Alrighty, then. I’ll try to get some Magic Illuminati around here to do a proper preview sometime in the next two days, but here’s my first crack at one:
First things first, let’s talk a little bit about Boston. I have a lot of respect for what that team did this postseason. (By the way, can we stop calling them our “rivals?” Every team that beats you in a playoff series and/or happens to be good at the same time as your team is doesn’t automatically become your rival. The only team I get more pumped up to play regardless of the implications of the game are the Wizards, and look how much has had to happen to create bad blood there. Laker fans are evil and I get more pumped up to play them, but that’s not really a rivalry, either.)
There’s not a lot of teams who could compete hard in 14 grueling playoff games coming off a championship season with a veteran team without their best player. There was no quit in that team, and they weren’t afraid to come up big in the clutch and won more than a few games that they had no business winning, and we got a “breakout” playoffs from Rajon Rondo, who’s going to be a reason to watch the NBA for a long time.
I know a lot of Cavs fans wanted the Celtics, because they’re the more battered of the two teams and it would be a chance to avenge last year’s defeat and would have pretty much put the entire roster into destroy mode, but that team would have been far from an easy out-they play tough defense, have three guys who can take over offensively, and that crowd would have been absolutely bananas.
Just before I get to anything else: the Boston crowd was CLEARLY louder and more energetic with their team trailing almost the entire game than the LA crowd was with the Lakers leading wire-to-wire.
So, The Magic.
Part 1: What We Can Learn Or Disregard From the Season Series
The season series went along home-court advantage lines, with the Magic taking both games in Orlando by double-digits and the Cavs pulling off a fourth-quarter comeback aided by a LeBron 28-footer, two clutch free throws, and a controversial three-second call in the final minute to pull out a nailbiter at the Q. While regular-season series are far from perfect indicators of how things are going to go in the playoffs (see: the Cavs sweeping their regular season series with the Spurs in 2007), sometimes you can pick up on things that might manifest themselves in the playoffs or things that might have made the game an abberation. Let’s go through it:
Game 1: Cavaliers@Magic, January 29th
Here’s my recap at the time. (BTW-I have never regretted giving my recaps “kooky” sub-titles until right now)
Things that could repeat themselves:
Howard was absolutely destroying whoever the Cavaliers had on him when they tried single-coverage-people have been calling out his individual post play, and rightfully so to an extent, after the Celtics series. But remember that Perk is one of the best individual post defenders in the league, and not everyone can get Dwight that far away from the basket for his hook shots. Z doesn’t have anywhere near the lateral quickness to keep up with Dwight when he pulls a little Malone move and faces up or gives a quick drop-step or spin, Andy will get bullied, and Ben might not have enough in his knees to keep up. Dwight’s offensive prowess will be discussed at length over the next couple of days, but remember that he’s very capable of being an individual offensive force.
LeBron put up a 23/8/8 in this game, but it was one of his worst scoring games of the year. He needed 27 shots to get his 23 points, only got to the line three times, went 3-13 from outside of the paint, and was forced into taking quite a few slop shots when he tried to get to the rim but couldn’t quite get the corner.
A huge problem in all the playoff series we’ve lost has been LeBron meeting a wall in the paint when he tries to drive and being unable to deal with it-this was the best defensive team in the league in the regular season, and Dwight is the best help-side defender in the league. Whether he can do what KG, Rasheed, and Duncan did in the Cavs’ three previous playoff losses is probably the storyline to watch from an Xs-and-Os standpoint in this series.
Neither Turkoglu or Rashard was really able to get it going in this game, as the two combined for 38 points on 38 shots.
The scaries thing about this game was that the Cavs lost fairly handily without any real red lights in the typical “variables”-they shot 7-14 from three against 11-31 from the Magic, they turned it over 6 times to the Magic’s 11, and shot 20 free throws to the Magic’s 18. This was really just the Magic fully out-executing the Cavaliers at both ends of the floor, which is a bad harbinger.
Things that probably won’t repeat themselves:
Most importantly, this was a game both Z and Delonte were injured for, which will make an absolutely gigantic difference, and Jameer went for 18 points on 11 shots. And there was no Joe Smith. So those are things that make this game hugely different.
