The Eastern Conference finals start tonight for the Cleveland Cavaliers even though it seems like they have gone through an entire off-season already. The NBA playoffs started about a month ago, and the wine and gold have played a total of eight games. If rest is any factor in the playoffs, then the Cavs should be the strongest team left standing.
The Orlando Magic are a dangerous basketball team. They won two of three games against Cleveland during the regular season, including the Cavs’ worst defeat of the season in Orlando in late March. In fact, that was the last game the wine and gold were defeated in which they played their usual starting lineup. That game could have removed any sense of entitlement the 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers thought they had with all of their success this season.
Orlando relies on its three point shooting from the outside and Dwight Howard on the inside. If they are making their perimeter shots, it opens up the middle for Howard to operate. Howard is not blessed with a wide variety of post moves, but he gets a lot of dunks off of penetration, so he doesn’t exactly have to be Kevin McHale inside.
This is where Cavs’ coach Mike Brown shines, though. In the past, Brown has devised various defensive schemes in the playoffs to stop another teams’ key players from making a huge impact. He held down Chauncey Billups with the Pistons by defending him with big, strong guards like Eric Snow and Larry Hughes. Last year, Ray Allen had a miserable series against Cleveland. What will he have in store for the Magic?
In watching Orlando, they play their best when they are hitting the three pointers. It gives them added energy on both ends of the floor. That would be the focus of any defensive scheme I would design. That leaves Howard one on one against the Cavs’ big men, but I would take that gamble.
Really, if Howard scores 45 points in every game, but the Cavaliers win, who will care? When Cleveland played the Magic the first time this season, they were playing well in the first half despite Howard going crazy inside. They weren’t getting good looks on their perimeter shots.
Another benefit of Howard getting looks inside is that he is not a good free throw shooter. This strategy may involve using rookie Darnell Jackson to use up some fouls, but the team would be better off stopping the Orlando game of hitting the three and then driving to the basket to create mismatches.
The most important thing is too keep Orlando’s three point shooting under control. Their three and four men (Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis) are long and athletic, and when they get it going, the Magic are tough to beat. When they are not making threes, they are a below .500 team.
However, the Cavs also have to make these two guys work very hard at the defensive end. My guess is that Stan Van Gundy will put Howard on Anderson Varajao because he plays more in the post, and he will guard Zydrunas Ilgauskas with Lewis. This means Z must go to the post, and make the undersized (for a four) Lewis play him near the basket. If Turkoglu is checking LeBron James, good luck to you, Hedo. Playing defense is done with your legs, which could take a toll on Turkoglu’s outside shot.
On offense, the Cavs have to make sure the Magic work on defense. That means they have to do what they normally do to be successful, which is move the ball and make the opposition chase. They also must continue to be aggressive taking the ball to the basket, and that includes Delonte West, who has done that in the post-season, but also Ilgauskas.
It is also important that the Cavs get off to a good start in each game. I would say Orlando is a team who most definitely thrives on feeling good about themselves. Having the Magic get behind early would cast doubt that they can win the series, and since they are a young team who has never been this far before, they might be satisfied with that.
The Magic are a much better team than either Detroit or Atlanta. Don’t expect the same easy time of it as the wine and gold experienced in the first and second rounds. The Cavaliers are now in the conference finals, it doesn’t get any easier from here on in. Still, I believe the Cavs have enough to advance to The Finals for the second time in three seasons.
JK
Cleveland Sports Perspective 