Orlando is trying to cobble together a team that is playing a lot of young guys in an effort to find a cohesive group to build around going forward but it’s safe to say that they aren’t expecting to contend. Cleveland has that young nucleus and made the big move to acquire Mitchell from Utah before the season started to give them a premiere scoring option in crunch time. The Cavaliers have a good group of pieces around him and will only get better once Garland is back to full speed after his eye injury. Cleveland has won two straight and seeing how Orlando has yet to get in the win column this season, you have to fade them accordingly.
Wendell Carter Jr. (14. 3 points, 10. 5 rebounds), Jalen Suggs (12 points) and Bol Bol (10 points, 4. 8 rebounds) are solid contributors. Caleb Houstan, Chuma Okeke, Mo Bamba, R. J. Hampton and Kevon Harris all have to contribute for the Magic. Orlando is 21st in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 45% from the field on the year. The Magic is 23rd in the league in threes per game as they hit 10. 3 triples a night while they are tied for 26th in three-point shooting by hitting 30. 8% from beyond the arc. Gary Harris (knee) and Jonathan Isaac (hamstring) remain out with no timetable for return at this point. Suggs (ankle) was injured October 22 and had a MRI confirm an ankle sprain, taking him out of the equation for the next couple of weeks more than likely.
The Cavaliers enter the game 2-1 on the year and stand second in the Central Division, half a game behind the Bucks for the top spot. Against Washington, Cleveland trailed 13-3 just 4:20 into the game before regrouping. The Cavaliers were down one after the opening quarter before leading by six at the half and seven after three quarters. Cleveland was still up seven with 1:25 to play in regulation only to see the Wizards tally the final seven points to force overtime. In the extra session, the Cavaliers scored just one point in the first three-plus minutes before outscoring the Wizards 12-1 over the final 1:43 to secure the win.