Mitigating circumstances: Hickson and Wally both had great games, combining for 27 points on 15 shots, and neither Gortat or Redick were in the lineup for the Magic. So those are things on both sides that bode well for the Magic in terms of who’ll be playing.
Not only did LeBron have a terrible game, but Mo went 4-15 from the field. Mo will probably have his bad offensive games in this series, and LeBron actually might as well, but it’s unlikely both will be so off on the same night again, especially with Rafer Alston checking Mo instead of Jameer.
Game 2: Magic @ Cavs, March 17th
My original recap for the game is here.
Things could repeat themselves:
The law of averages more or less went to work on the teams’ two best players in this game-LeBron had maybe his best game of the year, getting to the line 5 times, drilling 4 of 7 threes, getting to the rack, absolutely taking over during crunch-time, and finishing with a 47/12/8 and getting 4 steals to boot. Even so, the Magic were able to entice LeBron into shooting 19 jumpers out of his 27 field goal attempts, which is a little higher than his normal proportion of jumpers, so he wasn’t quite doing whatever he wanted offensively even in this game. When LeBron is drilling his jumpers, he’s unstoppable. This we already knew.
Meanwhile, Dwight came back down to earth; while he was great defensively and on the boards, he finished with 13 points on only 8 shots, which is not the type of effort that you expect from an MVP candidate, and was completely invisible down the stretch.
Delonte and Z were back, but neither did that well, with each finishing with 8 points and 10 shots. Mo was also off, with 21 points on 20 shots and only three assists.
Turk and Rashad again failed to hurt us, with 22 points on 27 shots.
Courtney Lee and Alston were drilling everything they looked at, on the other hand, getting 42 points on 29 shots.
No Redick again, and Gortat didn’t get a point in his 9 minutes. When did Gortat start looking so good?
Things that probably won’t happen again:
Nothing shocking except for some law-of-averages stuff; Rashard and Hedo are better than they played, and Lee and Alston are worse, and LeBron can’t do that every game, while Dwight will generally make more of an offensive impact.
Game 3: Cavs @Magic, April 3rd
My original recap is here.
Things that could repeat themselves:
Seeing as to how we got completely blown out in this game, you’d hope this section will be short, right? The good news is that this was such a thorough blowout it almost can’t be taken seriously; there’s just no way this team is going to get manhandled that badly if they come with playoff intensity, and this was a physically and mentally worn team after a gritty 13-game win streak followed by a huge letdown loss against the Wizards.
More of LeBron not really getting to the rim as much as he wanted: only 3 of his 20 attempts from the field were layups or dunks, although he did shoot 10 free throws and it’s understandable he might have started trying for home runs a little with the team down.
More of Delonte and Z failing to show up: 15 points on 17 shots combined.
Mo also not there: Only 10 points and 2 assists.
Rashard and Hedo found there strokes in this game, too.
Pretty much everyone on the Cavs played badly and everyone on the Magic played well.
This was pretty much the middle ground for Dwight offensively: 20 points on 13 shots and 8 free throws.
Overall Findings:
Mo, Delonte, and Z never really got it going in any of the games. Delonte and Z didn’t really get their post-injury swaggers back until quite late in the year and were out for the first one, so hopefully that’ll ultimately be a point in the Cavs’ favor in the actual series. Mo hasn’t really been all that consistent in these playoffs, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can step it up in this series.
This team did have success with keeping LeBron from getting the looks he wants, but LBJ has been on another level in these playoffs and is generally not a guy you want to bet anything against right now. Even still, this is probably the defense most capable of really challenging him, so it’ll be fascinating to see him and Howard meeting at the rim in an “unstoppable force/immovable object” type of way.
Hedo and Rashard pretty much matched up with what I thought: they’ll have a big game or two, but I don’t expect them to really kill us with the defenders we can match up on them.
Dwight was fully Goldilocks offensively: one good game, one bad game, one in the middle. We’ll discuss his offense much more in the coming days.
Alright, have at it with your opinions below: we’ll hopefully have all of you fully prepared for the series over the next couple of days. Get excited, everyone.
