Game 1: Orlando Magic 107 Cleveland Cavaliers 106Analysis: If I'm Orlando I have to be feeling really good right about now, because they looked like they were going to get run out of the gym at beginning of this game and Lebron James hit almost every outside shot he took and the Magic still were able to win the game. Orlando definitely showed a lot in this game and if you didn't respect Orlando coming into this series than you should now.
I think we learned a lot just from this one game. If I'm Orlando, I continue playing Lebron straight up and let him shoot from the outside. What Lebron did in this game from the outside and scoring 49 points is the absolute worst he can do to Orlando and the Magic still won. So keep playing him straight up and let Ilgauskus, Williams, and West try and beat you. I've been saying all along that we don't know what Williams and West will do once they play a legit defensive team in the playoffs and in Game 1 they were not as effective as they had been in the earlier rounds. They combined to shoot just 10 of 29, including just 5 of 16 from three. They did manage to score 29 points, but the fact they needed 29 shots to do so is a win for the Magic.
The second thing we learned is that there is nobody on Cleveland that can stop Dwight Howard. Kendrick Perkins was successful against Howard because he could keep him from getting close shots near the basket, however, Ilgauskus has no chance of stopping Howard because he is too slow and Howard can right around him. Varejao is going to have to match up with Howard more often and Cleveland might have to go with a smaller lineup. It's actually pretty amazing from one series to the next that we could be talking about Dwight Howard having no post moves to the next series that he has an advantage because he's too quick and athletic for the Cavs.
Finally, the Magic bench outscored the Cavs 25 to 5. Early on Joe Smith gave the Cavs some strong minutes, but after that the Cavs got nothing from their bench. Mickael Pietrus was especially strong for the Magic off the bench and may have been the difference in this game.
Key Players of The Game
Dwight Howard: Ilgauskus can't stop him and he went off for 30 points on 14 of 20 shooting, while pulling down 13 rebounds. I would expect to see more Varejao or maybe even a little more Ben Wallace on Howard in Game 2.
Rashard Lewis: Hit the game winning three and hit another big shot or two down the stretch. I like the way he's been playing in the playoffs and he finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists; while shooting 9 of 13 from the floor. The Cavs may want to put Lebron on Lewis or Turkoglu going forward.
Hedo Turkoglu: 15 points, 14 assits, 6 rebounds and a couple of big shots down the stretch. Definitely an impressive performance on a night when he shot just 4 of 11.
Lebron James: Seemed like Lebron hit almost every outside shot he took. He was simply amazing in this game and it's probably the best I've seen him shoot from the outside. He finished with a career playoff high 49 points on 20 of 30 shooting. He also had 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks.
Mickael Pietrus: 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting off the bench might have been the difference in this game for the Magic.
Mo Williams/Delonte West: 10 of 29 shooting and 29 points will probably not be enough on most nights for the Cavs to win. The 29 points are good but the barely 33% shooting is not going to cut it.
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