Cleveland Cavaliers Orlando Magic Game 1 Predictions
Written May 19, 2009 by Jason Lowry
The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to keep their perfect record in the playoffs intact when they take on the Orlando Magic in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavaliers made easy work of the Detroit Pistons in round 1, sweeping Detroit in 4 games, and it wasn’t much harder in the 2nd round, as the Cavs went on to sweep the Atlanta Hawks in 4 games. The Magic had a little tougher task, as they actually fell behind to the Philadelphia 76ers 1 games to 2, but rebounded to win the next 3 to advance to the 2nd round. The Magic then met up with the defending champion Boston Celtics, where the two teams battled it out for 7 games, with the Magic winning the most important one on the road. That sets up this series, where the Magic will look to humble the Cavs, who they split their two games with during the regular season. With game 1 set for Wednesday night in Cleveland, here is a look at what I think each team needs to to do win the game, plus my prediction on who comes out on top against the spread.
What the Magic have to do to win: I think everyone would be surprised, if the Magic don’t make a series out of this, and the big reason for that is they have arguably the most dominant big man in the game in Dwight Howard. The big man comes in averaging nearly 20 points a game, nearly 17 rebounds, and almost 3 blocks a game, and he has to continue to put up these type of numbers if the Magic are going to win this series. Rashard Lewis has also had a very good postseason, averaging 20 points per game, and they will need his scoring in this series. Besides the big two of Howard and Lewis, the Magic are going to need guys like Hedo Turkoglu and Rafer Alston to play solid throughout this series. That leaves key role players like Courtney Lee, Michael Pietrus, and J.J. Redick, and while they all don’t need to have a big series, its likely one of these guys will have to step up in every game for the Magic to win. Finally the main focus is on defense for this team, and I think they key for them is making LeBron James into a jump shooter only, as you can’t let him get easy looks inside. The Magic definitely have the talent to win this series, its just a matter of execution and LeBron James not scoring 50 points every night. Bet the Magic +9 to win game 1 at Sportsbook.com.
What the Cavaliers have to do to win: It’s no secret that James is the focus of this team, and the Cavs will likely go as far as he takes them, but its not all LeBron this year, as he has a few guys that can really help out. I think its key that Mo Williams and Delonte West both have strong series for the Cavs, as the two have combined to score 28 points a game this postseason. It will be interesting to see how Zydrunas Ilgauskas handles Howard, and most importantly will he be able to stay out of foul trouble. Besides getting good play from Anderson Varejao, the Cavs are going to need very good bench play out of Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Daniel Gibson. Either way the Cavs have one of the best players in the world in James, and he alone can carry this team to the NBA Finals, but if he is off so likely will be the Cavs. Bet the Cavaliers -9 to win game 1 at Sportsbook.com.
My Prediction: Magic +9. I think the Cavs are going to win this game, but I think it is going to be much closer than the oddsmakers are predicting. I have a pretty good feeling the Cavs are going to come out a little rusty in game 1, and if they fall two far behind early, the Magic could steal this game and home court advantage.
For those of you looking to do to some NBA betting the Cavs Magic series, be sure to check out our expert NBA picks and the latest NBA odds at Betfirms.
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