I’m excited now that I know who the Cavs will dismantle. I’m eager to see how the Cavs will deal with Orlando’s defense. This is a good test for them. All-in-all I feel the Cavs match up well with Orlando and anyone for that matter. They have the bigs to throw at Howard and they athletes to stay in front of Hedo and Lewis. I most look forward to LeBron and his defense. I really hope he takes it upon himself to handcuff Hedo. Nice warm-up review John, let’s get in-depth and really break this series down.
Very good post…Magic fan here obviously…no thanks necessary for sending the hated Celtics fans home for the summer. On that note…i will make a point to conduct myself with alot more class when posting here than i have seen most Celtics fans do when they post anywhere…as i am representing my city and my team when i come here. I was actually rooting for your Cavs and Lebron (My 2nd favorite player) when we made our early exit last year. I think the Magic and the Cavs will be the 2 forces in the East finals for quite some time as the 2 teams i hate the most the Pistons and the Celtics are getting old and injury prone, so hopefully this series can be the start of something along the lines of a great rivalry.
I couldn’t helping thinking when i was reading your recaps of the 3 regular season games that at the time of our 2 wins i spent the entire games worrying about when exactly Lebron was going to start to impose his will and start crashing into the lane, because i knew once that happened…we were screwed as he would inevitably get most of the calls (as he did in Game 2). Strangely enough this never happened…and i couldn’t figure out why. I recall him driving a few times and getting blocked by Dwight once…but mostly he settled for jumpers….which was a big relief to all Magic fans.It was almost like for the 2 losses he forgot he was Lebron Freakin James!!! I think how this series will go depends mostly on much Lebron tries to impose his will driving the lane and how much foul trouble it creates for the Magic bigs. Hope it’s a great series and may the beast team win!! I’ll be dropping by occasionally win or lose.:)
I was really looking forward to the opportunity to put a hurting on the Celtics. Injured or not, it always feels good to paste a team from Boston. So congratulations to the Magic. I wanted the Celtics for a more diabolical reason though, cause I hate them soooo much. I mean it, the only one on that team I can even halfway stand is Ray Allen. Now I have to settle for a team that I not only don’t hate, but would probably be cheering for if they were facing anyone other than the Cavs.
It will be a great test (first one of these playoffs), and I expect LeBron will probably take it head on as he always has in the postseason. I don’t forsee any possibility of a sweep as the Magic’s 3-point shooting is too hot cold to not account for a big game or two from their backcourt. The real issue will be Howard. Can we keep him outside of 8 feet and can Lebron and the rest of the team be aggressive enough to get him in foul trouble? This will decide the series in my opinion. In any case, I’m just glad we finally get to play again!
Great recap. I want to add two things. First, allow me to reiterate that LeBron got to the line THREE times in Game One!!! I vividly remember this game and as I recall LeBron drove a good bit in the first half and did not get one FT! This relegated him to jumpshots the rest of the way.
Now, I hate the excessive whining this post season over the refs this post season (some warranted, but mostly just b.i.tching), but not fouling LBJ for an entire half when he is going to the hole has to be considered an outlier.
Second, I think a huge key offensively is Z. He really needs to get his jumper going. A few pick and pops will draw D12 out of the lane and allow our slashers a better look at getting to the cup.
Alex: Will Dwight be guarding Z in this series? I think it would make more sense for them to put Dwight on AV so that he can stay in the painted area and contest shots around the rim. Dwight does not want to have to step out and guard Z on those pick and roll jump shots. But I can’t remember..in the regular season did Dwight guard Z?
“Alex: Will Dwight be guarding Z in this series? I think it would make more sense for them to put Dwight on AV so that he can stay in the painted area and contest shots around the rim. Dwight does not want to have to step out and guard Z on those pick and roll jump shots. But I can’t remember..in the regular season did Dwight guard Z?”
Dwight tried to cover Floppy McFloppison as much as possible when Z was in the game. Of course the Cavs can counter this by putting Z in the post against Rashard if he is on him, but the Magic will live with that. They can double and then rotate out to shooters and still have Dwight close to the rim to contest shots/rebound.
