Keys to the Series: Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

1) Contain the Cavs- the first point you have to mention whenever you say the words Cleveland and Cavaliers is LeBron James. There is no avoiding this matchup and stopping him is a bigger question.

Plain and simple, the man is on a mission to win an NBA title. He already got his MVP trophy this season and wants another golden trophy to add to his mantle. And he has already proven that he can take over a game and win it by himself (see his 25 straight points he ran off Detroit the last time he was in a conference final).

While the Magic have won eight of the past 11 games against the Cavaliers, James has still played well. This season, he averaged about 30 points and seven assists against Orlando. Clearly stopping him is impossible. He will inevitably get his.

The trick is to reduce his assist numbers. Expect the Magic to defend him much the way they defended Paul Pierce at the end of the Celtics series. I see Courtney Lee or Hedo Turkoglu trying to draw him into traps or immediate double teams. The key is really getting the ball out of his hands and containing the rest of the Cavaliers.

That can be done. And Orlando can do it. The Magic's defense is much better than any other the Cavaliers have seen this postseason. Their rotations are better and everyone remembers Dwight Howard's block of James in a 30-plus point romp in early April. Howard presents a significant road block to James' driving attempts.

It is key to make him a jump shooter and limit his assist opportunities.

2) Keep the ball moving: perhaps the thing Orlando struggled most with in the Boston series is ball rotation and avoiding too much one-on-one play.

The Magic, like the Cavaliers, are a hockey assist team. They often need the extra pass to get the look they want or to get the defense out of position enough to open driving lanes.

Howard will do his job and keep attention centered in the paint. But his primary job will continue to be as a deterrant on the defensive end. I think right now, that is still all Orlando can consistently rely on him to be. Cleveland also does a good job frustrating Howard and the team has more big bodies to throw at him.

Thus it becomes more important for the Magic to avoid standing around and watching Turkoglu or Howard go one on one. It is more important for them to draw double teams and force the Cavaliers to rotate on defense and pass back out to the 3-point line or drive, kick and drive again.

This was performed perfectly in Game Seven against the Celtics. Orlando rarely settle for a bad shot and the team built its lead with some unselfish basketball. It helps when shots are falling certainly.

Good looks will be tougher to get against a very good defensive team in Cleveland. But it is definitely possible.

3) Superstars must rise: having said what I said above about Howard playing against the Cavaliers' defense. It is still imperative that Howard remain active and dominate on defense and offense.

He is the Magic's superstar. There is no doubt about it. And calling out Stan Van Gundy in Game Five seemed to awaken him a little bit. I think he took the criticism he received after that well and channeled it properly on the court.

Now against a different opponent, Howard has to force some action and be the superstar. No questions asked. That does not mean taking wild running hooks. He still has to play within himself. But he has to find ways to dominate even when he is not getting touches or getting calls or getting shots to fall.

We all know James is going to come to play every night. It would not surprise me to see him score 40 a night (and believe me Orlando will be fine with that if that is half of Cleveland's points).

But Howard has given uneven efforts throughout this postseason. Games Six and Seven against Boston have perhaps been his finest basketball. He is a presence even when he does not have the ball on offense -- and makes the defense pay when they forget him -- and he is obviously a force defensively.

In addition to Howard, Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu also have to take some increased aggression.

The scores are going to be low in this series again. These are two defensive teams. It is going to be important for the cream to rise to the top. It starts with Howard, goes to Lewis and Turkoglu and filters to the rest of the team.

This is going to be a very interesting series. Orlando matches up incredibly well with Cleveland and can definitely steal a few games in this series.

The Cavaliers have not pushed yet this postseason and it will be interesting to see how they react when they do -- although they are very seasoned, so I am not expecting a whole lot of panic in them.