The Cleveland Cavaliers are the most rested team in the NBA playoffs, having beaten the Detroit Pistons four games to none and the Atlanta Hawks four to zip. Thus far they have dismantled their post-season opponents. On the other hand, their next opponents, the Orlando Magic, are coming off a long, hard seven game series against the Celtics. The Magic will play the Cavs with just two days rest. Plus they have to travel to Cleveland as the Cavs enjoy home court advantage. This could be a short series if the Magic have a tough time rebounding from their semifinals match.
Orlando Magic
Offense
This team, like the Cavs, has a point-producing athletic front man. Of course Cleveland rosters the best of the best in LeBron James while the Magic have the prolific Dwight Howard. Howard, at center, has averaged 20.3 points and 16.6 rebounds per game. Both stats are tops on the team. From the field, Howard’s hit 61% of his shots. The entire frontcourt on this team is impressive with power forward Rashard Lewis just about keeping pace with Howard as he’s averaged 19.9 points per game. Lewis has a decent three-point shot, hitting 33% of his tries. Small forward Hedo Turkoglu rounds out the starting three in front. Turkoglu has been good for 16.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. He’s an 83% foul shooter and a clutch three-point man.
The backcourt is controlled by point guard Rafer Alston. Alston, who dishes off 4.7 assists per game, offers 12.5 points per contest. From the shooting spot, Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus put in 10.1 and 8.3 points per game respectively. Lee is the club’s best shooter from the charity stripe, putting in 94% of his attempts. Guard J.J. Redick can come off the bench and also provide some points in the backcourt.
Defense
Orlando puts a solid defense on the court. Howard blocks an average of 2.55 SPG. Alston has quick hands in the backcourt, taking away 1.55 balls per game. Is this a great defensive team? The answer is “no.” But Orlando offers an adequate “D.” They are rangy and tenacious. This team is always in the game and ready to challenge anyone.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Offense
The Cavaliers are led by the premier player in the NBA—LeBron James. As he did in the regular-season, James, at small forward, has been tops on the team in the post-season in points (32.9 PPG), rebounds (9.8 RPG) and assists (6.8 APG). Quite simply, James can make things happen in any number of ways. He’s a 36% three-point shooter and a 75% charity stripe shooter.
The glue in the backcourt is point guard Mo Williams. Williams, who’s averaged 4.5 assists per game, is teamed with another playmaker—shooting guard Delonte West. In the post-season, West has dished off 4.4 assists per contest. Williams has hit for 14.8 PPG and West for 13.8 PPG. They are one of the finest backcourt combos in the league. Both are also 36% three-point shooters.
Going back to the frontcourt, you can expect to see two of these three guys out there at any given time—center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, power forward Joe Smith and center Anderson Varejao. Of the three, Ilgauskas is the top point producer with 10.8 per game while Varejao is best at rebounds, grabbing 7.3 per contest. Coming off the bench, shooting guard Wally Szczerbiak and point guard Daniel Gibson offer about 11 quality minutes of play per game.
Defense
Once again, it is James who tops the club on defense. He is an amazing defensive weapon, offering quick hands that average 2.00 SPG. Ilgauskas is good for 1.13 BPG and Varejao offers 1.38 BPG. In the post season, teams have managed just 78.1 PPG against the Cavs. West, in the backcourt, and Varejao, in the front, both have quick hands, stealing 1.13 and 1.25 balls per contest. This team has a fine defensive squad that is capable of shutting just about anyone down.
Summary
The Orlando Magic have fought hard to get to the Eastern Conference Finals. They’ve gone through a six game series with the 76ers and a seven game series with the defending champions, the Boston Celtics. Although it’s admirable that they survived their meeting with Boston, the fact is that the Celtics were missing one of their primary performers—Kevin Garnett. The team enters their next series tired and they don’t possess the kind of depth offered by Cleveland. The Cavaliers are definitely the superior team. Not only did they finish first in the Eastern Conference, they possess a roster that is talented and deep. James is essential to this team’s success and if something happens to him then all bets are off. But the fact is that James is healthy and the Cavs as a team are focused on winning it all. This series will go no more than five games and then the Cleveland Cavaliers will be on their way to the NBA Finals.
