Playoff Live Thread (Game 5): Cavs vs Magic

Good evening, Cavs fans. It’s put up or shut up time for Cleveland. To say that the series hangs in the balance for Cleveland would be an understatement. There’s no way the Cavs can win the series of the don’t win tonight. But let me digress. Looking ahead feels like it’s been the entire problem for Cleveland so far this entire season. Donovan Mitchell recently said he wants to be “the face of the NBA,” and the Cavs’ have made no secret of the fact that they think Evan Mobley is a future all star or more. Maybe the Cavs, their fans, their players, their front office, etc. should stop looking at what the future holds and start looking at the now. Win the possession, the quarter, the half, the game, no matter who is on the floor (and Jarrett Allen may not be due to broken ribs).

One thing I love about about Nikola Jokic is that he doesn’t worry about being the face of the NBA, endorsements, regular season awards or records… He just focuses on making the best basketball play every single fucking possession. And the right basketball play is the one that helps his team win the quarter, the half, the game, the series, the playoffs. So stop talking about the summer. Stop talking about the past two games. Get on your horse and give it to Magic every fucking single play.