The All-Star break seemed to have stunted the momentum of the East’s two top teams. In their first game back, the Cleveland Cavaliers (43-19) had a disheartening loss to the Denver Nuggets in overtime at the hands of Carmelo Anthony. The following night, the Cavs were visibly deflated against the Charlotte Bobcats and were outplayed from start to finish for their second consecutive loss. While the Orlando Magic (37-19) had a gimme win against the abysmal Detroit Pistons in their first game back from the break, a horrific fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday resulted in a loss that just shouldn’t have happened.
The Magic and Cavs will go head to head tomorrow in what will surely be a statement game. Some bad blood has developed between these teams, largely stemming from the Magic’s series victory in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Cleveland is 2-0 against Orlando this season, but with the Cavs’ recent lackluster play, the Magic are the close favorites to come out on top (see the detailed NBA odds).
The Cavs’ offseason acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal was with the primary thought of de-throning the Magic in mind. While O’Neal has only averaged 10 points and 5.5 rebounds a game against the Magic this year, he’s used 10 (of his 12 fouls) and been a physical body that has been successful in slowing down Dwight Howard. Howard has only averaged 15 points a game versus the Cavs this season. O’Neal and Howard have also developed a bit of drama between each other in regard to the “Superman” nickname. While O’Neal was the first to be called Superman, it seems to me as though he has enough nicknames of his own to not be concerned with others trying to copy his style.
Cleveland has continued to tinker with their roster in ways that could impact their ongoing rivalry with the Magic. The recent addition of Antawn Jamison should provide them with a more natural matchup with the Magic’s Rashard Lewis. While Jamison isn’t exactly known for his stellar defense, his athletic ability makes him a better fit to guard Lewis – whose game thrives on his perimeter skills and quickness advantage over bigger power forwards. In response to the addition of Jamison, Lewis was quoted as saying:
“It doesn’t scare me. One guy doesn’t win ballgames. They do have another guy called LeBron James, which is going to be our focus.”
The Jamison trade also meant the exit (at least in the short term) of Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. While “Big Z” is certainly on his decline, not having him in the lineup is a notable advantage for the Magic, who will be able to feed Howard with ease when O’Neal is relegated to the bench.
The Cavs do, however, have Mo Williams back in the lineup after recovering from a shoulder injury. He is a key to the Cavs’ success, as the threat of his outside shooting helps to spread the floor and provide James more room to operate and create. The play of the Magic’s backcourt will be equally important. They’ll rely heavily on Vince Carter to put points on the board, which he has been doing quite well in the month of February. Last time these two teams met, Carter shot an ugly 5 of 16 from the field in a close game, so a solid outing from him would be a serious step toward an Orlando win.
Prediction: Cleveland will come out victorious again. The Cavs aren’t playing their best of the season, but that is the very reason that LeBron James will come up big in tomorrows game. Do you think James will let the Cavs drop three straight? Me neither.
