LeBron James & Cavs ready for Orlando Magic
LeBron James & Cavs ready for Orlando Magic
It will be King James vs. Superman in the Eastern Conference Finals after Dwight Howard and the Magic pounded the Celtics in Game 7 on Sunday, 101-82. LeBron James and Cleveland have yet to even break a sweat in the postseason sweeping through Detroit and Atlanta though Orlando did hand the Cavaliers two of their 15 losses on the regular season. Game 1 is set for Wednesday at The Q in Cleveland.
We knew this was going to happen once the Kevin Garnett story broke.
The now-former NBA champion Boston Celtics were in grave danger of getting taken down a peg minus the Big Ticket. The Chicago Bulls almost pulled it off, and then the Orlando Magic finished the job in seven games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. As a result, we get a matchup between the two remaining elite teams in the East, not to mention the league’s top two breadwinners during the regular season.
Cleveland (regular season): 66-16 SU, 50-32 ATS, Under 45-36-1
Cleveland (playoffs): 8-0 SU, 7-0-1 ATS, Under 6-2
Orlando (regular season): 59-23 SU, 49-32-1 ATS, Under 46-36
Orlando (playoffs): 8-5 SU, 6-7 ATS, Under 9-4
Head-to-head: Orlando 2-1 SU, 3-0 ATS, Under 2-1
The Cavaliers are the top story in the NBA this year, a public darling with LeBron James (31.7 PER) providing megawatt star power, and yet the Cavs have maintained their cash flow into the postseason. The Detroit Pistons were no match for them. The Atlanta Hawks were worse. Can the Cavs maintain this level of play against a more challenging opponent?
The season series results aren’t in their favor. But as has been the case with nearly every series in these playoffs, these scores have to be put into context.
The first game in question featured Jameer Nelson (20.6 PER) at point guard for the Magic. Although Rafer Alston (15.6 PER) has been a competent replacement, Nelson was an All-Star this year and his offense has been missed. Ben Wallace (12.2 PER) wasn’t with Cleveland for the other two games; Big Ben’s defense still makes him a quality asset with a plus-3.1 Roland Rating, just ahead of Mo Williams (17.2 PER) at plus-3.0.
Williams was an All-Star himself this year (albeit a dubious selection) and one of the reasons behind Cleveland’s ongoing success at the pay window. Over the past two seasons, GM Danny Ferry has surrounded James with the kind of players he needs to win a championship. The sportswriters have already voiced their approval by anointing King James as their Most Valuable Player. Signing Williams at $8.5 million per year was one of Ferry’s most important moves; he was even able to get Joe Smith (14.8 PER) off the scrap heap for a second straight playoff run.
Smith and Wallace join Zydrunas Ilgauskas (18.0 PER) and Anderson Varejao (14.6 PER) to give Cleveland four competent big men to send after Dwight Howard (25.4 PER). A team with the ability to frustrate Howard can reduce the Magic to a one-dimensional perimeter threat. Philadelphia and Boston have both gotten into Howard’s grill during these playoffs, and the Magic have on occasion come up dry from long range. Frontline depth is doubly important in this series because the Magic have something of a secret weapon in Marcin Gortat (17.1 PER), who is showcasing himself with some very good defensive work off the Orlando bench.
These are strong conditions on the ground for an under. Howard is the new Defensive Player of the Year, matched up against one of the slowest teams in the league (85.4 possessions per game in the playoffs) as guided by the new Coach of the Year, the highly defensive-minded Mike Brown. The trends are all leaning under: 22-8 in Orlando’s last 30 games, 14-5-1 in Cleveland’s last 20 at The Q, and 4-1 in their last five matchups against one another.
