Four Questions About the NBA Final Four

Monday Morning Point Guard
5/18/09

Last Monday, I ranked the remaining playoff teams in my confidence in them from eight to one, and I have to start off by saying publicly here that I was wrong about the Orlando Magic.

The Magic had blown a few leads in the playoffs leading up to last week, and had given two games away in the series against Boston, but when it was all on the line, down 3-2, they won two big elimination games, including closing out the defending champs on their court.

Now that we are down to four teams, we will really be able to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each, but for today, here are the four big question marks around each club.

1. Orlando Magic - Can they bring their “A” Game every game?

If the Magic go 13-21 from the three point line in any of their next seven games, they are going to win guaranteed. If Hedo, Rashard, and Courtney are able to make the Cavs play them honest, thus freeing up Dwight Howard to make Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, and Big Z foul their way to the bench, Orlando will advance.

If Orlando can win another pressure close-out game on the road(possibly another Game Seven), then they will be headed to the NBA Finals. Those are three pretty big If’s to start off, however, as our friends at ThirdQuarterCollapse wrote in their post game recap of Game Seven vs. Boston,

"

What more is there to say? The Magic defied the odds in rallying back from a 3-2 series deficit against the defending champions, who had been 32-0 in such situations in franchise history. They’re four wins away from the NBA Finals despite being without the services of their second-best player for almost half the season. Absolutely reason to celebrate in Orlando.

"

2. Los Angeles Lakers - Will their inconsistency wind up costing them the NBA Title?

As we witnessed yesterday, The Lakers were the better team than the Rockets all along, but the road for Los Angeles to the conference finals has not been as smooth as the one their opponent, the Nuggets, took.

When the Lakers take the floor Tuesday night in Game One, they will see a Nuggets team that is much better than the one they played against in the regular season. Their front court players have improved throughout the season on the defensive end, and will give Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum fits.

Meanwhile, we know no one will stop Kobe Bryant, however Dahntay Jones will be asked to be Shane Battier this round, and make Bryant work for every single point of every game. Lamar Odom’s lingering back issue could cause the Lakers to make a decision whether or not he can keep Carmelo Anthony from going for 30 a game.

This series will be full of energy, and I definitely don’t expect any blowouts. Los Angeles will need to play with the same defensive energy they displayed against Houston in Game 5 and 7 in every game here to make certain they advance to the championship round.

For more on these two teams, check out Roundball Mining Company (Nuggets), and ForumBlueandGold (Lakers).

3. Denver Nuggets - Can the Nuggets really beat the Lakers?

Everyone, including myself, has had some of the Denver Kool-Aid that has been passed around over the past few weeks, as the Nuggets impressive playoff run has impressed us all.

However, some facts cannot be overlooked. First, most glaring about their matchup with Los Angeles, Denver has only defeated the Lakers once out of the last eleven times these two teams have played each other.

That’s right, only one win over the last eleven games is a brutal stat. If you just look at the regular season, none of the game were truly close, as L.A won 104-90, 90-79, and 116-102. The Lakers played a defensive half-court game and won, and they played a run-n-gun style on Denver and won.

The stakes are much higher now, and if you are a fan of Denver, you can only hope guys that have been on this stage before, like your fearless leader Chauncey Billups, will be able to assist in mentally preparing his teammates for the battle they are about to endure.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers - Will the Cavs be able to slow down Dwight Howard at all?

The Cavs may have been rooting for the Celtics more than even Boston fans last night, because, while they would not admit it publicly, they matched up much better against this Boston team, with or without KG. Orlando is the one team in the East that has the solution for coach Mike Browns defensive schemes.

The Cavs were torched by Orlando twice during the regular season, and Dwight Howard was dominant in both of those games. In their one meeting in Cleveland, Orlando had a lead late, but a furious Cavs rally, led by King James himself, gave Cleveland the victory.

LeBron James has been able to cruise thus far in the postseason, scoring at will against inferior competition. That will change starting now, as the Magic boast one of the better defensive teams in the league. One X factor in this series to watch will be which team wins the battle of the backcourt.

Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston must keep Mo Williams and Delonte West as non-factors in the game on the defensive end, and combine for 30 points offensively a game to keep the Cavs defense honest.

For more on the Cavs, check out CavsTheBlog.com.

---

Originally posted on LayupDrill.com.