The Orlando Magic will host the Boston Celtics in Game 1 at 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday afternoon. You can find the full schedule here.
The Magic can now focus in on the Celtics.
"It had been assumed for months that the Cavs and the Magic would meet once again in the Eastern Conference Finals as they did last spring when Orlando won the series, 4-2. But instead it will be the Magic and Celtics to decide who goes to the NBA Finals.Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he wasn’t one bit surprised that the Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Cavaliers in three consecutive games.“They don’t surprise me because they have three guys going into the Hall of Fame,’’ Van Gundy said, referring to Boston stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. “And they have an all-star in (Rajon) Rondo. They’ve had health problems most of the season. Pierce and Garnett had health problems, but they’re healthy now. They’re playing great. They’re a championship team that has won 60 games two of the past three years.’’"
John Denton offer his full preview here.
Brian Schmitz gives us his scouting report on the series here.
Shaun Powell previews the series.
"The most interesting plot doesn’t involve those three players, or Howard, but Rajon Rondo and Jameer Nelson. This has the makings of being a very intense and entertaining matchup. Rondo had a breakout season (All-Star) and was terrific against the Cavaliers. Jameer, injured through much of last year’s postseason, is leading Orlando in scoring, assists and steals.And just think: They’ll actually see a quality point guard across the floor, for the first time in these playoffs."
You can find that story here.
Tickets for the series will go on sale Friday.
The Magic sat back and enjoyed the Cavs/Celtics series.
"“It’s really hard to play against us now,” Nelson said. “When we play the game the right way, and do things the right way defensively, it’s hard for the other team. We’re getting stops, and then we’re coming down, and Vince makes a three, or I’ll make a three, or Dwight gets a dunk. It just keeps going, and snowballs on teams. Teams know that we sort of have them by the [throat].”“We have so many guys who can put up big numbers, so many scorers who can give it at any moment in any series,” Carter said.“Jameer led us through the first series when we didn’t play as well as a whole. Dwight and everyone else was there in the second. It’s just about keeping it going now.”"
Tim Povtak of NBA Fanhouse has that story here.
NBA Fanhouse TV had a round table to discuss the Magic. You can watch the video here.
Denton says the Magic are a team of balance and unity.
"If there’s one primary reason why the Magic sit now as the NBA’s lone unbeaten team in the playoffs at 8-0, it’s that they are the epitome of a team with their balance and embarrassment of riches when it comes to weapons.In sweeping the Charlotte Bobcats and the Hawks in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Magic broke the will of the opposition with an offensive attack that has been hitting on all cylinders. Whether it’s post moves and dunks by Howard, 3-pointers from Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter and Mickael Pietrus or slashing drives by Jameer Nelson and Matt Barnes, the Magic have the ability to hit teams from a variety of angles."
You can find that story here.
Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com wonders if the Magic could become one of the all-time great teams.
"But, after two rounds of the playoffs, it may be reasonable to believe that the Magic have the opportunity to be remembered as one of the best Eastern Conference teams of the past decade and even one of the greatest in NBA history.They are one of only four teams in the past 10 years to sweep the first two rounds of the playoffs. They completely obliterated their Eastern Conference Semifinal opponent, the Atlanta Hawks, by an average margin of 25.3 points – the largest margin in a seven-game series in NBA history.When Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis each recorded at least 20 points in Game 2 against Atlanta, Orlando became the first team since Golden State in 2007 to feature four players all scoring 20 or more in a playoff game."
You can find that story here.
Fox Sports Florida has video of a pretty cool Jason Williams trick shot from Thursday’s practice that you can see here.
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, a contributor on the Fansided Front Page and at Sir Charles In Charge. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily and you can get the HTD app here).