Limited to 83 then 86 points during the first two games of the first round in Cleveland, the Magic knows that he will have to do better on offense to extend his playoffs. It is indeed difficult to win matches in a series by shooting at a 34.3% success rate, including 23.6% from distance, as is the case in all of the first two outings…
“Our defense is at the level we expected it to be” confirms Paolo Banchero. “But that won’t be enough to win us a game. We have to be better on the other side of the field. »
An observation confirmed by Franz Wagner, who only had a 38% success rate in the first two matches.
“We don’t score enough. Again, I think we got some good positions behind the 3-point line (in Game 2). But we only do 9/35…” notes the German winger.
The problem is that the Magic lack outside snipers, Jonathan Isaac (1/7) and Wendell Carter Jr. (1/6) having tried to break out the Cavaliers defense in Game 2. Without success. An observation that the injury to Jalen Suggs, the team's chief gunner behind the 3-point line, obviously does not help…
A bonus on the pitch thanks to the supporters
“Jalen is one of the pillars of this team”explains Wendell Carter Jr. “When he fell, the first thing was to hope that it wasn't too serious and that he would be able to come back in the match. But for the team, he does all the little things that don't necessarily appear on the stats sheet. On top of that, he's a phenomenal shooter. Even though we were all awkward during the first two meetings. »
From now on, Jamahl Mosley's players hope to find some skill in their venue, the Kia Center. This is because, during the regular season, the Magic were clearly more comfortable at home, where the team posted the 6th record (29 wins – 12 losses) while it only had the 19th record (18 wins – 23 losses) away.
Likewise, after Atlanta (-2.9) and Denver (-2.8), the Magic were the team whose away skill (46.6%) declined the most (-2.1) compared to their home success percentage. (48.7%).
“We’re going to need the fans”announces Paolo Banchero. “We saw how much the fans helped them (the Cavs) during these two games, they fed off that. It helps you put in shots, make actions, put in extra effort. So we are really going to need our supporters. »
See you tomorrow evening (1:00 a.m., Thursday night to Friday), during Game 3, to check the effect…
