow night.
Speaker 9 (09:16):
I think as There were two things that stood out
to me about Game one, and the first one was
that the Calves looked like a team that had been there.
They were comfortable on that stage, They were comfortable in
that environment. They knew the level of physicality the playoff
basketball required. They were more ready for what the playoffs
are all about, more so than Orlando, and that was
(09:37):
to be expected because coming into the series, the Cavs
had three hundred and fifty nine total games of playoff
experience across their roster and the Magic had ninety one,
and all but thirteen of those are taken by Gary
Harrison Joe Ingles, so four total guys on the Magic
roster that have been in that environment, that had been
(09:59):
on that stage. And you could tell early on they
were turning the ball over, they weren't comfortable, They looked
a little bit rattled. That was one thing that stood
out to me is that the Calves handled everything that
playoff basketball requires better than they did last year against
the Knicks. The second thing, coming into the series, everybody
knew it. Orlando was the worst offense of any team
(10:21):
that made the postseason, they were the worst three point
shooting team in the entire NBA. And the way that
they get offense when they actually do is through ISOs
putting their head down, trying to get to the free
throw line, trying to get into the paint. But the
Calves defense is built to protect the paint. So it's
(10:43):
a clash of styles in that kind of way. And
I just don't know. One game doesn't tell you everything,
but I just don't know. Given all the questions about
Orlando's mucky offense to begin with, I don't know that
they have enough paths to success at that end of
the floor. They're going to have to win these physical, grimy,
(11:03):
low scoring games. But we saw it last year with
the Cavs in the first round of the playoffs. Guys,
you can only defend so much in the postseason. At
some point you have to score, and I just don't
know that the Magic can consistently do that against this defense.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
You know, I was just sitting here looking and I
was thinking about their rotation. Some might say it's too
early to shorten it, but I don't know. The Calves
they've got them defensively. Are you surprised that he went
with a ten man rotation, the same rotation that he
went with all season.
Speaker 9 (11:37):
Talking about Mosley, not really that surprised Jim, just because
I feel like in game one you try and lean
on the things that were successful for you in the
regular season. You have a plan going into a first
round matchup, you have a plan going into game one,
and then based on what happens throughout that, then you
adjust from quarter one to quarter two, two to three,
(12:00):
first half to second half, Game one to game two.
So I do think it's probably as this series goes on,
and probably even going into Game two, given the lack
of impact from Markel Foltz and Cole Anthony didn't provide
what he usually does off the bench, the leash is
going to get a little bit shorter as the series
goes on.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Again, we're talking with Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot Com
nice enough to stop by and join Jim Jones and
yours truly, Tim Elcorn on Cavs HQ. So let's try
to get into the minds a little bit of JB.
Bickerstaff and Jamal Mosley and maybe more coach Mosley since
they came out on the short end on Saturday, what
sort of tweaks and adjustments. Man.
Speaker 9 (12:40):
I just wonder if the Magic have a consistent enough
and a working enough five man lineup at both ends
of the floor. It just feels a lot like the
calves of last year in the series against the Knicks,
where every decision that JB. Bickerstaff was trying to make
as an either or proposition. If I'm going to go
(13:03):
to Jeddi Osman, I'm getting a little bit more offense,
a little bit more spacing, a little bit more three
point shooting, but the defensive problems compared to him and
Isaac Cacorro are pretty glaring, and I just feel like
those same things Jamal Mosley is being faced with if
he wants to go to Cole Anthony because he wants
a lift off the bench, and he was the leading
(13:25):
bench scorer for the Magic this past year during the
regular season, that's fine, But who's he gonna guard at
times because Orlando likes to switch, Because Orlando likes to
play certain kind of defense. Six foot two, six foot three,
Cole Anthony was matched up against Evan Mobley and it
was barbecue chicken. So it just feels like with every
(13:48):
decision that he could try and make he's giving up
something to gain something else. It'll be really really interesting
to see how he navigates that one and the other thing.
When it comes to JB, I think the one thing
that he's going to keep in his back pocket is
the Tristan Thompson Marcus Morris senior card. If things aren't
going well with Sam Merrill as the ninth guy in
(14:09):
the rotation, I could definitely see JB saying, all right,
we need a little bit more toughness, we need more physicality,
we need more size rebounding, let's go to either Tristan
or Morris. And I just feel like in this game
of playoff chess, JB has more pieces that can move
different ways.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Yeah, one of the things I didn't know that Suggs
was that goods Suggs is pretty good. He's really good
basically on one end of the floor, which is his
disruptive defense. But he did make a few shots at
the end. Can something like that carry over especially for
him at Franz and Franz Wagner and even from Benchero,
(14:49):
they seem to get into a rhythm in those last
six minutes of this game.
