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The Cleveland Cavaliers are quietly chugging along in the 2024 playoffs. While their series against the Orlando Magic isn’t getting copious attention from the NBA media, they’re silently establishing their dominance against a young team with the stars as its future trajectory.
Donovan Mitchell had an all-around performance, Jarrett Allen was unstoppable on the glass, and the defense was able to stop the Magic from getting as many open looks as they would like.
However, fans think the team can still improve on their performance and close out the series in a dominant fashion. They especially put their attention to one of the team’s primary scorers to up his game to secure the sweep.
Cleveland Cavaliers fans demand improved performances from Darius Garland for Games 3 and 4
The latest episode of the Wine and Gold Talk podcast discussed the aftermath of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Game 2 win over the Magic and what fans expect from the team moving forward in the series.
Ethan Sands and Chris Fedor fielded input from fans on what they wanted the team to improve upon as they hit the road to play the Magic at the Kia Center.
Sands pointed out that fans aren’t sure if Garland actually has what it takes to lead the Cavaliers when he’s struggling against the Magic:
“A lot of people suggested that they didn’t know if Darius Garland could run the offense Chris and I’m going to add in especially because he’s being guarded by Jalen Suggs.”
The biggest issue fans had with Garland was his carelessness with the ball. He committed five turnovers in Game 2, sharing the top spot with Mitchell. He also made the same number of errors in Game 1, making him a liability on JB Bickerstaff’s offensive game plan.
Garland will likely be the main orchestrator of the Cavaliers’ offense if Mitchell decides to leave in the summer, and being careless with the ball during the postseason can cost the Cleveland Cavaliers a championship.
It’s not like Garland is a total liability. While he was sidelined due to injury, he ended the 2023-24 season with 18.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.3 steals a game on 47/37/83% shooting splits. If he manages to take better care of the ball for the rest of their playoff run, the Cavs have a chance to make a deep run for the Larry O’Brien trophy.
More must-reads:
- Nuggets may miss this player as postseason run continues
- How trading Kevin Durant could actually help Phoenix Suns
- The 'Highest career PPG in the playoffs' quiz
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