The NBA playoffs continue today with the Cleveland Cavaliers hosting the Orlando Magic.
This game is the first tie-break of this year's NBA playoffs, and the two teams have won each of their home games in the first six games, which is indeed a very sharp matchup. But at the end of the day, the strength of the Cavaliers and the Magic team is relatively average, so the level of attention is not very high.
The Cavaliers trailed by 18 points at one point in this game and were blown out by Banchero. At the time, Banchero had scored 22 points of his own and looked like he was going to tear apart the Cavaliers' box. But then, the Cavaliers changed their defensive strategy, allowing the quick-paced Okolo to play against Banchero and blocking the middle breakout. Mobley was assigned by the Cavaliers to play against Wendell Carter Jr. in order to free up his hands to help defend.
Banchero was limited all of a sudden, scoring 22 points and then shooting 5-of-12 from the field to contribute 38 points and 16 rebounds in the game. The Cavaliers themselves arranged for Mitchell to score and constantly forced his way into the restricted area to make damage, rather than insisting on long-range shots.
The Magic team was devastated by this change, and gradually the Cavaliers erased the point difference. In the middle of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers led the Magic by 11 points, and the Magic team without superstars was not good at playing against the wind, and finally lost to the Cavaliers 94-106, and was eliminated with a total score of 3-4.
Mitchell blasted 39 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, the first of all that the Cavaliers won in a series since James left in 2018. Mitchell has been rumored to leave the Cavaliers before, and the American media have prepared pictures of Mitchell wearing the Los Angeles Lakers jersey.
But now it seems that the Cavaliers still have a chance, so Mitchell really rejected the Lakers again with practical actions.