Speaker 9 (14:53):
I think both those guys are all three of those
guys really, Jim and Tim. They're going to get more
comfortable as this series goes on. They're going to understand
the playoff whistle, They're going to understand playoff level physicality.
They're going to understand how to be a little bit
more poised and keep their composure when an opponent goes
(15:13):
on a run in the playoffs. So I think these
guys are going to start to figure it out a
little bit more. They're going to be more accustomed to
everything that the playoffs is going to test them with.
And Suggs to me, look, I had a vote end
of season awards. Suggs was on my second team All Defense.
(15:35):
He is that level disruptive. He was picking Darius's pocket.
He was making it really really tough for the Cavs
to get into their offensive sets consistently. And he's one
of the best shooters that they have. He's one of
two guys on their roster that made more than one
hundred threes in the regular season. They had just two
guys on the roster that did that. He was one
(15:57):
of them. But if he's going to struggle shooting from
the outside the way that he did in Game one.
That's obviously going to make their offense look a little
bit more discombobulated. It's going to make the paint more congested,
and the Cavs just aren't going to honor that outside
shot the same kind of way. If he starts making
those outside shots, then all of a sudden, I think
(16:20):
it opens up the offense and it frees up Pollo
and Franz to have more driving lanes.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Good stuff. Chris Fiedor has always good stuff. Chris joining
us on Cavs HQ presented by Betway, A quick timeout
and more to come with Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot com.
So stay with us on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers audio verse.
Speaker 10 (16:46):
Last week, in collaboration with the City of Cleveland and
celebration of the community in basketball, the Cavaliers continue to
further its mission to support the development and well being
of youth in Northeast Ohio by opening the sixteenth Cavaliers
in the city. This grand opening event at Woodland Recreation
Center included a press conference followed by a ribbon cutting
(17:06):
of the newly renovated basketball court. Following the event, youth
in the community we're invited to participate in a basketball
skills contest and a playoff rally with Calves Academy coaches.
Calves in the Community is brought to you by Discount
Drug Mart. We'll be back with the second half of
Calves HQ presented by Betway right after this on the
Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
This is calvs HQ Playoff Edition presented by Betway on
the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse. Now back to the
second half with Tim Alcorn and Jim Jones.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Great to have you with us on Cavs HQ presented
by Betway. And obviously we're all in a pretty good
mood as the Cavaliers have a one to nothing lead
over the Orlando Magic after their Game one win on Saturday.
Game two Monday night at Rocket Mortgage Field House. Jim
and I will have it on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers
(18:06):
Audio Verse right now, Jim and I together on Cavs
HQ and our special guest Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot Com.
Jimmy want to get started with Chris here in our
second segment.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
Thank you Tim. One of the observations I had Chris
was that the starters don't win the games for them.
They really count on that bench to be physical, to
play defense, and even put in some combinations of bench
players to win the games. Your thoughts on their starters
versus their bench play.
Speaker 9 (18:34):
Well, guys, I think you're right about that one, and
Jimmy hit that one exactly. Orlando came into the series
with an advantage in terms of their bench versus the
Cavs bench based on effectiveness. During the regular season, the
Magic had a top ten bench in the NBA. But
you have to wonder, is Cole Anthony an eighty two
game player or is he a sixteen game player?
Speaker 3 (18:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (18:56):
Is Joe Ingle somebody at this stage of his career
that can provide the spark offensively coming off the bench
that Jamal Mosley would want from him. Is Markel Fultz
ready for this level of playoff basketball given his limitations
as an offensive player, given his limitations as a shot maker,
as somebody who can stretch it out to the perimeter.
(19:19):
I just think when you get into a playoff environment
and you have weaknesses as a player, because everybody does,
unless you're Lebron James, basically those are going to get
preyed on by the opponent and like, how do you
make the counters to those sorts of things. And that's
one of the things that I'm going to be fascinated
to see from some of the Magic guys that didn't
(19:40):
play up to the standard that they were used to
in the regular season. How did they make the adjustments?
