Cavs/Magic Series Preview
Written May 19, 2009 by Jack Jones
The Cleveland Cavaliers have coasted their way through the playoffs so far, easily sweeping both the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks. Now they finally know who their next opponent will be as the Orlando Magic took care of the Boston Celtics in Game 7. This will be the first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals for the Magic since the 1995-96 season when Shaq and Penny were swept by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. The Cavs are no stranger to the finals though as they beat out the Pistons two years ago to reach the NBA Finals. The Cavs are a 9-point favorite in Game 1 to beat the Magic.
Cleveland had a great season in which they set the franchise record with 66 wins. LeBron James is putting up almost 33 ppg in the playoffs and has helped his team shut down opponents. The Cavs currently haven’t let a team get past 85 points in any game this postseason, which has led to six UNDERS in the eight games. The Cavs are -800 favorites to win the series against the Magic.
Orlando has had to go through a couple of tough series just to get to this point. In round 1 the six-game series against the Philadelphia 76ers was more difficult than it probably should have been and then the seven-game series against Boston put this team on the brink of elimination before winning back-to-back to close out the series. Dwight Howard stepped up when his team needed him the most, grabbing 38 rebounds and scoring 35 points in the final two games combined. The Magic are +500 underdogs to win the series and reach the Finals.
The home team has won all three meetings between these two teams this season, with Orlando winning impressively at home. The first win came at the end of January when the Magic won 99-88 then in the last meeting it was a 116-87 blowout. Those 116 points were the most given up by Cleveland in a non-overtime game this year. The game in Cleveland was a 97-93 win for the Cavs, who did fail to cover as 6.5 point favorites. With three covers this season the Magic extended their domination over Cleveland to a 10-1 ATS mark over their last 11.
Cleveland comes into this series without having gone through a real test, but you have to think LeBron will be focused on getting his team back to the Finals and claiming their first world title. The Magic though will be a tough out since they have only lost one of their playoff games by more than four points. This team has been tested while standing on the brink of elimination and the team should have grown together by getting through those trials. This series is going to be a rough one for the Cavs, but I do see them coming out on top in seven games. Don’t count out the Magic though.
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One Response to “Cavs/Magic Series Preview”
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“The first win came at the end of January when the Magic won 99-88 then in the last meeting it was a 116-87 blowout. Those 116 points were the most given up by Orlando in a non-overtime game this year”
you’re wrong those 116 points were given-up by Cleveland. You may say its just a mistake but I think this is the same flawed thinking that puts Cleveland as such a strong favorite…
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