SUMMARY
- Shaquille O'Neal claims the Magic need to restrict the Cavaliers' top role players in order to win.
- The 4x NBA Champion believes the Magic has a chance to close out the series.
As a former Orlando Magic player, this might have been a tough loss for Shaquille O’Neal to digest. Orlando did a great job at keeping the score totals close in order for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to take charge in the fourth quarter. However, having home court advantage would’ve aided the process better. The Magic experienced a gut-wrenching 103-104 loss in the final seconds of the game.
“We definitely gonna need the fans” – Paolo Banchero
Besides losing, there’s nothing worse than hearing fans from the away team be louder than us in the Kia Center. I hope who ever is going to the Kia Center tomorrow is going to bring it and get LOUD AF.
Speaking of which… pic.twitter.com/cHKXNGE1hx
— WeltGawd (@WeltGawd) April 24, 2024
It was all thanks to Evan Mobley’s defensive plays at the end of the fourth quarter to restrict Wagner from scoring easier buckets. Mobley had an incredible game-winning block against Wagner who is generally a good finisher at the rim. Orlando will take Game 6 at the Kia Center and with a winning record against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home, they are favored to win it.
Shaquille O’Neal wants the Magic to amp up the intensity
The Magic are already a top-tier team on defense ranking second in the playoffs in points allowed. Shaquille O’Neal thinks that the Magic still has a chance to close out the series given that they ramp up the intensity of their overall game plan. He said, “Yeah, tough one for Orlando. You know, they play well. But they just have to raise the intensity. When you play a team like Cleveland, you can’t let certain guys go off. You can’t let [Max] Strus go off, can’t Mobley go off.”
Shaq finished his take with a bold prediction saying, “I know for a fact that this is going [to Game 7]. I know they’re going to play well at home, cause they play well at home. Orlando is going to be rockin’ and hopefully they get that Game 7.” However, this will fall on Banchero to lead the offense as he finished with 39 points in Game 5.
The Magic vs Cavaliers series can come down to the wire
Despite having a tough second quarter which allowed the Cavaliers to lead in double digits, the Magic came out strong while executing offensive plays. But there’s one problem Charles Barkley had with the Magic in Game 6. “We had all the games on and this game went back and forth Mobley had some nice plays down the stretch. I thought Orlando’s offense just got so stagnant in the fourth quarter. They went to Banchero like 10 times in a row and he scored like three of them. But they got so stagnant,” said Barkley.
Overall, Banchero shot 12-24 from the field while the rest of the team attempted fewer than 15 shots each. “This to me was a learning experience for the Magic. Cause they got killed the first two games, then they went home and played well… But if they go to Game 7 in Cleveland, they know they can play there without getting blown out,” Chuck added. Orlando and Cleveland have both won home games this series but neither of them have been able to find success on the road.
Paolo Banchero following the loss stated “We’re not ready to go home”
“One game at a time. We didn’t get this one, it sucks we were right there. You can’t dwell on it. Just look at what we can do better. What we didn’t do as well and come out on Friday and be ready to go”
— Fawzan Amer (@FawzanAmer_) May 1, 2024
During the regular season, both teams had at least one road game win against each other which proves it isn’t impossible in this series. “One game at a time. We didn’t get this one, it sucks we were right there. You can’t dwell on it. Just look at what we can do better. What we didn’t do as well and come out on Friday and be ready to go,” said Banchero after the game.
The sophomore star has been impressive this season averaging 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists pre-game ahead of the post-season. The Magic need to retain their winning pace in case the series gets pushed to Game 7. Keep in mind, that the Cavaliers are without their best rim protector Garrett Allen due to a rib contusion.