Sunday's Game #3 Pre-game

Not Intimidated
First, let’s state the obvious – this has been a terrific series so far. Orlando is certainly not intimidated by playing the Cavaliers in Cleveland, already coming back from two huge deficits.

Why
The Magic’s ability to knock down 3s at an alarming rate, Cleveland’s starting backcourt's mediocre/poor play, and the lack of frontcourt athleticism for the Cavaliers makes my five game series prediction look foolish at this point. That’s okay. You get the same credit for winning in seven as you do for sweeping. Nothing has changed. It's still the first one to 4 wins!

Game Winner
LeBron James’ fade away 3-pointer at the buzzer becomes the biggest shot in franchise history ONLY if the Cavaliers win the NBA Championship this season. All it has done so far is perhaps saved Cleveland from being embarrassed in the conference Finals.

As for the shot, give credit to Mo Williams for a strong inbound pass. It helped the Magic chose not to pressure the inbound pass – which is always a mistake. As for all the other talk about the play – just credit James on a great individual effort.

As George “Ice Man” Gervin, my favorite all-time NBA player once said – “In the NBA, great offense beats great defense every time.” The post-game panel on TBS rightfully gave "Ice Man" the credit for that comment.

Sasha
I don’t have a problem with playing Sasha Pavlovic some in this series based on the fact the Cavaliers don’t have the youth and athleticism in their front line to cover the Magic’s athletic front line. However, he had no business being on Hedo Torkoglu on Orlando’s final possession in game #2.

First-Team Defensive All-NBA
LeBron James needs to be on Turkolu for the majority of the game. Period. That will likely keep him for getting 14 assists like he did in game #1 and from burying the near game winner in game #2.

Back to Pavlovic – we have said over and over again he has a low basketball IQ. That was on display again in the final seconds of game #2 when he took a ridiculous foul on Torkoglu. That’s what you get with him – he’ll do something outstanding then take two steps backwards by doing something dumb.

Had James not nailed that game-winner, we would be talking about Sasha’s bone-head play in the final seconds. However, Brown had to play him once James called for him to be inserted prior to game #2. James runs the show. That’s how the NBA works. The stars are in charge.

Regardless what the Cavaliers do defensively, if Orlando goes 8-of-12 from beyond the arc, like they did in the second half of game #1, you aren’t going to beat them. When jump shooting teams knocks down 3s, they can come back from nearly any deficit.

Glass Half Full
On the plus side, Mo Williams is too good a shooter to continue to shoot 33% from the field and Delonte West is too good an all-around player not to make an impact over the course of the remainder of the series. We shall see if they show up in Florida. If they don’t, the Cavaliers won’t be playing in June.

By the way, James’ play in game #1 of this series is the best single-game playoff performance I have seen this side of his “out of this world” play in game #5 versus the Pistons two years ago. The fact the Cavaliers lost game #1 doesn’t take away from that performance in my mind.

Coaching Staff
Mike Brown and his platoon of coaches will need to START earning their checks from here on out.

My problem with them (coaches) in game #1 involved not posting Z up once in the entire game. They did so only on occasion in game #2. The Cavaliers have to post Z on occasion – if only to give James a rest once in awhile offensively.

It’s like having your quarterback hand it off after asking him to pass it 10 straight times. Plus, there is always the chance Z will be effective and/or draw some fouls inside. You won't know unless you try it.

LeBron James posting up has also been MIA. Why not put him in the blocks and see how Orlando deals with it?

Also, as stated early, the coaching staff inexplicably forgot James was their ONLY First-Team All NBA Defense performer when it came to drawing up who would check Turkolu in this series. This one isn’t complicated to figure out.

Torkoglu has had a comfortable smug on his face the entire series so far. That means he’s way too comfortable out there. James should be able to change that expression.

Finally, you have plenty of fouls to give with your bigs. Make Howard, who is a poor free throw shooter, convert at the line instead of allowing him dunks. That did not occur in game #1. He finished with 30 - mostly on dunks. It did in game #2. Better late than never I guess.

It would be nice if the Cavaliers were in possession of Ben Wallace circa 2003. Unfortunately, they aren't. That Ben Wallace would have been able to make life somewhat difficult for Howard inside.

Nuggets – Lakers
I am also enjoying this series as well. The Lakers are fortunate the Nuggets have a tendency to fall into bad habits and make dumb plays – including not being able to inbound the basketball in the clutch.

It looks like Cleveland and LA will have to earn it if the league office is to get its "Dream Finals." That's the way it should be.

Indians
It’s over. Last week I mentioned the season was quickly slipping away. That was wishful thinking. This group has all the looks of a 90+ loss team.

It’s time to call up the top prospects in the system and let them get their feet wet.

At some point, we will discuss which veterans are keepers and which should go. One thing is for certain – the farm system lacks quality arms – again. The garbage they’ve brought up so far makes me long for the days of Scott Bailes.

When your pitching stinks – you have NO chance. It’s like having Trent Dilfer at quarterback with the NFL’s 28th ranked defense backing him up.

Now the question turns to which veterans will be traded and when?

If Cliff Lee continues to pitch well, he is the likely candidate to bring back mucho talent. Unfortunately, based on Mark Shapiro recent track record, I wouldn’t expect another Bartolo Colon deal in the making.

As for the infield, how hard is it - DeRosa at 2B, Cabrera at SS and Peralta at 3B. What's with all the shuffling around?