ORLANDO, Fla. — The Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic are engaged in one hell of a rock-throwing contest, and on the Cleveland side, Max Strus and Georges Niang showed off some nasty right arms.
In a first-round playoff series in which Orlando is shooting 34 percent overall and 23 percent from 3-point range (hence its 0-2 deficit), the Cavaliers aren’t shooting much better. We bring up Strus and Niang because, well, they were added to the mix after last year’s playoff exit because it was clear the Cavs needed outside shooting.
So far, Strus and Niang are a combined 2 of 18 from 3-point range against the Magic. If you had bet on Evan Mobley (3 of 8) to be a better 3-point shooter than Strus or Niang in this series, well, dinner would be on you.
But the Cavs, who face the Magic in Game 3 Thursday at 7 p.m. in Orlando, are winning those games because of Strus and Niang, not in spite of them. The franchise needed more than a boost after being eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Knicks last April. They needed more skilled veterans with playoff know-how.
Strus and Niang contributed a lot and even more, even if their shots did not fall.
“I think you saw their spirit. … I think you also understand what it takes to win a playoff game,” Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff said. “Your impact is obviously on the field, but it’s also the spirit of the team. And, you know, being there with someone who knows how to make it happen, that’s important for everyone.
Strus, 28, was a key member of the Miami Heat over the previous two seasons, during which that team reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 and then last year, the NBA Finals. The Cavs traded him over the summer, and he is under a four-year, $63 million contract.
A 35 percent 3-point shooter during the regular season and a career-high 12.2 points per game scorer thus far in the Magic Series, Strus is 2 of 10 from deep and 5 of 15 in total shooting. . But he’s tied for second on the Cavs with 18 rebounds in two playoff games and does a great job guarding Orlando’s Franz Wagner, one of the Magic’s best (few?) offensive options.
“In the NBA, they call you a shooter,” said Niang, who spoke after practice Wednesday. Strus was not made available to reporters.
“Max, even more than me, I think he has more impact on games than his shooting,” Niang continued. “There is so much more to basketball. Being able to have a defensive impact on the game with your energy, your intelligence. »
Added Bickerstaff: “(Strus) bounces the basketball. He finds us assists. As long as he continues to play the right way. I’m not worried about his shooting because he’s going to impact the game no matter what.
If Strus is struggling a bit as a shooter in this series, well, Niang is definitely in free fall. He is 1 of 11 overall and has missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.
Niang, 30, made the playoffs in five previous seasons with the Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers and twice reached a conference semifinal. A career 40 percent 3-point shooter, the Cavs signed him to a three-year, $26 million contract as a free agent last summer. He played in all 82 regular season games and shot 38 percent from 3-point range, while averaging a career-high 4.8 rebounds.
Niang’s only field goal in this series came in Game 1, a 97-83 victory for Cleveland. He was scoreless in 14 minutes during the Cavs’ 96-86 Game 2 victory.
“Each shot has a unique life,” Niang said. “I can’t concentrate on what happened before. I just have to be ready to take the next one. I hope he comes in. You know, I trust my training and everything I do to prepare myself to get to that moment so that when I step up, I shoot with confidence and the ball goes in or it doesn’t go in. to enter, but the next shot still has to go up.
Bickerstaff was pleased with Strus’ overall play in this series. He also praised Niang’s defensive prowess, especially after the first game in which Niang didn’t back down from Mo Wagner, the Magic’s high-energy bench player.
When told that Bickerstaff had announced he was stepping down from his defense, Niang was a little surprised and grateful.
“He said that?” » said Niang. “It makes me smile because, you know, I hate talking about myself, but my whole career has been kind of a grind. I’ve been a basketball player my whole life and a competitor and I try to think of myself as a winner. You fight against stigmas and labels in the NBA. It is difficult to break them. … So for him to say that, it means a lot. It’s something I’m proud of. I’m a competitor and I get annoyed when people try to score or pick on me because I’m a prideful guy.
Strus and Niang aren’t the only ones with a bad shot, of course. Donovan Mitchell, a five-time All-Star and the best player on each team in this series, is 20 of 43 overall and 5 of 18 from 3-point range. Magic, in the meantime, my God. Franz Wagner (12 of 32 overall), Paolo Banchero (3 of 11 from 3), Jalen Suggs (6 of 21; 1 of 10 from 3-point range), Gary Harris (5 of 16 overall), Jonathan Isaac (4 of 15; 3 of 11 from 3-point range), Wendell Carter (2 of 10 overall) and Cole Anthony (0 of 11, 0 of 5) are all suffering miserably as shooters.
For two games now, the Magic (and experts) have suggested that they won’t continue to shoot this poorly. Perhaps with the series’ latitude changing, moving to Orlando for Game 3, the ball will start to find the hoop for the Magic.
But among the many glaring truths throughout the Cavs’ dominance thus far, one is that they have yet to be seriously challenged, while shooting pretty poorly themselves.
“I just have to hit more than them,” Bickerstaff said. “There’s going to come a time when our shots are going to fall.”
Required reading
(Photo by Moritz Wagner and Georges Niang: David Richard / USA Today)