Cavaliers Loss to the Magic Isn't a Sign of Things to Come

Despite snapping the Cleveland Cavaliers 16-game win streak, the Orlando Magic aren't a legitimate threat to their supremacy

Mar 16, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket beside Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze (35) in the third quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

If the NBA playoffs started today, the Orlando Magic would be playing in the play-in-tournament looking to secure at least the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.

That would put them squarely in line to face off with the juggernaut Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. After snapping the Cavaliers' 16-game win streak with a scrappy 108-103 win, that may feel like a matchup Orlando suddenly wants.

Exacting some revenge for a seven-game, first-round exit at the hands of Cleveland last year may also be part of that. As ugly as Sunday's game was though, it shouldn't serve as some major prognostication of what's to come if the two teams square off in the playoffs.

That's no disrespect to the Magic. They are a good, team. A tough team even, as evidenced by a top-five defensive rating in the NBA, which was on full display over the weekend, as Orlando's press and physical defense forced 11 second-half turnovers by Cleveland.

It was an impressive win for a banged-up Magic team. It was also a one-off regular season game. The Cavaliers are superior to the Magic in a multitude of ways.

Cleveland is No. 1 in offensive rating. Orlando is 28th. Cleveland is the best three-point shooting team in the NBA at a clip of 38.8%. The Magic are dead last at 31.1%. Cleveland is top 10 in pace. Orlando is second-to-last.

Those discrepancies matter, particularly in a seven-game series. Could Orlando drag the Cavaliers down into the mud for a few games and make them play their style to make things interesting? Sure.

Across a seven-game series, though, the Cavaliers' tendencies are more likely to be the norm.

On Sunday, the Cavs played an uncharacteristically sloppy game. They shot just 25% from three, which is their second-lowest single-game percentage from deep on the season.

That's on top of the fact that the team was missing its second-best player, Evan Mobley, while Donovan Mitchell proceeded to shoot an atypical 32% from the floor. Meanwhile, De'Andre Hunter, Max Strus and Sam Merrill combined to shoot three-of-16 from deep.

Those aren't trends that are bound to continue. Those aren't the norm for Cleveland.

Orlando deserves credit for cooling down the red-hot Cavaliers on Sunday. The game doesn't need to serve as some bad omen of what's to come, though.

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