Cleveland Cavaliers (1) vs. Orlando Magic (3)

Eastern Conference Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off back to back sweeps over the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks and will have 9 days of rest since their last game. LeBron James and company will be feeling antsy facing their first legitimate challenge in the Playoffs against a team with a balanced attack and the defensive player of the year. The Orlando Magic are coming off a hard fought 7 game series against the defending champion Boston Celtics, going to their first Eastern Conference finals since 1996. Game 1 starts Wednesday, 9:30 PM ET on TNT in Cleveland.

Regular Season: Magic won 2-1

Jan. 29: at Orlando 99, Cleveland 88

Mar. 17 at Cleveland 97, Orlando 93

Apr. 3 at Orlando 116, Cleveland 87

Starting 5

Point Guard (Mo Williams v. Rafer Alston)

Mo Williams has been steady all regular season and has continued in the playoffs, giving LeBron his much needed second scorer. Rafer Alston has filled in nicely for the injured Jameer Nelson, setting up his teammates and adding some scoring along the way. Rafer will need to channel his emotions and not slap the back of anyone’s head in this series. What seperates Williams from Alston each and every night is consistency, and in the playoffs, every play counts.

Edge: Cavs

Shooting Guard (Delonte West v J.J. Redick)

Delonte West gives the Cavs another ball handling guard on the court that can hit the outside shot. At only 6-3 and 180, his size can be a problem on the defensive end against taller, stronger guards. Lucky for him, Orlando’s guards are of a similar size. One uncertainty is who’s going to start for the Magic – JJ. Redick or Courtney Lee? Redick started the entire Boston series and provided another 3 point threat. Lee, who was starting, came back from a fractured sinus in Game 3 has provided a spark off the bench. Delonte has the edge here either way.

Edge: Cavs

Small Forward (LeBron James v Hedo Turkoglu)

LeBron James is averaging 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists a game in the Playoffs. There is not much more you can ask for from the Cavalier’s forward. LBJ should attack the basket and try to get some early fouls on Dwight Howard to help open up the inside of the paint and setup kick outs to his teammates at the 3 point line. Hedo Turkoglu played well in the Boston series but he’ll have his hands full trying to guard LeBron. He’ll need to make James work on both ends of the court and the Orlando Magic will have to play good team defense to contain the current MVP.

Edge: Cavs

Power Forward (Anderson Varejao v Rashard Lewis)

Anderson Varejao gives rebounds, energy and a big body down low. The versatile Rashard Lewis can shoot it from outside or take it inside depending on the matchup. In this case, he should draw Varejao outside the key and force him to guard outside the key. On defense, Lewis will need to put a body on Varejao to limit the offensive rebounds.

Edge: Magic

Center (Zydrunas Ilgauskas v Dwight Howard)

Zydrunas Ilgauskas provides a skilled big man that can take it inside and shoot it from outside. He’ll need to hit his outside shots to keep the defensive player of the year, Dwight Howard, outside of the paint. Howard will need to use his athleticism, power and speed against Big Z, beating him down the floor, blocking shots, and drawing fouls.

Edge: Magic

The Bench

If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to win their series, they better not depend too much on their bench. In this postseason, only Joe Smith has really had any impact off their bench with smaller contributions from Wally Szcerbiak, Daniel Gibson, and Ben Wallace. The Magic bench includes Mickael Pietrus, Anthony Johnson, and Marcin Gortat. Pietrus will likely have the biggest impact, likely drawing some defensive assignments against King James. With Courtney Lee becoming more confident wearing the Rip Hamilton mask, the Magic should have an advantage when the coaches look to get their starters some rest.

Edge: Magic

Intangibles

The Magic have shown that when they play together as a team and are hitting on all cylinders, they are hard to beat. What they also showed during the Boson series was that they don’t always play as a team. Which Magic team will show up? The Cavs have some fresh legs, a great team bond, and home court advantage. Ultimately, in a 7 games series, the Cleveland intangibles outweigh Orlando’s.

Edge: Cavs

3 Questions

1) How much of an impact will the extra days of rest for the Cavs play?

2) Which will have a bigger impact – LeBron James MVP offense or Dwight Howard’s MVP defense?

3) Can the Orlando Magic steal one on the Cavs home court?

Prediction

The Orlando Magic have shown they can win on the opposing team’s court in a deciding game but the Cavs have been dominate on their home court this season. The MVP of the league is on a mission and home court advantage will play a pivotal part of the series.
Cavs win 4-3