I think it would be a mistake for Cleveland fans to just write off what happened in the regular season as aberrations, even though I know the Cavs themselves will not be. As a Magic fan, Cleveland’s focus, driven by LeBron, is the scariest thing. If the Magic think they can play every other game or quarter like they did against Boston or Philly, they’ll be going home in 5. If the Magic get comparable effort to Cleveland’s, any who predict the Cavs are going to “dismantle” the Magic will be in for a rough few weeks (and a long summer).
Great point about D12 covering AV. This scenario leads me to two conclusions. First, who would guard Z? If it’s Rashard Lewis then Z has to knock it down over such an undersized defender. So the onus still lies with him. If it’s Hedo on Z, expect LeBron to go for 40+.
Second, I think we might see a lot more of Joe Smith. Another big who can spread the floor. While he hasn’t exactly been Joe “Beast” thus far, we all know he can provide instant offense in the playoffs.
I have to admit I’m a little nervous about this series, but I think the step up in competition will be beneficial overall. We’ve breezed by this past month and I really don’t think we’ve put together one solid overall offensive performance. A sense of urgency against a worthy opponent should help.
dude i work with a magic fan troll who will absolutely break me down if we lose.
please ease my anxiety.
Alex, you think that Rashard Lewis, 6′ 10″, is undersized? Really? I’ll give you that he is very lanky and not built like true PF, but I’ld like to think being 6’10″ with a long reach and a pretty decent vertical is anything but undersized. I’m not expecting Rashard to block a bunch of shots but if he does match up against Z all of his jumpers are likely to be contested, and his post scoring will be where he gets his points.
I see the matchups working out this way…
Obviously, Rafer will be primarily on Mo, which is an up for the Cavs unless Rafer forces him to drive into the lane where the best help side defender in the game will be waiting. The 2 3 matchups however are going to be a bit different, if anyone can remember the 2nd and 3rd game between these two teams, it was C Lee and M Pietrus gaurding LBJ, not Turk. The 6’10″ Turk will be mostly gaurding Delonte and Wally, and I see this as a great match up for the Magic. As far as LBJ, no one in the league can stop him, so Courtney and Pietrus won’t try, instead they will try to make him settle for long contested jumpers, and when he does drive, they’ll force him into the Defensive player of the year. The 4 5 match ups favor the Magic easily, either way SVG plays this favors the Magic, neither Z or “Andy” are big post scorers and no matter which one Dwight is gaurding he’ll be expected and able to help out on the other, I think it would be wise to play him on AV simply to keep him close to the basket, and allow him to help out on driving defenders, and as long as Rashard can annoy Z with a hand in his face on jumpshots, I see the Magic matching up very well defensively against this squad.
A lot of Cavs’ fans I’m sure are wondering about JJ and his role in this series, and honestly I don’t see one, as many saw, he didn’t touch the court at all in key minutes during this regular season series and it’s because he doesn’t match up well with anyone on the Cavs. The players with the most minutes per game in this series I think will be in this order, Dwight(40-44), C Lee(36-40), Rashard(35-39), Pietrus(31-35), Turk(30-34), Rafer(29-33), AJ(8-12), Gortat(8-12), and Battie(4-8). Dwight and Pietrus will likely be shifted slightly up or down depending on foul trouble, thus adjusting Gortat and Turk’s minutes accordingly. The main point to this entire post being, I feel the Magic match up very well against this Cavs team, as they have shown this regular season. And if the Magic can carry over their hot shotting and great defense from Sunday night, despite popular opinions, I see this series going in their favor. I’m calling Magic in 6, because the NBA and their officials won’t allow King James, the Chosen One to lose at home in a Game 7. So if the Magic are gonna pull off the upset, it’ll have to be in O-town in 6(or less).
I would have to agree with the previous poster…IF the Magic are to win it will HAVE to be in 6 with the Magic preferably stealing Game 1 while the Cavs shake off some rust. I absolutely think David Stern would sell his mother into slavery before he would let Lebron lose a game 7 at home and a possibly finals matchup with Kobe. The Cavs a notoriously bad road team(against good teams) and have to hold serve at home while stealing 1 in Cleveland…thats our only shot, because Game 7 will already be bought and paid for…that’s just the reality of the NBA today…bottom line..it’s a business..and contrary to that i do actually think Lebron’s not leaving Cleveland on a side note.
