EA SPORTSDESK -- NBA Conference Final Preview: Eastern Conference

By Shawn Drotar, Executive Editor, 5WGaming.com

May 21, 2009

We're down to the final four teams vying for the NBA championship, and for the first time in a while, all four contenders are worthy and fully capable of hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Instead of picking one series to follow, we're going to highlight both of the remaining series and explain how each team involved can win the whole thing or lose in the semi-final round.

Let's start our journey in the Eastern Conference, where the Orlando Magic shocked the NBA world by dealing the Cleveland Cavaliers their first playoff loss the season on Wednesday and stole home-court advantage from the top-seeded Cavs.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS

ORLANDO MAGIC (No. 3 seed. 59-23 regular season record, defeated Philadelphia 4-2 in the first round, defeated Boston 4-3 in the second, leads Cleveland 1-0 in the conference finals):

STARTERS: PG Rafer Alston, SG Courtney Lee, SF Hedo Turkoglu, PF Rashard Lewis, C Dwight Howard.

NOTABLE BENCH PERFORMERS: C Marcin Gortat, SF Mickael Pietrus, PG Anthony Johnson.

STRENGTHS: Howard is the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year and one of the best all-around players in the league. He's a very effective scorer close-in, a demoralizing shot-blocker and an athletic rebounder. Lewis and Turkoglu are tall and precise long-distance shooters and one of them is almost always open for a three-point attempt. Rookie Lee can be effective enough to score and play solid defense and Gortat and Pietrus and rough-and-tumble defenders.

WEAKNESSES: Depth, especially in scoring and playmaking. The loss of starting point guard Jameer Nelson to a severe shoulder injury keeps the Magic from finding a consistent rhythm. His fill-in, Alston, is talented, but tends to try to do too much with the ball, which can lead to poor decisions and current second-string Johnson is essentially a journeyman as Alston's backup. Neither Turkoglu nor Lewis are any better than average defenders. Coach Stan Van Gundy needs to work the ball into Howard more in order to improve the floor spacing for his shooters.

HOW THE MAGIC CAN WIN: Keep working the ball into Howard as much as possible and let him control the offense by drawing double-teams. Either Lewis or Turkoglu needs to shoot well, and the other needs to shoot well enough to relieve the pressure on Howard. Both Turkoglu and Lewis need to fight harder for rebounds and share the ball better. Mickael Pietrus can't stop Cleveland's LeBron James, but if he can make his earn his points through physical play, it will pay off for the Magic at the end of the game. The tandem of Alston and Johnson must force high-scoring Cavs point guard Mo Williams into long, contested shots.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (No. 1 seed. 66-16 regular season record, swept Detroit 4-0 in the first round, swept Atlanta 4-0 in the second, trails Orlando 0-1 in the conference finals):

STARTERS: PG Mo Williams, SG Delonte West, SF LeBron James, PF Anderson Varejao, C Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

NOTABLE BENCH PERFORMERS: PF Joe Smith, SF Wally Szczerbiak, C Ben Wallace.

STRENGTHS: LeBron James, LeBron James and LeBron James. The NBA's Most Valuable Player this season, James is the best all-around player in basketball; a deadly scorer, brilliant passer, top-flight defender and an unparalleled floor general. A triple-double threat every night, James commands double- and triple-teams at all times, which makes life much easier for his teammates. Williams provides the secondary scoring punch for the Cavs, but he and fellow guard West can be streaky shooters. Varejao's a bundle of energy that can play excellent defense and irritate opposing players. Ilguaskas is a steady, underrated player who knows how to use his hulking 7-3 frame to his advantage and veterans Smith, Wallace and Szczerbiak won't be rattled by the intensity of the playoffs.

WEAKNESSES: Overconfidence. The Cavs have had it so easy throughout the season that they don't often expect to be challenged; and when they do, they simply expect James to bail them out. Usually, he can, but if either West's or Williams's shot isn't falling, the Cavs can become essentially a one-man team, and that's a big problem. Coach Mike Brown is usually forced to play James more than 40 minutes a night, and the wear-and-tear on him over the course of a long series could be a concern. The team's lack of front-court speed is another concern; with Ilguaskas, Smith and Wallace all long in the tooth, the Magic can spread the court with relative ease when Varejao or James are resting on the bench.

HOW THE CAVALIERS CAN WIN: James is his usual MVP self, West and Williams score enough from the outside, and the front-court contains the speedy Lewis and Turkoglu. If Coach Mike Brown can keep his starters fresh, the Cavs have a clear edge in the series. Cleveland needs to keep working the ball inside and earn their stripes at the foul line while forcing the Magic to keep firing from the outside. If they can execute that plan, they should emerge victorious.

OUTLOOK: The Magic have already taken home-court advantage away from the Cavaliers. A win on Friday would be a crushing blow to the Cavs' hopes, but evening the series is foremost on Cleveland's minds, and it wouldn't be wise to bet against them. Expect the Cavs to bounce back on Friday, take one of the two games Orlando and win this series in seven games.