Cavs vs Magic

[TonyTragic]

Why did J-will retire in the first place? He looks good.

I think it was a combination of injuries plus him losing love for the game. I remember some of the comments coming from him before his retirement and he was just sick of hopping from team to team to team.

lost love for the game when coaches made him change his game...the boy is not playin at his full skill level..but...?

Yeah, possibly. To be honest I don't remember if he changed much in Miami. I know he had a pretty reduced role. Did Riley or Spolestra try to turn him into something he isnt?

[BASS_THUMPER]

i seen powe pimpijn!!

i miss u playa..i hope yo pimp hand still strong..

[BASS_THUMPER]

wow..orlando hot from the 3 line...

[Who]

Varejao and Hickson have 16 points apiece. LeBron has another 15. They've combined for 47 of Cleveland's 64 points. Edit: Make that 17 for Bron and 49 of 66 for that trio. Eight assists for LeBron too.

Shaq has another six points. The rest of the team has only 11 points and no other player has more than one basket.

Orlando, on the other hand, all five of their starters have scored between 7 and 9 points and Jason Williams is their high scorer with 10 points. Anderson has 6 and Pietrus 5. Very balanced scoring.

It will be more difficult for Cleveland to maintain their hot offensive play in the second half than Orlando. Two unlikely source of points (Varejao/Hickson) + little offense gained outside of them.

[jdpapa3]

That magic O can hang 40 pts on any team in the league in a quarter. You just need to score enough to hang with them.

[Who]

Cleveland is shooting 55.8% from the floor but most of that is Varejao and Hickson. They are a combined 15-20 from the field.

The rest of the roster is only 9-23 from the floor. LeBron is 10-12 from the FT line though.

[Who]

I missed most of the third ... just tuned in when Cleveland started their shooting barrage.

Cavs lead 94-88 with nine plus minutes to go

[celticinorlando]

cavs have the 1 seed wrapped up. i cannot believe they get big play from guys like hickson, jawad williams and boston cannot from their young guys.

best case for boston is this...boston finishes in the 2 or 3 with atlanta the 2 or 3...orlando needs to finish 4th so they get the cavs in round 2. if cleveland gets atlanta in round 2...it will be a bloodbath for the hawks. magic can at least make it a series.

[Who]

Does Cleveland beat Orlando in the playoffs this time round?

They still look vulnerable to Orlando's four in one out offense + their pick and roll play. But I'm not convinced that Jameer + Vince are playing well enough to match what Hedo + Rafer did to Cleveland last season.

Whenever Orlando get some penetration either one-on-one or off the pick and roll, they're able to pick Cleveland's defense apart. The Cavs are just not comfortable defending a power forward out on the three point line. But they're getting less penetration than they were last season.

I think it looks like the Cavs have gained a slight advantage but that things are still very close.

[Who]

Not impressed by Jawad Williams, he's not a player. A weak rebounder, a very poor offensive player and a below average defender. He shouldn't be in anyone's rotation. Only a borderline 14th/15th man.

[Donoghus]

Does Cleveland beat Orlando in the playoffs this time round?

They still look vulnerable to Orlando's four in one out offense + their pick and roll play. But I'm not convinced that Jameer + Vince are playing well enough to match what Hedo + Rafer did to Cleveland last season.

I think it looks like the Cavs have gained a slight advantage but that things are still very close.

I think Cleveland does beat them this time around and for the reasons you stated;  I think guard play is going to hurt Orlando and they are going to miss Hedo.  I was never sold on Vince being an upgrade on Hedo.  He was as good as igniting that offense as anyone.

[Who]

I like that Mike Brown brought Anthony Parker back in but I would have liked to have seen him take that small backcourt out now that Vince is in for Redick.

[Who]

Cleveland still look somewhat prone to scoring droughts against Orlando's defense.

They need to get another reliable scorer to play alongside LeBron. Once they get that, it's over.

[Donoghus]

Orlando's cooked.

[Donoghus]

Cleveland still look somewhat prone to scoring droughts against Orlando's defense.

They need to get another reliable scorer to play alongside LeBron. Once they get that, it's over.

They've been looking for that guy year after year.  Larry Hughes, Wally World....