Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers, Game 1
Don’t think the Orlando Magic have much of a chance in their Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Indeed, the Cavs are 8-0 in these playoffs with all double-digit wins, while the Magic have played 13 games, many of them nailbiters. But Orlando has won eight of the past 11 meetings with the Cavs and three of the past four trips to Cleveland. Earlier this season, the Cavs did pull out the lone home game with the Magic, but it came down to the wire. The Magic handled Cleveland well in Orlando.
But oddsmakers at WagerWeb.com are believers in the Cavs, as they are huge -490 favorites for Game 1.
Obviously the Magic’s focus is LeBron James, who is averaging nearly a triple-double in these playoffs. In the three games against Orlando this season, James had 43 points in the Cavs’ win and to 23 and 26 points in their two losses.
Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu will start out on James but will likely get some help during the game from both Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus. The Magic hope that with Dwight Howard, the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year and shot-block champion, they can keep James out of the lane and away from the rim.
Lee, by the way, has been re-inserted back into the starting lineup in place of J.J. Redick, who struggled in most of the Celtics series. Redick is a better shooter than Lee, who is the better defender and all-around athlete.
“For Delonte West, a guy who puts the ball on the floor more and attacks with the dribble, I think Courtney is the better matchup, so we are going to go that way,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of starting Lee.
One key will be 3-point shooting. No club hoisted more up this season than Orlando nor made as many, but Cleveland led the league in defending that shot. The Cavs are -750 series favorites on WagerWeb.com.
By virtue of their sweeps, Cleveland hasn’t played since May 11. Meanwhile, the Magic are coming off that hard-fought seven-game series against the Boston Celtics, which finished over the weekend. The Cavs dumped the Pistons and Hawks by an average of 16.8 points a game.
“The layoff could hurt them, especially if we come in playing with the same intensity that we played with against Boston,” Magic backup point guard Anthony Johnson said.
Cleveland has lost just once since a 116-87 loss in Orlando on April 3, the team’s worst loss in 90 games.
That last defeat came when all the Cavs starters were sitting out the regular-season finale against Philadelphia.
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