The Orlando Magic, who've lost 2 of their last 3 games, have a great opportunity to rebound from an iffy performance this week when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers, who've lost 19 straight and 29 of their last 30, tonight at Amway Center. As of this morning, the Cavaliers rank last in the NBA in offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency, which is spectacular for all the wrong reasons. Here's a look at the other teams who've accomplished that feat in league history.
It's easy to see why Cleveland's been so dreadful this year: it lacks talent, and the fact that big man Anderson Varejao, their best player, will miss the rest of the season only makes their situation worse. Of the six Cavaliers to play at least 1000 minutes this season, the only one with a True Shooting mark over the league average is Daniel Gibson, at 54.6 percent. The Cavs' situation is dire indeed, and Orlando ought to win easily; the L.A. Lakers beat Cleveland by 55 points earlier this season, and if the Magic max out their potential, a similar margin should be in the offing.
Cleveland has no one who can hope to adequately defend Dwight Howard on the interior, and it's on pace to become historically bad when it comes to defending the three-point shot, as its opponents have connected on 43 percent of their triple-tries this season. In their two prior games against the Cavaliers this season, Orlando combined to shoot 33-of-62 (53.2 percent) on three-point shots. A team as offensively inept as Cleveland has no chance to beat any team that accurate, at such a high volume, from beyond the arc.
If there's a bright side for Cavs fans, it's that most thing in life are less terrible than their team, as John Krolik hilariously pointed out in this must-read post on Cavs: The Blog.
And if Howard finds himself matched up against backup center Ryan Hollins, remember that Hollins "has the basketball IQ of a hot pretzel with cinnamon sugar glaze."
| 2010/2011 NBA Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 | @ |  |
| 8-38 (3-23 road) Lost 19 | 30-17 (17-6 home) Lost 1 | |
| January 30th, 2011 | ||
| Amway Center | ||
| 6:00 PM | ||
| Sun Sports | ||
| Probable Starters | ||
| Ramon Sessions | PG | Jameer Nelson |
| Daniel Gibson | SG | Jason Richardson |
| Christian Eyenga | SF | Hedo Turkoglu |
| Antawn Jamison | PF | Brandon Bass |
| J.J. Hickson | C | Dwight Howard |
| Season Series | ||
| November 26th: Magic 111, Cavaliers 100 | ||
| December 28th: Magic 110, Cavaliers 95 | ||
| 2010/11 Advanced Stats | ||
| 93.5 (10th) | Pace | 92.0 (T-16th) |
| 99.9 (30th) | ORtg | 108.5 (10th) |
| 112.0 (30th) | DRtg | 102.4 (T-4th) |
| Game Officials | ||
| Monty McCutchen | ||
| David Guthrie | ||
| Derek Richardson | ||