Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers
Tonight the Orlando Magic are in Rock City USA to play the Cleveland Cavaliers in game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. These 2 teams played 4 times this season and each won 2 games both on their home floor. The Cavs only lost 2 games at home all season and are 8-0 in the playoffs so far. Even though the Cavs look almost invincible the Magic did had the Cavs their worst loss of the season.
The Cavs are big favorites in this game by 9 points with a totals.asp”title=”betting totals” >total of around 184.
In their game 7 win over the Celtics the Magic could not miss from downtown, as they show over 60% from beyond the 3-pt arc. If they can shoot like that tonight they have a good chance at a major upset. The two stars in this series of LeBron James (32.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 6.8 assists per game) and Dwight Howard (19.6 ppg 16.6 rpg) are the main guys, but the supporting cast that can step up and perform tonight may be the deciding factor in this game. The Cavs were better on the glass this season and the Magic cannot allow the Cavs to win the battle of the boards, especially on the offensive end. When Howard goes for the blocked shot the other Magic players have to hit the glass and not give the Cavs put-backs for easy points.
The Cavs have not played since last Monday night and teams that have long layoffs tend to struggle in their next game. The Cavs have to come out and start strong tonight at home. The Magic learned their lesson in their game 5 meltdown against Boston and they will feed Howard early and often tonight. Zydrunas Ilgauskas has a tall task to contain Howard and keep him from dominating in the lane.
The Cavs were the best team in the league this season on defense and the Magic have to find a way to score. If they are hitting their 3-point shots it will open up the lane and Howard can then dominate. If the Cavs can play solid perimeter D Howard will not be as much as a factor. LeBron James looks like he is on a mission to get his first ring, but the Magic have played the Cavs well in the past couple of seasons. This game 1 will set the tone for the series, as if the Cavs come out and crush the Magic tonight this may be a short series. However, if the Magic can make this a close game or even steal a rare win in Cleveland this series may go 7.
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