Hey, Magic, this is why Cleveland wanted to play you! | Commentary

Now we know why the Cleveland Cavaliers were so eager to play the Orlando Magic.

Now we know why Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff pulled his starters in the final game of the regular season and seemingly tanked the game against the lowly Charlotte Hornets to assure his team would face the offensively challenged Magic in the first round of playoffs.

It doesn’t take an advanced analytics expert to deterimine that it’s going to be much easier for Cleveland to advance in the postseason when the Cavs can score just 97 points and still lead from wire-to-wire and win by 14 as they did on Saturday.

Game 1 of the Magic-Cavs playoff series started with technical difficulties.

And for the Magic, those technical difficulties continued throughout the rest of the afternoon.

The first two minutes of ESPN’s broadcast of the Magic’s playoff opener against the Cavaliers proceeded without any sound from broadcasters Beth Mowins and Stephanie White. While ESPN eventually fixed its operational problems and the network audio returned, the Magic unfortunately never could repair their shooting difficulties and they barely made an offensive peep the rest of the game.

The Magic have been one of the worst-shooting teams in the league all season, but they were exceptionally bad on Saturday when they hit only 32.6 percent from the floor and an abysmal 21.6 percent from 3-point range in the 97-83 Game 1 loss to the Cavs. To make matters even worse, the Magic missed 11 of their 30 free throws

Then again, I guess we should have expected these young and untested Magic players to struggle in their first playoff game ever against a Cavaliers team that went through its own hardships last year when they were bullied out of the first round by the New York Knicks.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said during the broadcast on Saturday that the Magic looked completely “overmatched” in Game 1, which is true. But let us remember that this was only Game 1 — and it was on the road against a Cavs team that has a lot to prove this postseason.

“This was the first [playoff] game for most of us,” Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero said. “You kind of expect to have some mishaps and mistakes, but I’m not worried. We’ll be better in Game 2.”

The Magic certainly got a lesson in playoff basketball Saturday, and hopefully they learned it well. Hopefully, they found out that every missed shot matters, every missed free throw matters, every mistake is magnified. I am willing to give this team the benefit of the doubt and chalk this resounding defeat up to a harsh reality check and a playoff baptism by fire.

Let’s be honest, stepping onto the playoff stage for the first time is pressure-packed and nerve-wracking. Those first-time jitters and the blinding playoff spotlight will cause you to make mistakes you wouldn’t make in Game 67 of the regular season. Like Banchero, who scored 24 points but carelessly committed 9 turnovers and made only half of his free throws. Or the Magic’s five-guard rotation that combined to hit only 4-of-33 shots. Or the starting backcourt of Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris, who were 1-of-12 from 3-point range.

“When you go 19-for-30 from the free-throw line and 8-for-37 from the 3-point line, it’s hard to make up that ground,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.

The scoreboard might have displayed a lopsided result, but I’ll say this for the Magic: They did not look overwhelmed or intimidated by the moment. Even though they ended up losing by 14, they kept fighting back despite being the gang that couldn’t shoot straight for the entire game.

The Cavs opened the game by hitting their first five treys and built a 19-8 lead, but the Magic came back to pull within four points later in the first quarter. The Cavs again built their lead up to 14 in the third quarter but led just 60-56 when Banchero converted a three-point play with 4:24 left in the third.

The Magic twice cut a 20-point deficit to nine in the fourth quarter but just didn’t have the offensive aptitude to ever get over the hump.

“We showed poise,” Mosley said. “We were able to fight back.”

Added Banchero: “We shot 32 [percent] from the field, 21 [percent] from three and 60 [percent] from the line and it still wasn’t over until the final two minutes.”

He makes a good point. The Magic certainly played well enough defensively to win, evidenced by the fact that they were 21-2 during the regular season when holding opponents under 100 points. You figure if the Magic can make just a few more shots and free throws, then maybe — just maybe — they can beat the Cavs.

Game 1, of course, does not define a series especially for a young team trying to find its playoff footing. The beauty of the playoffs is that the narrative and the momentum can change from game to game. The playoffs are about responding and retaliating, adjusting and adapting,

The Magic must embrace that they are now even bigger underdogs who nobody is giving a chance to make any noise whatsoever in the postseason.

We saw on Saturday why the Cavaliers wanted to play the Magic in the playoffs.

Now it’s up to Magic to respond and make the Cavaliers regret their decision.

Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9:30 a.m. on FM 96.9, AM 740 and 969TheGame.com/listen