Orlando Magic Cleveland Cavaliers Game 3 Predictions
Written May 23, 2009 by Jason Lowry
 LeBron James game winning 3-pointer was easily the biggest shot in Cavaliers history, as it not only evened the series up at 1-1, but kept the Cavs championship run alive. With games 3 and 4 heading to Orlando it would have been all but over for the Cavs had they fell down 0-2. James led all scorers with 35 points, and its a shock that the Magic even gave this guy a shot to win the game. Mo Williams dropped in 19 points, but continued to struggle with his shot going 7-21 from the floor. Delonte West and Zyndrunas Ilgauskas each had just 12 points, but Big Z was huge on the boards grabbing 15 rebounds. The other big story for the Cavs was the play of Sasha Pavlovic off the bench, as he came in to give the Cavs 9 points in just 22 minutes. For the Magic it was the Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu show, as Lewis had 23 points and Turkoglu had 21,including what could of been the game winning shot for the Magic. Dwight Howard scored just 10 points with 18 rebounds after putting in 30 points in game 1. Michael Pietrus was once again solid off the bench, coming in to score 10 points on 4-5 shooting. Game 3 is set for Sunday and here is a look at what I think each team needs to do to win the game, plus my prediction on who comes out on top against the spread.Â
What the Cavaliers need to do to win: As good as James shot was, the real story should be the Cavs blowing another huge lead in this series, as they had a 23 point lead in this game. If the Cavs continue to struggle in the 2nd half, they are going to have a lot of trouble winning at Orlando. James was once again outstanding, but the Cavs really need Williams to shoot the ball better the rest of the way, as it really doesn’t do the team all that much good scoring 20 points on 25 shots. Ilgauskas played great in game 2, and the Cavs need him to stay on the floor in games 3 and 4. Pavlovic had barely played all postseason before game 2, and if they can keep getting this type of play off the bench it will really help this team. The defense on Howard was outstanding in game 2, as the Cavs limited the big man to just 8 shots. It will be interesting to see what happens in game 3 if the Cavs are unable to jump out to and early double digit lead. Bet the Cavaliers +1.5 to win game 3 at Sportsbook.com.
What the Magic have to do to win: The Magic have to find a way to get Howard more involved in game 3, as they were lucky to have a shot at winning the game with Howard scoring just 10 points. Both Lewis and Turkoglu continue to play at a very high level and are hitting big shot after big shot late in the game. These two need to be on their game as the series shifts to Orlando, as they are the two premier scorers for the Magic outside of Howard. Rafer Alston struggled to get it going offensively for the second straight game, as he scored just 4 points on 1-7 shooting in game 2. The bench was amazing for the Magic once again, as the reserves combined to score 26 points on 11-15 shooting. The Magic have really started slow in both games in this series, and I think its huge for this team to start the game strong on their home court in game 3. Bet the Magic -1.5 to win game 3 at Sportsbook.
My Prediction: Magic -1.5. I think the Magic are able to bounce back after a very hard loss in game 2, and I look for Howard to have a monster game similar to that of game 1. The Magic have been the better team down the stretch and I think this time they win in run away fashion.Â
For those of you looking to do some NBA betting on the game this Sunday, be sure to check out our expert NBA picks and grab the latest NBA odds at Betfirms.
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One Response to “Orlando Magic Cleveland Cavaliers Game 3 Predictions”
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I modelled the system using a smith predictor to remove any latency issues. Prediction: Cavs do not loose another game thru to the final championship game.
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