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    • Magic knows the Cleveland Cavs well and is impressed by the Cavaliers’ hot start
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    Magic knows the Cleveland Cavs well and is impressed by the Cavaliers’ hot start

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    CLEVELAND – The Orlando Magic should know the Cavaliers better than any other NBA opponent.

    Well, except maybe the Detroit Pistons, because they’re led by former Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff.

    Last season, the Magic clashed with the Cavs 11 times, four in the regular season and seven in the first round of the playoffs. If you include the preseason, it would be a dozen meetings, but let’s not go there with a meaningless exhibition match.

    The point is, the Magic need to be experts on what the Cavs did well and didn’t do well last season, what they do well and not well this season, and the differences between the 2023-24 Cavs under Bickerstaff and the 2024 Cavs. -25 Cavs under coach Kenny Atkinson. No other team played the Cavs as much as the Magic did last season.

    From a roster perspective, the Cavs are pretty much the same now as they were last season. The franchise has bet the coaching change will propel a nearly identical group of players to greater playoff success after a 4-1 elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics.

    The sample size is far too small to make a judgment at this point, and the 2025 postseason will ultimately determine whether the Cavs made the right decision in trading Bickerstaff for Atkinson. With these disclaimers in mind, the early signs of what the Cavs could be this season are promising.

    More on Cavs vs. Magic: Live score updates and recap as Cleveland improves to 6-0

    By defeating the Magic 120-109 Friday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Cavs improved to 6-0, tying the second-best start to a season in team history. They also went 6-0 in 2016-17 and started 8-0 in 1976-77.

    “They are a very good team,” Magic center Moritz Wagner told the Beacon Journal. “They are very well balanced and they are very deep. They can shoot in all four positions all the time, so it’s very difficult to guard.”

    The Cavs set a franchise record for highest point differential through six games, outscoring those opponents by a total of 102 points. Entering Saturday night’s game in Milwaukee, the Cavs had scored 120 points or more in four games.

    Cavs brass hired Atkinson to primarily bolster the offense. He has emphasized the importance of more pace, space, movement and three-point shooting. Entering Saturday’s game, the team ranked second in the NBA in offensive rating (122.4 points per 100 possessions) and points per game (124.7), behind the Celtics in both categories (123.4 offensive rating and 125.5 points per game).

    “Playing a lot faster, shooting more 3s, I think that’s very evident … so their ability to get out and play fast (comes into play),” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “(Atkinson’s) rotations are a little bit different in the way he takes those guys off the field and then gets back on the field together to go against a second line.”

    Bickerstaff created the Cavs’ defensive identity, and Atkinson is determined to preserve it amid stylistic changes on offense. To reiterate, the Atkinson era is still in its infancy, but the Cavs ranked third in the NBA in defensive rating (106.1) and fifth in fewest points allowed per game (107.7). on the way to the weekend.

    In other words, they defeated their first six opponents by an average of 124.7-107.7. The numbers reflect an impressive level of overall dominance. Through Friday, the Cavs and Oklahoma City Thunder (5-0) were the only undefeated teams in the NBA.

    “The (defensive) foundation was laid (by Bickerstaff),” Mosley said. “I think that’s a big part of it. You have the exact same group coming back. Their fundamentals were incredible. I loved the way they improved every year under JB, and I think they already have that identity. That’s the identity that he’s established, and so I think with Kenny coming in, you can just use a little bit more of that – which was already established by JB.

    With forward Evan Mobley and center Jarrett Allen protecting the rim, Atkinson doesn’t have to be a genius on the defensive end of the floor. However, he does need buy-in, and he has received it so far. He became the eighth coach in NBA history to win his first six games with a new team.

    “I think if you have Mobley and Allen, you’re going to be a good defensive team no matter who the coach is,” Magic forward Jonathan Isaac said.

    The Magic (3-3) respect the Cavs and have excellent insight into them after the two teams fought tooth and nail last season. They split the regular season series 2-2 before the Cavs clinched the playoff series during a wild Game 7 in which they rallied from an 18-point hole in the second quarter.

    A lot of tension was taken out of Friday’s showdown as the Magic’s best player, All-Star forward Paolo Banchero, is out with a torn right oblique. Banchero is to Orlando what All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is to Cleveland.

    Still, Cavs versus Magic feels like a rivalry in the making.

    “I think it’s inevitable,” Isaac said.

    Moe Wagner isn’t quite ready to use the label yet.

    “I don’t think either team has won enough, for that matter, to call it a rivalry,” he said. “So no. But they are competitive games. It’s a hostile environment. It’s fun. That’s what you train for.”

    However, perhaps there is a rivalry between a particular player and a fan base. Wagner annoyed Cavs fans enough last season that they continued to boo him on Friday night. He explained that he doesn’t get so much grief from any other audience in the competition.

    “No, they make me angry,” Wagner said. ‘I’m not going to lie. It takes me a lot of energy to stay focused, but I am willing to invest it. I like it to a certain extent. At some point it gets a little personal, but I’m getting better at staying locked into the game and not getting distracted.”

    Give Wagner points for honesty, and his position is understandable.

    Again, the Cavs and Magic were at each other’s throats repeatedly last season, there’s a lot of familiarity, and they’ll reunite on Feb. 25 in Orlando and March 16 in Cleveland, so… stay tuned.

    Meanwhile, the Cavs are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference this season.

    Cleveland Cavs offense clicking early: ‘To be honest, I’m a bit surprised’

    Nate Ulrich can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

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