With back-to-back playoff sweeps, the Cavs have cruised to this point. The holiday shouldn’t make them too rusty, however Orlando’s confidence has to be sky high coming off a grand performance knocking off the defending champions IN Boston in game 7 of their series on Sunday.
Led by league MVP LeBron James and enjoying the home court advantage where they have been nothing short of brilliant, Cleveland also have to be feeling pretty good about themselves. But while Cleveland is a league-best 29-1 at home, it should be noted that Orlando has the best road record in the East at 23-10.
Can Dwight Howard “rebound” from an exhausting series against Boston and lead Orlando into the NBA Finals? Absolutely. Cleveland’s big man, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, will have his hands full every second he is on the court. Orlando, especially with hot outside shooting led by Hedo Turkoglu, will be a much better test than Detroit or Atlanta.
Orlando is one of the few teams that has had the Cavaliers’ number in recent years, winning seven of the last nine meetings and three straight. The Magic also have won three in a row at Cleveland. This should be an exciting series, one that does not have the makings of a third-straight Cleveland sweep as Orlando is determined to prove they are worthy title contenders, though the Cavs should ultimately prevail.
Schedule (All times Eastern)
Game 1: Orlando at Cleveland, Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. (ET), TNT
Game 2: Orlando at Cleveland, Friday, 8:30 p.m. (ET), TNT
Game 3: Cleveland at Orlando, Sunday, 8:30 p.m. (ET), TNT
Game 4: Cleveland at Orlando, Tuesday, May 26, 8:30 p.m. (ET), TNT
Game 5: Orlando at Cleveland, if necessary, Thursday, May 28, 8:30 p.m. (ET), TNT
Game 6: Cleveland at Orlando, if necessary, Saturday, May 30, 8:30 p.m. (ET), TNT
Game 7: Orlando at Cleveland, if necessary, Monday, June 1, 8:30 p.m. (ET), TNT
Season Records
Cavaliers: 66-16 (1st in Central Division)
Magic: 59-23 (1st in Southeast Division)
Season Series
Magic won, 2-1
Jan. 29: at Magic 99, Cavaliers 88
March 17: at Cavaliers 97, Magic 93
April 3: at Magic 116, Cavaliers 87
Head to Head Playoff Series
Never met in playoffs.
Orlando may have a good road record and played well against Cleveland in the regular season, but these are the playoffs and MVP LeBron will step it up.
Dwight Howard is superman and he will carry his team into the finals.
Yo Moses, too much weight from the Cavs’stars for Howard’s cape to get airborne. Cleveland will advance.
LeBron is the real superman. Cavs win it all.
Despite LeBron getting more than his fair share of calls driving the lane, Cleveland comes up short. Good for Orlando.
Rashard Lewis was shredding the basket. clutch shooting.
Goes to show you, LeBron can score 50 points but still come up on the losin end..at home even.
LeBron 3point magic at home shows just how tough it will be to beat Orlando. They are a GOOOOD team!