After the Magic finally answered its rallying cry — “You have to beat the champs to be the champs” — with a 101-82 victory over the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday, Dwight Howard stood in front of a television in the visitors’ locker room at TD Banknorth Garden, watching TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”
Howard and his teammates were eager to hear an instant critique of the performance that put Orlando in the conference finals for the first time since 1996. Rashard Lewis sat back in a corner, straining to catch a glimpse but unable to see past a 6-foot-11 obstruction.
“Dwight, they saying we going to lose to Cleveland?” Lewis asked.
“Nah,” Howard said. “They’re talking about the Lakers.”
Disappointed that their win wasn’t yet the topic of discussion, the Magic players went back to getting dressed. But Lewis’ question showed how much they expect to be counted out against the Cavaliers, who won a league-best 66 games and have the NBA’s most valuable player in LeBron James and coach of the year in Mike Brown. Cleveland has been flawless this postseason, going 8-0 against Detroit and Atlanta, winning all eight contests by at least 10 points.
“By going to the Eastern Conference finals, I’m sure people are going to say Cleveland is going to get it. They’ll probably say we don’t have a chance,” Lewis said, heading into Game 1 tonight. “But we still got to go out there and play the game.”
Orlando players believe they can defeat the Cavaliers in a seven-game series. It is one of two teams to have a winning record against Cleveland this season — the Lakers are the other. The Magic claimed two of three in the regular season, including a 116-87 whipping in its last meeting with Cleveland on April 3, when Orlando led by 41 points.
“We feel very good about our matchup,” Magic guard Anthony Johnson said. “They are a tough team to beat, but we feel we can go in, get one win, maybe two (in Cleveland).”
The Cavaliers haven’t played in more than a week and haven’t lost a game with James in uniform since losing back-to-back games to Washington and Orlando last month.
“From what I’ve seen, Cleveland is playing at a higher level than anyone in the playoffs,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, “so we’re going to have to take it up another notch. Right now, you know, you can have a championship in the back of your mind as a goal. Every team, every player, every organization should.
“But right now, it’s about trying to get one win against Cleveland.”
Orlando is feeling confident after coming back from a 3-2 deficit to win the last two games and dethrone the defending champion Celtics.
“You’ve got to give them a shooter’s chance. You really do,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said about Orlando’s chances against Cleveland. “I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see them win this next series.”