The Magic play a style of ball that is difficult to defend on any given night – if their perimeter game is working, they can blow the doors off any squad. We’ve seen it in action! However, I believe that, given time to prepare, the Cavs can negate the things that the Magic do well. Also, I think that if we stay home on the shooters and concede Dwight’s points, we’ll be able to outlast the Magic in six. Dwight, though admittedly an awesome force in the middle, doesn’t yet have the offensive polish on his post game that he’ll score or create every time down the floor. And even if he does, we’ve seen Magic games this postseason where he scores 30+ and they lose.
To the Magic fans that posted, two things:
1) Thanks for not being total D-Bags! I agree – We’re all tired of the trolls posting in all caps and spewing vitriolic rubbish along the lines of, “YOU SUCK! MY TEAM’S GREAT! LEBRON’S LEAVING!” Thanks for well-thought discussion points.
2) Please don’t buy into the conspiracy theory crap about Game 7 officiating. If the NBA dictacted that sort of thing, how is it that teams like the Spurs and the Pistons are always having postseason success? Yes, Stern absolutely wants Cavs-Lakers in the Finals. But could he risk orchestrating such a thing? I don’t think so, not with the pervasiveness of today’s media.
Here’s how I see this series turning out.
Game One Wed. May 20 @ The Q
The Lebrons are going to be coming off a nine day lay-off. They haven’t played a game vs. a “quality” opponent since April 3rd (a 107-76 beating handed to the Celtics). The Magic on the other hand just did what the Cavs couldn’t do last year, win game 7 in Boston. Game 1 will not be kind to the home squad. The Cavs will face an intense defense for the first time this playoffs. The Magic are going into this game knowing they can win on the road. They won both games 1 and 7 in Boston. I see the Magic getting to an early lead and the Cavs nearly closing the gap in the 3rd but the Magic use some of their new found resilience to hold them off.
Magic 92 Cavs 86
Game Two Fri. @ The Q
The Magic will be a little too satisfied with themselves and not show up at the start of this game. The Cavs are the best home team in the league and had it not been for the long lay-off they would have never lost game 1. LeBron has a huge game going for something along the lines of 44/12/11 and the Cavs get Dwight into some foul trouble. Andy pokes and prods better than anyone on the court and he has enough hustle and effort in him to derail Howard.
Magic 94 Cavs 103
Game Three Sun. @ Amway
The Magic fans will be ecstatic in this game. They will be the x-factor in this game. It will be the first time the Magic will play at home since their Game 7 victory the previous Sunday and the Magic have just gotten a split at The Q. Howard responds to Anderson Varejao in this game by shutting him down on the defensive end. Big Z won’t have a shot at stopping Howard when the Magic have the ball either. Magic win big.
Cavs 88 Magic 103
Game Four Tue May 26 @ Amway
The Cavs are now facing a must win game. They desperately don’t want to fall into a 3-1 hole. Cleveland takes a 5 point lead into halftime and despite a couple runs by the Magic they take a similar sized lead into the last frame. The 4th quarter of this game will be probably the best quarter of the series. The Magic win on a late runner by Turk coupled with Lebron missing a last second shot that had the ability to send the game into OT.
Cavs 97 Magic 100
Game Five May 28 @ The Q
The Cavs come home to an elimination game and for the first time its their heads on the chopping block. Lebron refuses to lose this game and he puts the entire team on his back with a 49/16/13 type night. The Magic finally have a bad shooting night in the series and realize that they need to attack the interior D of the Cavs more.
Magic 86 Cavs 99
Game Six Thu. May 30 @ Amway
Turk, Lee and Alston all have big games. The trio doesn’t stop attacking the basket all night and they are able to close out the series. Lebron again falls short of a ring and people again start the Lebron to NY rumors. Dwight only has one dominate offensive performance all series and thats all the Magic need. They need Dwight to play defense and clean the offensive glass.
Cavs 94 Magic 101
Magic win the series 4 games to 2.
