Role Players Key in Cavs vs. Magic Game 6

In a series filled with young stars, the Orlando Magic must shut down the Cleveland Cavaliers' depth in order to escape the first round of the playoffs.

Apr 30, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) drives to the basket / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The scary thing about facing a young team in the playoffs is that you can't gameplan for who the playoff performers are. This is exactly why the Orlando Magic must silence the Cleveland Cavaliers' so-called role players. 

In Game 5 of the series between the Magic and Cavs, Evan Mobley, Marcus Morris Sr., Max Strus, Darius Garland, and Donovan Mitchell all scored 10+ points. There’s no way to beat that team if all of them are scoring in rhythm, so let’s look at how to fix this. 

Orlando lost Game 5 in a 104-103 defeat despite the team’s star Paolo Banchero shooting over 50 percent from the field and dropping 39 points. Stars don’t win games in the playoffs by themselves, it requires a full team effort, Banchero had two other players reach double digits, Franz Wagner (14) and Jalen Suggs (13). 

The stars of this series are Banchero and Mitchell, with Wagner and Jarrett Allen as their No. 2 options. Allen didn’t play the last game, but Cleveland’s other guys rose to the occasion and helped Mitchell with the scoring load to defeat the Magic's elite defense. 

Orlando shocked many by getting into the playoffs at all this season. Former first round draft picks like Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz overcame injuries to return to this level of play, and Suggs was in a lot of trade rumors last offseason, but now its time for all of these players to outperform their roles, just as the Cavaliers did. 

Garland had been relatively quiet this postseason, as had Mobley. However, with Allen out Garland scored 17 points in the first quarter, flashing some of the promise that had fans viewing him as a potential leading man when Cleveland drafted him fifth overall in 2019. As for Mobley, the No. 3 pick in 2021, he had the play of the game when he blocked Wagner to save the Cavs' slim lead in the final minute of the game and contributed a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Game 6 for the Magic is going to come down to the other guys. Can their role players shine at home while silencing the Cavaliers' other guys? How that question is answered will decide whether or not this series sees game seven on Sunday. 

Cleveland will play Orlando at the Kia Center tonight at 7 p.m. EST.

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