While many would consider Cleveland’s Sherman-esque march through the East as proof of superiority over the Magic, I’m going out on a limb and calling Orlando in six. When describing the Cavs’ victories over under-manned Detroit and Atlanta teams, (using the word “team” here loosely) “impressive” or even “noteworthy” are exaggerations, at best. Congrats Cleveland, you’ve beaten a Piston squad under construction and a Hawks collective that needed seven games to beat team D-Wade.

So what happens when the Cavs run up against a legitimate playoff team like the Magic? Well, for starters, they’ll lose. Orlando owns a 2-1 regular season advantage over Cleveland, including a 29-point shellacking the last time these two met. Even when they played at home, Cleveland needed fourth-quarter heroics along with a few favorable calls to pull out a 97-93 win.

The East’s third seed owns match-up advantages at almost every position (even I’ll admit Hedo on LBJ looks bad), including perhaps the NBA’s best center in Dwight Howard. Howard’s 6’11”, 265-pound frame will be more than enough to contest any attempt close to the hole. Rashard Lewis will exploit a heavy-footed Varejao at the four, and Mo Williams should have his hands full with Rafer Alston’s street-balling defense. All in all, the Magic won’t need any tricks for this series, just a continuation of the physical team play that’s already brought the defending champs to their knees.