Sam White
white.l.sam@gmail.com
Good scenario Sam, for the Magic. However, I don’t see Cleveland losing at home in Game 1. Rather, I see the Magic in somewhat of a shock because of the differences between Cleveland and Boston. Cleveland will be much more active on defense than Boston and will win off turnovers in game 1 and game 2. Blow outs in Cleveland will be possible.
Can Cleveland steal a game or two in O land? Yes, if they go down there up 2-0 and the Magic HAVE to win and choke. The Magic still match up with Cleveland very well and can sweep them down there. But I’m concerned about their ball handling. Cleveland’s guards are smaller and quicker and Orlando’s passes have been careless against Boston.
That’s a Cleveland fan’s views. How delightful it is to have opposing fans talking respectfully! May the best team win!
Pfffft. Cavs in 4 all they way. The Magic are a Mickey Mouse team that wins on 3 pt. shooting. They are the Suns circa 2006. Yes these teams are fun to watch but don’t win. They have the Master of Panic as their coach who has been called out several times before. This is not a coincidence. The Magic are about to get punched in the mouth, figuratively. They haven’t faced a squad as hungry and talented as the Cavs. The Cavs will exploit and expose the Magic on the block with their brute force. Howard will be exposed the way he was last year against the Pistons.
If the Magic were the Suns circa 2006 they would be the present-day Knicks. That’s such an over-generalization of the Magic, Jose. Of course, on OMD you posted that Dwight Howard is LeBron without the skill, which I’m still trying to figure out, so I’m wondering if you even have watched the Magic play basketball. The difference between the Suns of then and the Magic of now is two-fold: 1. Dwight Howard. Say what you want about his post game, but against a guy like Z he can get it going if the double doesn’t come. Kendrick Perkins has always been one of his worst match-ups in the league short of Yao, so if you’re basing your entire opinion on last series, that’s probably not the greatest thing. And he still has found a way to average 20 points, 17 boards, and 3 blocks per game in 13 postseason contests. No. 2 is defense. The Magic allowed the least points per 100 posessions of anyone in the league this year. I don’t quite remember the Suns being so committed on the defensive end of the court, which was exactly their downfall. The Magic have also allowed the 3rd-least points of anyone who made the playoffs, behind Cleveland and Miami.
I’m looking forward to a great series, Cleveland fans. I still can’t choose between the Magic in 6 or Cavs in 7. Should come down to the wire, though.
Great preview as well. The only thing I may disagree on is that either Rashard or Hedo (whoever Varejao is guarding) will have a pretty distinct advantage at the perimeter and off the dribble. I admittedly don’t know a hell of a lot about Cleveland’s bench, though, and who can match up with either of them. Maybe Joe Smith on Lewis? Regardless, I can’t wait ’till Wednesday. Best of luck to you guys.
Cavs in 4. I predicted at the beginning that they will win the first 3 series in 4. Win the first two in the championship, lose game 4 and win Game 5 for the title in Cleveland. That’s what I said and I’m sticking to it.
I’m half asleep, I meant to say first 3 in the championship.
game 5 would be in la/denver
I appreciate the Magic fans coming to a Cavs blog to post, but since it’s our house, let me break down why the Cavs are going to win.
-Playoff experience. Cavs = lots. Magic = not so much. When’s the last time the Cavs lost a playoff game when they were up by 10 with less than 5 minutes to go?
-Closers. Lebron = the best there is. Turkoglu = a good player. Which would you take?
-No Jameer Nelson. Rafer’s fine, but he’ s no all-star.
-Ben Wallace – I think you’re going to see vintage Defensive player of the year, Ben Wallace getting some serious run against Howard.
-And of course, the one, the only, Wally Szczerbiak. In fact, I might be able to die happy if he dunks on someone.
It’ll be a stern test, but with LeBron, all things are possible.
VIVA LA CAVS!!!
