Cavs-Magic: Shaquille O'Neal, Vince Carter Experiment with Team Chemistry

Don’t mess with a good thing—unless you want to win a championship.

In an effort to go from good to great, from playoff contender to champions, the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers went back in the lab and made major roster changes.

The Cavaliers (43-11) have adjusted well to their offseason overhaul and have the NBA’s best record despite missing two starters for extended periods, including 2009 All-Star Mo Williams.

Orlando’s results have been mixed but the Magic (36-18) are in second place in the Eastern Conference and possess the potential to make another run at the NBA title after falling short to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals in June.

The Cavs beat the Magic 115-106 in Clevleand last night—the Cavs are 2-0 against the Magic this season with home and road wins— and the teams will meet two more times this season.

While the results aren’t in just yet, both projects are ready to be examined as the NBA trade deadline is only a week away.

Cleveland Comes Back with Shaq

Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry knew he needed some help on the inside after Magic center Dwight Howard dominated in the paint, averaging 25.8 ppg and 13 rpg in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, including a 40-point, 14-rebound performance in the series-clinching Game Six.

Ferry reacted quickly and the Cavs bulked up in the middle, acquiring 7’1”, 325-pound Shaquille O’Neal, the four-time NBA champion and 2009 NBA-All Star with the Phoenix Suns.

In the first meeting between the teams this season, a 102-93 Cleveland victory in Orlando, O’Neal and the Cavs held Howard to 11 points, seven rebounds and one blocked shot.

Fortunately, Ferry also made several otherwise moves.

With Delonte West out with a broken finger and Williams out with an injured left shoulder, Ferry insured his team was deep enough to continue without its starting backcourt.

Cleveland added Leon Powe, Danny Green, and Jamario Moon at forward and Anthony Parker at guard and the team signed guard Cedric Jackson to a ten-day contract on Feb. 2.

The Cavs are 24-3 at home and tied a franchise record with their 13th consecutive victory after losing their first two games of the season while struggling to find comfort in their new lineup.

O’Neal and longtime Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas haven’t squabbled over minutes and O’Neal is averaging 11.7 ppg and 6.8 rpg a game in 23.2 minutes a contest while Ilgauskas comes off the bench for 7.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg.

The duo was effective against the Magic and O'Neal had ten points and six rebounds as Ilgauskas added six points and seven rebounds.

J.J. Hickson is enjoying more playing time and Anderson Varejao’s scrappy style continues to frustrate opponents in the post.

Hickson scored a surprising 20 points and Varejao was just as remarkable with 16 points in 15 minutes as the Cavs grabbed another win over the Magic.

The Cavs are more humble this year after last year’s disappointing playoff finish followed an excellent regular season that featured the NBA’s best record, LeBron James earning NBA MVP honors and head coach Mike Brown being selected Coach of the Year.

James is still the King, leading the NBA in scoring at 29.8 ppg and averaging a career-best 8.2 apg. After a 36-point, eight-rebound performance in the first meeting, James finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists in the encore encounter.

Now the Cavs have added championship-savvy players like Shaq and Powe and they understand that the level of intensity will be much different in the playoffs.

Cleveland also notched two wins to take the season series versus the Los Angeles Lakers, the defending NBA champions and current leaders of the Western Conference.

The Cavs have become a more complete team and after falling short in the 2007 Finals against the San Antonio Spurs and suffering a huge upset to the Magic last season, the Cavs may have finally found the right combination of talent to unlock the door to the city’s first championship since 1964.

Magic Tricks or Treats?

Although the Magic already featured plenty of perimeter scorers such as All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson and All-Star forward Rashard Lewis, Orlando still needed a player who could score off the dribble or drive-and-dish to other outside shooters after losing forward Hedo Turkoglu to the Toronto Raptors.

Magic GM Otis Smith traded for All-Star guard Vince Carter, but minus Turkoglu distributing the ball, the Magic have had trouble finding an offensive rhythm during critical stretches of games.

Orlando has endured some tough losses but the team is in first place in the Southeast Division and battling Cleveland for the top seed in the East. Even with the loss, the Magic have won 10 of their last 13 games.

Individually, the Magic’s All-Stars have had to swallow their pride and watch their numbers go down for the sake of team success.

Carter has always been a great scorer, but he’s averaging a career-worst 16.5 ppg while shooting only 14.4 times a game, the lowest amount of shot per game in his 12-year career.

Carter started strong but finished 5-of-16 for 14 points as the Magic faded down the stretch. Carter scored 29 points in the first matchup.

Howard is leading the NBA in rebounding (13.4 rpg) and blocks (2.7) but his scoring average has dipped this season from 20.6 to 17.9.

Howard played much better in the second matchup with the Cavs, logging in 19 points and 11 rebounds against Cleveland's hefty frontcourt.

Lewis, who signed a six-year, $118 million deal with the Magic in 2007, has watched his stats decline every year since arriving in Orlando.

In 2006-07, his last season with the Seattle Supersonics, Lewis averaged 22.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg.

Lewis hasn’t topped or approached those numbers in Orlando and his scoring average went from 18.2 in 2007-08 to 17.7 ppg in 2008-09 to 14.5 ppg this season.

He’s only shooting 11.8 times a game—not a lot of opportunities for the team’s highest-paid player and an All-Star last season.

Lewis played well and scored 19 points after missing the first game against the Cavs due to a 10-game suspension.

Nelson bumped his scoring average to a career-high 16.7 ppg last season, but he’s watched that average plummet to 11.6 ppg with 4.8 apg this year as he splits time with Williams, who’s averaging 7.1 ppg and 4.0 apg.

Nelson only averages 27.8 mpg, a little low for a player that was an All-Star last season.

Williams averages 22.6 minutes per game, briefly played for Van Gundy in Miami and won an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006.

Williams performed well in the loss, finishing 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the three-point line, with ten points, two assists and no turnovers in 16 minutes.

Nelson was 4-of-14 from the field, 1-of-5 from the three-point line, and finished with 13 points, five assists, two steals and four turnovers in 33 minutes.

The Magic brought in one of head coach Stan Van Gundy's former point guards last season when the team traded for Rafer Alston, who played for Van Gundy and his brother, Jeff.

The team hasn’t completely jelled yet and there have been complaints about touches for Howard, too many three-point shots from Carter and the team’s lack of motivation on defense.

Unlike most head coaches in the players’ league, Van Gundy isn’t bashful about scolding his team during press conferences and he is giving his bench players plenty of opportunities.

He wants the team to be more consistent and aggressive on defense and he’s showing his concern by spreading the minutes around.

J.J. Redick, the former Duke star, is averaging a career-high 22.6 minutes per game to go with a career-best 9.6 ppg. He was 3-of-3 for eight points in the game.

Mickael Pietrus averages 8.6 ppg and 23.6 mpg and Ryan Anderson averages an efficient 8.0 ppg in only 15.9 mpg.

The Magic have plenty of star power but the team might depart with one of its All-Stars if it can get some key role players in return. After beating Cleveland and superstar James in the playoffs last year, the Magic know that it takes more than name recognition to beat a cohesive team with defined roles for its players.

The Magic feature Howard, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, but he needs help and their interior defense wasn't up to the task against the Cavs.

The Cavs and the Magic could be on a collision course to meet in the playoffs again and if they do the results of both teams' experiments will be more obvious.

But without a title, it’s just another failed experiment.