Eastern Conference Finals Preview

Hello everyone. Last night the Orlando Magic defeated the Boston Celtics in the 7th game of their series. While I would have loved to seen us play Boston, we are stuck with the better team. This series is going to be a real dogfight. Today's blog will be dedicated to a preview of the series.

-The Magic are a team that can beat you one of two ways, with the three point shot, or by pounding you in the block with Dwight Howard. While we have played great defense in the playoffs thus far, the Magic have length in their 3 point shooters. JJ Reddick, Courtney Lee, Hedo Turkgolu, and Rashard Lewis are all over 6'5, and Turkgolu and Lewis are both 6'10.
-Courtney Lee, Mickael Pietrus, and Dwight Howard are all great defenders. Howard won the Defensive Player of the Year Award this year, and the Cavs must be physical, attack and grind out games against these guys.
-Orlando can win both at home and away. But they can also lose very easily at home because of their dependence on the 3 point shot. Game 1 will be huge for the Cavs because Orlando is coming off a huge victory in Boston, and Cleveland will have had almost 8 days of rest and need to shake off some rust. Also, Orlando beat Cleveland twice this year, once by 11 points and once by 29. The Cavs beat the Magic at home by only 4 points....
-If I am the Cavs, I try my best to close out the perimeter, and force Dwight Howard to beat you. Closing out on the 3 point shooters of Orlando will be huge. If we can pressure the shooters or just force them to not take shots, the Cavs will win the series.
-While Howard is the best big man in the league, and a great rebounder, he still does not have any consistent post moves. He does not have a consistent jump shot, hook shot, and he is a horrible free throw shooter (59%). Our post defenders must play physical with Howard, as Kendrick Perkins did in the previous series. Versus Boston Howard averaged 16 points and 17 rebounds a game, and while his rebounding increased, his scoring decreased by about 4 points.
-Getting Howard into foul trouble early will be important because it not only take away their best player, but it takes away their best post defender. This opens up the floor for LeBron James.
-The reason why I believe we should try and let Howard beat us is because the if the Magic get hot from the outside, the game will be very hard to win for the Cavs.
-The Magic backcourt is somewhat weak with Rafer Alston, Anthony Johnson, and Courtney Lee coming off an injury. Alston struggled in the Celtics series as he averaged only 10 points and 4 assists a game.
-The way the Cavs will win this series is our shooting and defense. Z, Joe Smith, Daniel, Sasha, Delonte, Wally, and Mo all must hit their shots. This will keep the defenders on them close, and it will open the floor up for LeBron to drive and create.
-Delonte needs to attack the basket to keep Courtney Lee off balance, and Mo must hit 3's to help keep pressure off LeBron on offense.
-LeBron needs to continue his improved jumpshooting. He is averaging 32.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists a game thus far in the playoffs. He is shooting 55% from the field, and 48% from 3. The better LeBron shoots, the more floor space he will have to operate with.
-Z hitting his jumpers and even a 3 pointer here and there is huge because it will force Howard to close out on him out of the block, which will give us better chances to grab offensive boards.
-Anderson needs to do a good job of playing physical defense on Rashard Lewis. Lewis has a very high release on his 3 point shot, and Anderson must do his best job to disrupt his shot.

While I am not happy that we are stuck with the Magic, I think the Cavs can win the series. LeBron needs to continue his great play, and his teammates must help him out on offense. Our defense needs to continue to suffocate, and we have to get all the loose balls and hustle plays. The reason I think we are going to win is because teams that usually live by the 3, die by it. Rebounding will be another key factor, and I believe the Cavs will put up a very good fight on the boards. With the extended rest for Ben Wallace, Z, and Joe Smith, the Cavs should have fresh legs to grab boards. Add the combination that we have Anderson and LeBron attacking the glass will only help our cause. I am confident that LeBron will lead the team in the series, and he will not let us lose. We have been an extremely focused team throughout the year and we must not lose sights on our goal of an NBA Championship. I have the Cavs in 6 games.