Heys guys..i was coming back again to read some comments and reply but i actually could stop laughing a Jose’s whole post and some of Wolfman’s….lol..my sides are hurting. I’ll try and come back later when i can actually stop laughing and see the keyboard. Funny stuff. Oh and thanks for you Cavs fans who may have drastically different opinions at times but still stay classy and respectful. But, jose…you’re a trip man..lol. BBL
First time at a Cavs blog and i must say i’m shocked…you’ve got some really fair thinkers in Cleveland (except for Wolffman, no offense but Big Ben is gonna wish he retired after leaving Detroit. And i’m sorry but Cavs, ‘lots of playoff experience’, c’mon..a couple years of playoffs, much like orlando, doesn’t give you a lot of experience). Much better than the pricks in LA…with that being said, I think you hit it right on the head, we’re the best team out of the East to challenge King James and try to sow him down. I was at the first game here in Orl and was surprised we pulled it through b/c of our two co-’stars’, Hedo and Shad couldnt hit anything. But it wasn’t our lack of offensive that gave us the game, we just took control defensively and thats what i think we need to do to win this series. Take a look at the Orl/Bos games where we blew all of those big leads. Yes we stopped swinging the ball around and making shots, but the Celts came back b/c of our lack of intensity on Defense. Cleveland needs Lebron to be on, and needs additional help from his supporting cast to start spreading our defense and when/if that happens, we’ll be in trouble. We have some good shooters, yes, but when a team starts to force themselves on us, we seem to force our game and it just doesn’t work. If Orlando can bring the same intensity of say, game 7 in bos or the first half of a game 5, we’ve got a really good shot to compete…but you guys also have the King, so i guess it’s all up in the air for now…hope you enjoy the game….i know i will…
I’d also like to ask, what’s the general consensus in cleveland? are you all relegated to James wearing a Knick jersey in 2010 or is there a lot of posturing with the die-hards?
I think one of the biggest misconceptions in the league is that the Cavs are some team that’s been through the fires together and are battle-tested and proven. Most of the team from that Finals team 2 years ago is gone (and Pavlovic and Gibson aren’t nearly as big of a part of this team that they were of that team), the East was extremely weak, Flip Saunders handed the series to the Cavs with his reluctance to double LeBron, and that team was absolutely stomped by the Spurs. Last year’s team got 2 games farther than the Magic, even though the Magic were facing the team that was the absolute worst matchup for them.
The Cavs have an advantage in that area, yes, but it’s not some huge one that everyone makes it out to be. The Cavs advantage lies in two places: LeBron James (especially if his jump shot is on, like it was in the game the teams played up in Cleveland) and the team’s overall effort and consistency. The Cavs don’t beat themselves. The most important question of this series, more than any other, is whether the Magic are done beating themselves.
B from O town:
After watching this years team play with such incredible passion, fun, and intensity, I truly do think Lebron will stay. One thing that isn’t talked about a ton is Lebron’s loyalty..to friends, family, and teammates. To see him leave after the way he pulled this team together this year would be a bit of a shock to me. However, if we fail to win a championship in the next 2 years, I’d say that would be probably be a deciding factor for him to leave. Lebron has made it clear that he cares immensely about winning championships. If he wins 1 or 2 here and it appears we still have some of the major parts, why leave? Go to a NY team with a lesser supporting cast? I don’t know. Obviously its all speculation and you can’t forget about his desire to become a global icon. Asked the same question this time last year, I would have frowned, shook my head, and changed the subject. Now, I’m pretty optimistic. We’ll see what my response is this time next year.
Also, one more thing on the series, FWIW..
At least in the blowout win, the Magic did an excellent job of getting easy transition buckets. This is occasionally a Cav weakness on defense. Its really important for us to limit fast break points for the Magic, especially on the road as this lights a fire under the home crowd’s ass like nothing else. Also, hitting the defensive boards is crucial. Orlando is going to attack the boards much better than the Hawks and PIstons did, with Howard obviously being the main catalyst for this. A lot of these rebounds are going to be fairly long misses because of the nature of the Magic offense (spread the floor, shoot open 3s). In those scenarios, and I know this sounds soooo cliche, but the Cavs have to want it more. In game 7 in the Bos/Orl series especially, I noticed multiple times when the Magic simply wanted a rebound more or the C’s lost focus and didn’t corral a rebound.
Really looking forward to a great series, and thanks to the Magic fans who posted here with pretty good insight and humility.