How did they make the counters when everything is designed
to take away what it is you do best.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Chris, you mentioned earlier in our first segment how Orlando
really tried to mock the game up, but it became
a very grimy game on Saturday afternoon. But I was
very impressed with how the Calves responded to that. Just
talk about your take as far as how the Calves
kind of said, Okay, you want to make this a knockdown,
drag out kind of brawl, we can play that kind
(20:12):
of basketball.
Speaker 9 (20:13):
It's interesting because there's a reputation guys that the Calves have.
It's clear across the NBA. Teams around the NBA believe
that they're soft. Teams around the NBA are going to
test their mental. Teams around the NBA are going to
test them from an emotional standpoint, from a physical standpoint,
and the only way that you can prove that you're
different is by showing that you are different. And I
(20:35):
thought it was great for the Calves to see Isaacacorro
bump Mo Wagner in the back and not take anything.
I thought it was great for George Niang to try
and set that physical tone and get into it with
Markel Fultz and not take any of the mess from
the opposing team. And I thought also the most important
thing for the Calves is that when Orlando went on
(20:58):
that run early in the third corps of Game one
and they cut the lead to five at various points
last year against the Knicks, that was Oh the Calves
probably would have folded last year, and this year they regrouped,
they came together, and they responded the way that you
need to respond in the playoffs. And I think that
(21:19):
shows a level of maturity. I think that shows a
level of evolution for this team. And that was a
really really important moment because it could have gone the
other way for the Cavs, and it has gone the
other way in the past. They didn't allow that to
happen this time.
Speaker 3 (21:36):
You know, it was almost like Chris remember last year
when teams would make a run or it was time
for us to do something. It seemed like we would
try to shoot our way out of it, you know,
and taking bad shots four step shots. But this team,
when the Magic had a couple of runs, they stepped
(21:56):
up their defense. Yeah, and they were able to get
turnovers and get some easy look in early in the clock.
Talk about that.
Speaker 9 (22:02):
That was the other thing, guys that stood out to me,
you know, in the second half of the regular season,
understanding that there were so many circumstances tied to the
way that the Calves played in the second half of
the regular season, but their defense was bottom ten in
the NBA. It just was not up to their standard.
To see them and yes, I know part of it
has to do with the fact that Orlando is a
(22:23):
flawed offensive team, especially in a playoff environment where they're
not going to get the same Withstole, They're not going
to get to the free throw line at the same rate.
But to see the Calves get back to the defense
that made them the team that they have been for
a majority of the last two and a half three years,
that I think was really really important for them to
(22:44):
understand that we can lean on that end of the
floor still, we can still get stops on demand. We
can use that to potentially fuel our offense. I thought
that was really really important for the Calves to see
that they could crank it back up to that same
kind of level and get back to the identity that
(23:05):
has made them the team that they are.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Chris, you have great relationships and insights with the guys
on the team, and I want to ask you about
two in particular that had terrific games on Saturday. In
game one Donovan game high thirty points in Jared Allen
and going back to last April, I think they were
the two guys that really took that first round playoff
loss to heart and they weren't just disappointed, they were
(23:30):
angered by it. And you know those guys and you've
talked to them throughout the year, how much were they
highly anticipating yesterday's game?
Speaker 9 (23:39):
Yeah, I think in a big way. I think it
helps Jared Allen that he doesn't have to deal with
Mitchell Robinson, one of the premier offensive rebounders in the
last ten years. It's interesting because coming out of that series, guys,
there was this reputation that the Cavs were not physical enough.
And I kept saying to myself. You know, is it
(23:59):
that they they just aren't physical overall or were they
not physical enough against that team, against that group of players,
because how many teams would have been overwhelmed physically against
those dudes, probably a lot of them.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
That's who they were.
Speaker 9 (24:15):
That's why the Knicks are the Knicks, because they play
with that level of physicality. The Magic don't. They are physical,
they are grimy, they are defensive minded, but they're not
the Knicks. They don't have the same players and they
don't have the same level of physicality because, as you
guys know, there are levels to this. There are levels
to greatness, there are levels to physicality. So I thought
(24:36):
it was really important for Jarrett to be able to
dominate on the boards the way that he did, to
be able to anchor the paint. And for Donovan, look,
he has not made any kind of excuses about this.
He was not good enough against the Knicks last year.
He did not meet the star standard, and he was
not good enough two years ago against the Dallas Mavericks
(24:57):
when Jalen Brunson got the best of him the first time.
