CELTICS MAGIC PREVIEW

After defeating the sinking ship that was the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics advance to the Eastern Conference Finals starting today at 3:30 in Orlando. Last year, the Celtics lost to the Magic in 7 games, but that was without Kevin Garnett. The Magic come into the Conference finals on a roll, having gone 8-0 in the playoffs so far. This has all the makings of a great series, so let's break it down, in the words of the real VP of Common Sense, "Dr. Jack Style."

Centers:
Magic: Dwight Howard, Marcin Gortat
Celtics: Perk and Sheed
Dwight Howard is without a doubt the best center in the league, putting up ridiculous block and rebound numbers. His dominance is born out in the difference in Orlando's production when he is on and off the court. They are a +10.5 per 48 minutes when he's on the court, and a -.3 when he's off it. Orlando not only counts on his defense but also his post presence to create open shots for their 3 point shooters (basically their whole team). If Dwight is Superman, Kendrick Perkins might be his Kryptonite, as he defends Howard better than anyone in the league. The Celtics aren't asking for much out of Perk offensively. His job in this series will be to cover Howard one on one, so Celtics don't have to double and create open 3s for Orlando. Guarding Howard entails making him shoot jumpers and jump hooks, and hacking the shit out of him if he gets too close to the basket. Dwight shoots only 25% when taking jump shots, so any time he takes anything but a dunk or layup consider it a win for the Celtics. Look for Howard to be a factor early in games, and probably get Perk and Sheed in foul trouble, but luckily when the game is on the line Superman has a tendency to play more like Lois Lane.
Edge: Magic

Forwards:
Magic: Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus
Celtics: KG, Pierce, Big Baby, Tony Allen
Rashard Lewis creates a really tough matchup for the Celtics, as he's much too quick and has too much range to be guarded by KG, and is too tall for Pierce to be able to bother his shot. Look for him to have a big series. Luckily, he seems to disappear late in games. It will be interesting to see what the Celtics do to try to limit his looks from the perimeter. Also, the mismatch on one end becomes a mismatch on the other, as Lewis can't guard Garnett in the post.
Vince Carter and Paul Pierce seem to be linked together during their basketball careers. Both played their college ball at perennial powerhouses, where both failed to deliver a national title, Pierce at Kansas, and Vince at UNC. Both contended for rookie of the year in the '98-99 season, where Pierce was robbed as the award was given to the flashier Carter. Both hit the floor like a ton of bricks when they get fouled going to the hoop, the only difference being that Pierce gets up, while Vince sits out the next month. Both were viewed as selfish players for most of their careers, although Vince actually deserved the label while Pierce got a bad rap playing on bad teams. Vince has had a much better than expected season with the Magic. As strange as it seems, he may be the x-factor in this series. If he can play like a man and withstand the beating the Celtics will surely deliver him when he goes to the hoop, it's the Magic's series to win. However, I wouldn't bet on it. Expect Pierce to take him behind the woodshed and exploit his softness. Barnes can hit a lot of threes, so it'll be important to limit his open looks. Pietrus scares the shit out of me, as he always seems to step up and hit big shots. Look at him to get significant crunch time minutes while Vince is getting worked on by the trainer late in close games.
Edge: Celtics, but it's close.

Guards:
Magic: Jameer Nelson, JJ Redick, Jason Williams
Celtics: Rondo, Ray Allen....wow we really only have two legitimate guards
Wow, a Jason Williams appearance! We now have the whole top 3 in the '98-99 rookie of the year voting! Remember when Jason Williams made that behind the back pass that he bounced off his elbow?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Vq-DO86RE
He used to be so fun to watch. Unfortunately he never turned into a great NBA point guard. And no, I have no idea what language that was in.
Jameer Nelson is the heart and soul of this Magic team. However, expect that heart and soul to be ripped out as he simply doesn't have the quickness to stay with Rajon Rondo. This is no knock on Nelson, since I'm not sure anyone in the league has the quickness to stay with Rondo. Rondo will have to be dominant once again for the Celtics to get out of this series with a win. We'll have to wait and see if we'll see good Ray this series or bad Ray. Redick's a little bitch.
Edge: Celtics

Coaching:
Magic: Ron Jeremy
Celtics: The doctor
As much shit as SVG sometimes gets, I actually think he's a great coach. He destroyed Mike Brown in last year's conference finals. It appears Doc knew what he was doing all along this year, as his team has responded in a big way for the playoffs. This series is so interesting because it feels like every matchup is a mismatch on one end or the other. The Celtics will do everything they can to limit Orlando's open threes, while the Magic will do everything they can to stop Rondo from controlling the game.
Edge: Push

The Verdict: This should be a great series. The Magic are firing on all cylinders, but the Celtics can smell the Promised Land and realize this is probably the last chance they have at a title as presently constructed. I think the Celtics take this one in 6, setting up a matchup with the Lakers in the finals. Leave your thoughts/predictions in the comments section.

-Aloy