HomeNBABasketball Intelligence for 5/1/24

Basketball Intelligence for 5/1/24



THE PLAYOFFS

CLE-ORL

Cavs push Magic to brink of playoff elimination with hard-fought 104-103 win
Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com

Marcus Morris Sr. gives Cavaliers buyout success story in playoffs
Joe Vardon, The Athletic

Morris appeared in 12 games for the Cavs and averaged 5.8 points. He was watching, and talking trash, through four playoff games, until an injury to Jarrett Allen and a shooting slump too bad to ignore for Georges Niang forced Cleveland to look at Morris.

So when he showed up at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Tuesday to get ready for pivotal Game 5, with the series tied at 2-2, the Cleveland coaching staff told Morris to “stay ready.”

“I’ve been ready,” Morris insisted.

He proved it, scoring 12 points off the bench, with two 3s and three rebounds in 26 minutes in a 104-103 win over the Magic. Six of his points came in a nip-and-tuck fourth quarter, on 3-pointers. His point total was the second-most points any Cleveland bench player has scored this entire playoffs.

Orlando Magic’s little mistakes throughout, not the big misses late cost them Game 5
Philip Rossman-Reich, Orlando Magic Daily

Paolo Banchero’s 39 not enough as Magic drop pivotal Game 5
Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel

Smallest details matter most in Magic’s effort to force Game 7 vs. Cavs
Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel

Evan Mobley seals Cavaliers’ Game 5 win with clutch block
Kendra Andrew, ESPN

BOS-MIA

As series returns to Boston, depleted Heat facing ‘significant challenge’ to keep season alive
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald


Read more