So for Donovan, he came into this postseason with a
lot to prove He is the eighth leading scorer in
NBA playoff history, but a lot of that came early
on in his career when he became Spider Mitchell, when
he was having individual success and fifty point games and
forty point games. I think Donovan had to show that
(25:21):
he still is Donovan, that he can be a high
level playoff performer, that he can be the explosive, athletic,
change of direction type guy that was in the MVP
conversation at the beginning of the season as opposed to
the wounded second half player that was kind of dragging
his knee at various points. So for him to have
(25:44):
that dunk, just his second one since the All Star Break,
big moment. For him to have that spinning dish to
Jared Allen also a big moment, And I think Donovan
is on a mission to show that he can still
be a guy that per forms at his best in
the biggest moments. Donovan has aspirations to win championships. Donovan
(26:06):
wants to be the face of the NBA when Lebron
and Steph and Katie and those guys are gone. Donovan
considers himself one of the best players in the entire league,
you have to perform on this stage to live up
to that, and this was a really really good start
for Donovan given everything that happened in the series against
(26:26):
the Next last year.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
Yeah, he did it on Saturday. We'll see if he
can do it again tomorrow night and throughout the playoffs
for the Cavaliers. On that note, Chris feed Or, we
know you're a busy guy. You've got to get ready
for tomorrow night in Game two. But hey, we appreciate
you stopping by cravs HK.
Speaker 9 (26:43):
You gotta guys. The games just keep on coming. That's
the best thing about this time of year, right.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
It is an unrelenting schedule, no doubt. Wait. Great to
have Chris Feedor from Cleveland dot Com joining us on
this week's edition of Cavs HQ presented by Betway. What's
the Orlando side of the story. We'll hear from there
radio play by play guy Jake Chapman. We'll have Jake
join us right after this on kev's HQ presented by Betway.
(27:11):
On the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse.
Speaker 11 (27:17):
Mitchell opened for three to two defenders, went mc darling
Edny Angle miss that a big three point makeer Donovan Mitchell,
time out, Jamal Moseley and the Magic, and the lead
is up to fourteen eighty eight seventy four, four forty
four to go. Rocket Mortgage field House is rocking well.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
It sure was, as the Cavaliers secured Game one win
on Saturday afternoon to take a one to nothing the
lead in the best of seven opening round series against
the Orlando Magic. Game two tomorrow night, right back in
downtown Cleveland, seven o'clock tip, which means a six thirty
Huntington pregame show all along the Medical Mutual Audio verse.
(28:01):
Now on the Orlando side of things, there's Jake Chapman
there radio play by play voice. I don't know if
you've ever had a guest two straight weeks on Cavs HQ,
but we had Jake on last week to preview the series,
and now we thought we'd get the Orlando's side of
the story with Jake joining us once again to talk
about Game one yesterday afternoon, and Jake, just a quick
(28:25):
synopsis from your viewpoint as to what happened on Saturday.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
Yeah, well, Tim, I was a little bit more optimistic
when you had me on last week. I mean.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
I got to bottle that up here.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
I think, look, here's the thing I got done with
the broadcast yesterday. I got done with a game call
and we jumped on the post game show and I said,
you know, the silver lining is the defense was solid, right,
you held the Caves under a undred points.
Speaker 2 (28:49):
There were a lot.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
I think the physicality wasn't anything that the Magic backed
away from. So there were certainly things to like. I said,
we played Magic basketball for better or worse because we
haven't been a good free throwing team all season. I
thought that was the swing in the game. Magic shoot
a higher free throw attempt rate than any team in
the league, but they're twenty six in free throw percentage,
and that, to me was your ballgame that in the
(29:12):
lack of shooting period, like the Magic missed open looks,
they miss covered up looks, and they missed the most
open looks, which is eleven free throw attempts. Nineteen to
thirty ain't gonna cut it. The turnovers were an issue,
right Paula had nine of them. There were twelve turnovers total,
but many many points generated off of those turnovers. They
were those live ball turnovers. I think the Cavs converted
every single steal they came up with, finished the game
(29:34):
with nine steals and had what eighteen points off those turnovers, So,
you know, offensively, I think there's a whole bunch to
work on. There were times where I felt like it
was working, but I think we really struggled finding open looks,
and credit to Cavs defense certainly for that. I had
a feeling Donovan Mitchell was going to have that type
of game. I think we could probably still win a
game allowing thirty to Donnie, but the sixteen and eighteen
(29:57):
double double for Jared Allen was pun of So the
magic I think, you know, probably feel like, look, we
didn't know what we didn't know. They're gonna have a
sense of what the atmosphere will be like, and hopefully
they're able to adjust and put more than eighty three
points on the board, because that's just.