I hope Lebron “shocks the world” this summer and re-ups long term with Cleveland. As much as I’d like to see Lebron take the popularity of basketball (not necessarily the league) to new heights from the big stage in NY, I couldn’t stand to see 24/7 coverage from ESPN ala the coverage of the Yankees. NY already has the Yanks to shove down our “sports lives” throats, enough!
As for the series, I’m looking forward to it. It’s not only because I’m an Orlando fan, or because I think Orlando does have a very good chance of pulling off an “upset,” or because Lebron is such a treat to watch but finally, finally, finally none of our games will be relegated to the Wal-Mart discount bin channel known as NBATV. Respect at last!!!
Tim:
That’s what we’re thinking down here in Orl. We’re huge LeBron fans so we’re kind of torn with this series (not really, we dont get see Magic play that much in May so we’re obviously excited about it). One of the reasons we love him is his loyalty, same can be said about our local boy, D12. We love that he’s still down here for us to root on. Another reason, one of the big ones, is much like another athelete we’re proud to have down here, TW, they dont get lambasted in the media for doing stupid things, capricious indiscretions, or shooting themselves in the LEG! They carry themselves proudly in the public eye and act according to some sort of moral guidelines. LBJ is a really class act and that loyalty he has for Cleveland can’t go unrecognized. However, and this is a big however, He’s also made it clear to the public that he has loyalty for the GREEN too (i dont fault him, we get a kick out of his honesty) and he loves NY. NY has been clearing cap space for him over the last several months soley to give LBJ ‘an offer he can’t refuse’. But i agree with Tony…..GOD KNOWS New York fans dont need anything else to run their mouths about when it comes to ‘the best things in life are in NY’…
Just to clear this up for dutch, Game 5 will be in Cleveland. Assuming we get to the Finals, that is.
As for LeBron leaving, I don’t see it happening. I would love if he extended his contract this summer, but I doubt that too. I think he just wants to draw it out and get attention, but I don’t think he plans on leaving. His loyalty is too strong, and if there’s a chance of a championship anytime soon I bet he’ll stay.
Billy, I agree with you in that the Cavs’ playoff experience factor isn’t huge, but it could be very significant. This is the Cavs’ 4th straight playoffs trip, and every time we’ve over-achieved. You could say that the East was weak, or that the Magic came up 2 games shorter than the Cavs. However, those two Cavs teams lost to each year’s champion. It’s already happening this year, too. LeBron’s stats are off the charts already.
Now hopefully Mo can really get his stuff going, because he’s been fairly quiet so far.
I don’t really know a lot about basketball, but there’s a strategy I heard someone advocate to use against LBJ that might work on defending Howard. We know he’s not a great offensive force, so we just leave Z on him and work extra hard on defending the perimeter with 4 guys. I just don’t think Dwight is a good enough offensive player to carry the team’s offense. We’ve already seen in this postseason that they can lose when he goes off for a lot of points.
Scary thing is that the cavs with LBJ always play better in the playoffs than their regular season record would indicate. They have been consistent overacheivers in the post season with LBJ, going deep into the playoffs against superior talent in previous years. Their team reminds me of MJ and the Bulls. One superstar surrounded by role players that have bought into the defense first mentality.
I guess Scottie Pippen was a role player. The Bulls also had one of the best rebounders of all-time in Rodman. Pretty damn good role players.
I know this is a bit after the fact…but i came back to this post to give my thoughts on Lebron leaving or staying. I’ll admit like most….i don’t get to see enough of Lebron and the Cavs play…and i’m a basketball junkie…i WAS at both games here. Before last night’s game i too was also under the impression that the Cavs would now be able to keep because he has just a good a chance of winning in Cleveland now as anywhere else. But watching him during the game, the way he postured after great plays, i mean really overdoing it….i could help but get the sense that because of his ego and his need for attention and to be on center stage that the is NO WAY he stays in Cleveland and gives up the chance to be the KING of New York. I think if the Cavs don’t win a ring…it’s a done deal…and if the Cavs do win a ring…he’ll feel like he’s fulfilled his obligation to Cavs fans, Cleveland, and all of Ohio so he can leave without feeling guilty.
GO MAGIC—–> END OF STORY
We have PROVEN to Kick the CAVS to the curve and 2morrow will b no less!!!
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