The opening betting odds for Wednesday’s Magic-Cavaliers opener had the Cavs laying nine points with a total of 187. That’s the same total as their meeting in April. Charles Barkley and the gang at TNT have the coverage for Game 1 starting at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
It will be King James vs. Superman in the Eastern Conference Finals after Dwight Howard and the Magic pounded the Celtics in Game 7 on Sunday, 101-82. LeBron James and Cleveland have yet to even break a sweat in the postseason sweeping through Detroit and Atlanta though Orlando did hand the Cavaliers two of their 15 losses on the regular season. Game 1 is set for Wednesday at The Q in Cleveland.
We knew this was going to happen once the Kevin Garnett story broke.
The now-former NBA champion Boston Celtics were in grave danger of getting taken down a peg minus the Big Ticket. The Chicago Bulls almost pulled it off, and then the Orlando Magic finished the job in seven games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. As a result, we get a matchup between the two remaining elite teams in the East, not to mention the league’s top two breadwinners during the regular season.
Cleveland (regular season): 66-16 SU, 50-32 ATS, Under 45-36-1
Cleveland (playoffs): 8-0 SU, 7-0-1 ATS, Under 6-2
Orlando (regular season): 59-23 SU, 49-32-1 ATS, Under 46-36
Orlando (playoffs): 8-5 SU, 6-7 ATS, Under 9-4
Head-to-head: Orlando 2-1 SU, 3-0 ATS, Under 2-1
The Cavaliers are the top story in the NBA this year, a public darling with LeBron James (31.7 PER) providing megawatt star power, and yet the Cavs have maintained their cash flow into the postseason. The Detroit Pistons were no match for them. The Atlanta Hawks were worse. Can the Cavs maintain this level of play against a more challenging opponent?
The season series results aren’t in their favor. But as has been the case with nearly every series in these playoffs, these scores have to be put into context.
- Jan. 29, 2009: Cleveland 88, Orlando 99 (Magic -5)
- Mar. 17, 2009: Orlando 93, Cleveland 97 (Magic +6½)
- Apr. 3, 2009: Cleveland 87, Orlando 116 (Magic -3½)
The first game in question featured Jameer Nelson (20.6 PER) at point guard for the Magic. Although Rafer Alston (15.6 PER) has been a competent replacement, Nelson was an All-Star this year and his offense has been missed. Ben Wallace (12.2 PER) wasn’t with Cleveland for the other two games; Big Ben’s defense still makes him a quality asset with a plus-3.1 Roland Rating, just ahead of Mo Williams (17.2 PER) at plus-3.0.
Williams was an All-Star himself this year (albeit a dubious selection) and one of the reasons behind Cleveland’s ongoing success at the pay window. Over the past two seasons, GM Danny Ferry has surrounded James with the kind of players he needs to win a championship. The sportswriters have already voiced their approval by anointing King James as their Most Valuable Player. Signing Williams at $8.5 million per year was one of Ferry’s most important moves; he was even able to get Joe Smith (14.8 PER) off the scrap heap for a second straight playoff run.
Smith and Wallace join Zydrunas Ilgauskas (18.0 PER) and Anderson Varejao (14.6 PER) to give Cleveland four competent big men to send after Dwight Howard (25.4 PER). A team with the ability to frustrate Howard can reduce the Magic to a one-dimensional perimeter threat. Philadelphia and Boston have both gotten into Howard’s grill during these playoffs, and the Magic have on occasion come up dry from long range. Frontline depth is doubly important in this series because the Magic have something of a secret weapon in Marcin Gortat (17.1 PER), who is showcasing himself with some very good defensive work off the Orlando bench.
These are strong conditions on the ground for an under. Howard is the new Defensive Player of the Year, matched up against one of the slowest teams in the league (85.4 possessions per game in the playoffs) as guided by the new Coach of the Year, the highly defensive-minded Mike Brown. The trends are all leaning under: 22-8 in Orlando’s last 30 games, 14-5-1 in Cleveland’s last 20 at The Q, and 4-1 in their last five matchups against one another.
The opening betting odds for Wednesday’s Magic-Cavaliers opener had the Cavs laying nine points with a total of 187. That’s the same total as their meeting in April. Charles Barkley and the gang at TNT have the coverage for Game 1 starting at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.