Speaker 4 (30:11):
Not going to cut it.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
You know, I was looking at some of the numbers,
and I know that your bench is a fundamental reason
why you win. Are you surprised that they went five
or twenty four because you've got a lot of experience
on that bench.
Speaker 6 (30:25):
Yeah, and Jim, it was the guards period, right like
Jalen was four of sixteen in the starting lineup. Gary
waszer of six and Gary deserved a little bit of
a reprieve because he was chasing It's the top of
an a round all game, doing a pretty good job.
But between Cole Anthony over seven off the bench, Marcello
oh for four, you just didn't really get anything from
the backcourt. Moe Wagner gave you ten points in thirteen minutes.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
But you're right.
Speaker 6 (30:46):
I mean, the Magic had the second best offensive rated
bench in the league during the regular season, behind only Indiana,
and there wasn't much And so you know, part of it,
I think is you made this switch now in the
last week within the starting lineup. Ji is now a
part of the starting lineup, a Glendell Carter junior is
coming off the bench, So I think there's a little
bit of unfamiliarity there. But that to me was a
(31:08):
big swing. We need some offensive pop coming from that
second unit. Typically it's coal, it's Joe Ingles setting up
two man action with Moe Wagner, and just didn't see
a ton of that at all. So look credit to
the Cavs defense. I thought George Kneeing was one of
the most important parts of the game. Defensively, you know,
he was really really sound. He's a plus thirteen while
he was out there. Not an easy came while he
(31:30):
was on the floor. He just talks so well. I
think he keeps them organized defensively when he's on the floor,
and that makes up for some of the lack of
you know, lateral movement and things like that with knee aang.
But but I thought between niang Acoro and Lavert, the
Cavs bench, you know, severely outplayed the Magic bench, and
as you mentioned, that's been a part of the formula
(31:51):
all season. So I'm sure they'll go back to the
drawing board there again.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
We're talking with Jake Chapman, the radio play by play
voice of the Orlando Magic, nice enough to join us
on have his HQ. And of course, if you were
with us last week. Jake a Northeast Ohio guy from Shardon.
His parents faithfully listened to him. Uh, well, they're over
in Shardon, and Jake, I want to say, or I
want to ask you about the physicality aspect of the game.
(32:16):
It became a real grind it out, down and dirty
kind of basketball game on Saturday. Is that the way
Orlando wins this series. If they do win the series,
it's a good question.
Speaker 6 (32:28):
I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (32:29):
I don't know.
Speaker 6 (32:31):
I thought I thought the Magic answered the bell right,
Like you go down what eleven before the first time out,
you saw Joe Ingles tag the I forget exactly who
it was.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
Who was it?
Speaker 6 (32:43):
Was it Garland? Joe Ingles threw a shoulder on a
tag early on in the first half, and then there
was a flagrant with Marcel. So I think the Magic
kind of had in the back of their heads like
we're not going to be intimidated and so I and
I think they acquitted themselves somewhat well.
Speaker 2 (32:58):
On that front.
Speaker 6 (32:58):
The rebounding was an issue. Now, the second chance points
didn't necessarily hurt you, but that's a big part of
our offense, Like we need to generate offense with second
chance opportunities. Those there's plenty of them if you're shooting
the ball the way that we did thirty two point
six percent from the field. So I think second chance
points like it probably needs to be even more.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
So than we saw.
Speaker 6 (33:20):
I think physically, I think the Magic can go toe
to toe with the Calves, But that looked like a
team in the Calves who had their wake up call
a year ago, and hopefully for Magic fans sake, this
isn't the wake up call here. I think we have
the personnel and the disposition to be as physical as
we need to be to win the series. But you
got to figure out a way and Jim can speak
to this to kind of channel it right in the
(33:43):
right way. Something you know, pick it up cheap flagrant
files is probably not the best way to do it.
So I think you come back not feeling like he
got smacked around, but knowing that you're gonna have to
be a little bit smarter with your physicality.
