Writing the Pine

Photo Credit: Tony Dejak/Associated Press

The Eastern Conference Finals brings us a matchup of two teams on different paths. On one hand you have the Orlando Magic who won 59 games in the regular season, but struggled in the first round against a Philadelphia 76ers team that sent its two-headed puppy of Samuel Dalembert and Theo Ratliff to counter Dwight Howard. That’s like The Invisible Woman and Jubilee fighting against well, Superman, a grave mismatch for sure but the Magic still had difficulty in dispatching the Sixers. Then they barely eeked by in the second round, facing an under-manned Boston Celtics team that had just participated in the greatest first-round series in NBA Playoffs history.

On the other hand you have the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by NBA MVP LeBron James. He may as well be the one called Superman. The King has led his team to a perfect 8-0 record in the playoffs, winning every game against the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks by double-digits. His Playoff PER of 41.81 is, as John Hollinger says, “something out of a video game” and James must feel like he’s just playing a video game the way he’s doing whatever he wants.

Orlando’s key in advancing to their first Finals appearance in 14 years is simple: stop James. And how do they do that? The answer is also simple: they can’t.

Who will stop the MVP?

I mean, who on the Magic roster can even contain LeBron? Courtney Lee? (Sorry rook, but guarding the King is a little different than guarding Eddie House). Hedo Turkoglu? (Good luck to the Michael Jordan of Turkey). Mickael Pietrus has the best shot but c’mon. Is a French guy really gonna shut down LeBron. I’m sure Stan Van Gundy will devise up some exotic schemes to try and slow down James but this isn’t the 2007 NBA Finals and the Orlando Magic aren’t the San Antonio Spurs. Sure they have the Defensive Player of the Year in Howard and I love the guy and I think he’ll soon be the best center in the league (for now that distinction goes to a healthy Yao Ming) but dude got posterized by the fair-skinned Rajon Rondo and had trouble guarding Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis! Big Baby! So if Howard doesn’t already have his hands full with the likes of Big Z (who will force him out on the perimeter thereby neutralizing some of his effectiveness), Anderson Varejao, and Joe Beast and he’s able to shade over and help out on James, the MVP will no doubt find his teammates for open shots. See, the difference between LeBron, and another NBA superstar who won’t be named but starred in the film Kobe: Doin’ Work is that LeBron trusts his teammates and has confidence in them to make shots. I would be doing a disservice to the Cavaliers if I didn’t mention Mo Williams and Delonte West specifically. They deserve some credit for the team’s success as well (and LeBron will be the first to tell you that).

Offensively, yes the Magic have some pop but the book on them has been the same all season long, they are just too reliant on the three-point shot. Of course if they hit 16 out of 29 threes they’ll win no matter how well LeBron plays but with Cleveland’s defense, its unlikely they’re able to go on any kind of a shooting streak like that. The MJ of Turkey will have fits trying to score on James and he, as well as his teammates, will probably end up on the wrong end of some highlight reel blocks. (I’ll set the line for times LeBron swats the ball out of bounds per game at 1.5). Orlando is a pretty soft bunch and their reliance on three-point shooting is exacerbated by their lack of an inside game. Howard has no post game other than an inconsistent running hook shot and of course, dunking. It’s amazing Howard’s offensive game isn’t much better than Hasheem Thabeet’s despite being under the tutelage of Patrick Chewing, one of the greatest offensive centers of all-time. Rashard Lewis played pretty well in the Boston series, but he also got blocked by Brian Scalabrine.

Dwight Howard will literally have to be Superman if the Magic want to advance.

Although they won two of three during the regular season against Cleveland, the Magic, and Dwight Howard specifically, will need to put on the performance of a lifetime to upend the steamrolling Cavs. Howard will need to dominate Cleveland’s bigs on a nightly basis but I just can’t see it. There have been times during these playoffs where Dwight Howard looked like a worse Superman than Dean Cain. For some reason, I see Howard in constant foul trouble this series thanks to one, Anderson Varejao. Varejao will frustrate him to the point where I would not be surprised if he swung another elbow and got suspended. As always, I’m hoping for a good series but LeBron and co. will be too much for even Ron Jeremy to handle. Cavaliers in five.