Speaker 3 (33:55):
Yeah, I totally agree with you, because many times these
games come down there with one to two and three
point Uh could you see this series staying in the nineties?
Could you see that?
Speaker 2 (34:05):
I could?
Speaker 6 (34:06):
I mean, I think it's probably gonna it's gonna be.
That's probably the way that we want to play it, right, Like,
I think, once we get into the the Cavs scored
almost one hundred and nineteen points per one hundred possessions
against the Magic and four regular season meetings, and that
was That's not what the Magic did right. The rest
of the league was up around one to eleven. So
I think if it gets into shot making contests and
(34:27):
one twenty one ten type finals, that plays into the
Cavs hands. You know, this the third game all seasons
that the Magic loss holding the team under one hundred points.
And the Magic did it twenty three times this year, right,
So it's happened a lot of times the Magic defense,
or excuse me, it wasn't that many. It was thirteen times.
But the Magic defense is certainly capable of winning games.
(34:50):
And I think playing games kind of like this, you know,
one oh five to one hundred type final score, but
you're gonna have to find some offense from somewhere because
the problem with the Calves is I think they're comfortable
either way. And you saw that on Saturday afternoon.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
All right, Jake, as they say in radio, we got
about a minute left, So just ask you real quick,
what do you expect tomorrow night.
Speaker 6 (35:11):
I expect a better offensive performance from the Magic. I
expect the Calves to make some requisite adjustments. I think
it'll be a little bit tighter than this, but I
expect something similar. I don't expect one twenty to one fifteen.
I expect something around the one hundred point range and hopefully,
and I don't know how you get much better at
pre throws in forty eight hours, hopefully.
Speaker 11 (35:34):
You get in the gym.
Speaker 6 (35:35):
I do expect the Magic to protect the basketball a
bit better. Again. The twelve turnovers not something that you
can't live with, but those live ball turnovers. I think
the Magic will be a a little bit better in
that regard, but we'll see. It's it's going to be
constant adjustments. And it feels like Calves have the leg
up right now just as far as identity goes and
knowing how they want to play. So I want to
(35:57):
be shocked if we're headed back here down oh two.
But I think the Magic is very at least know
what to expect now in that building.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
There you go. That's exactly right. Thank you very much, Jake.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
We appreciate it. Look forward to uh again talking to you.
Who knows, maybe a third straight week, we shall see,
but appreciate you taking the time on this week.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
You very much, great.
Speaker 6 (36:17):
Stuff anytime, guys. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
Jake Chapman, the radio play by playvoice of the Orlando Magic,
joining us on Calves aheq A quick time out Jim
and I will put the finishing touches on this week's show.
After this on the Medical Mutual Cavaliers Audio Verse. It's
gonna do it for this week's edition of Caves Aheq
presented by Betway Boy Fun Show. It's always fun to
(36:43):
have Chris Fiedor from Cleveland dot Com stopping by to
pay us a visit. And you just heard from Jake Chapman,
the radio play by playvoice of the Orlando Magic and Jim.
I thought both Chris feed Or more from the Cavs perspective,
but Jake from the Orlando perspective had some great insights
as to what happened yesterday at Rock and Mortgage field
(37:04):
House and what we might see tomorrow night. Well, our
fans deserve to have another opinion other than us. You know,
I've been called a homer for thirty years, so I
sort of relished that title. But there's a couple things
that they talked about. It was our bench with Kniang,
o'corro and Lavert. You know, they played outstanding. They only
(37:25):
scored fourteen points, but they did some things out there
that will contageous to winning, especially on the defensive side.
The other thing is how well the Cavaliers defense played
Orlando's starting guards and then the two off the bench.
I thought they were magnificent in challenging those guys to score. Yeah,
really good stuff. So Game two tomorrow night at Rock
(37:47):
and Mortgage Field House. It will tip off at seven,
which means the Huntington Tip Bob Show comes your way
at six thirty on the Medical Mutual Cavalier's Audio vers
Thanks to the dynamic duo Kurt McLoughlin along with Marty
Alan Jim. Thanks to you, Thanks to our guest Chris
Fiedor and Jake Chapman. Biggest thanks goes to you the listeners.
Talk to you again tomorrow night from the Joe Tate Perch.
(38:10):
It'll be Cavs and Magic in Game two. So until then,
thank you so much for listening, and so long everybody,
Hosts And Creators
Tim Alcorn
Jim Chones
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