Cleveland Cavaliers 102, Orlando Magic 93

The themes are getting somewhat redundant.

Dwight Howard in foul trouble. Reliance on the outside shot. Opposing point guards having big games. Defense struggling.

Orlando continued to struggle putting together a complete game and effort as they seem willing to coast until the games matter a little bit more. Cleveland was inspired and well rested and took advantage of the sluggish home team in a 102-93 rout that was much closer than the final score.

The litany of problems started when Dwight Howard picked up his second foul within the first three minutes of the game. It was clear the Cavaliers wanted to test their new toy in Shaquille O'Neal and looked for him early and often. Howard was not playing poor defense, but was using his hands a little too much and got the early whistle.

His defense early was indicative of how the Magic were going to play on that end all night until the middle of the fourth quarter. It seemed like no one was willing to get down and play defense as cutters came free through the lane and LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal easily found them with Howard out.

The only saving grace in the first half was that like the Cavaliers, the Magic were shooting above 50 percent. But the way the game was going, it was clear that was not going to last throughout.

Cleveland had 66 points at the half and a 15-point lead. How did the Cavaliers build the lead?

James was his usual self. He looked motivated and determined for much of the night and despite good defense, he was hitting shots. It is LeBron so you can deal with it. James had 36 points on 13 of 23 shooting.

The difference tonight, compared to the Eastern Conference Finals, was Mo Williams. In a disturbing trend of opposing point guards, Williams torched Jameer Nelson the entire night, hitting his first nine shots and scoring 20-plus points by halftime. Williams cooled off but had 28 points and six assists on 12 of 20 shooting. That did not happen in May last year.

The cause for concern though was that Williams was initiating the offense and forcing the Magic to react. With Howard out of the game, it was easier to attack the basket. But things were too easy for Williams. Nelson is not a great defender, but he has always been pesky. That peskiness seems to be gone.

Remember what Raymond Felton did to him last night or Russell Westbrook a few nights before? How about Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey against the Pistons? This is not the first time and that is a worrisome trend.

This to me was a game of worrisome trends. The defense was obviously struggling until the Cavaliers took their foot off the pedal in the fourth quarter -- the Magic's intensity picked up but the Cavs did not match suit in scoring 14 points in the final quarter and letting the final margin drop to single digits.

Howard had a tough time staying on the floor and that set the tone for the entire game. With Howard out, the team had to settle for jumpers and because Howard was out they were not making them -- four for 18 from beyond the arc.

More interestingly, I believe the Magic are missing Ryan Anderson and Rashard Lewis more than ever. It was clear in this game that a traditional power forward does not work in this system -- no offense to Brandon Bass. Howard and Marcin Gortat had their moments where they worked well together, but it just does not work.

The Magic have been able to cancel out the Cavaliers' superior rebounding abilities with the stretch-4. But with Bass or Gortat in next to Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Shaquille O'Neal and Anderson Varejao were able to attack the glass much better than they had in Magic games past.

Orlando still got a fair amount of offensive rebounds, and Howard got much more aggressive as the game got further out of reach knowing his team needed his effort to get back, but the way Cleveland rebounded and easily got back to the 3-point line was a complete turnaround from last year's matchups (and even the year before's).

The crazy part is only Williams and James really scored a ton of points. The Cavaliers had only one other player in double figures -- O'Neal with 10 -- and two players with nine points. The Magic's balanced offense should still be able to compete with this team.

I think Cleveland can better defend Orlando now that O'Neal can adequately defend Howard one on one and occupy him more defensively, but that does not make them a better team. Like the Magic, the Cavaliers are still learning how to play with each other.

Orlando is getting there, but it is discouraging that the team has not put together a complete 48-minute effort yet this season. There are some worrying trends, but it is hard not to be optimistic with just one game left on Rashard Lewis' suspension.

After that, the turnaround better begin if this team is serious about contending for a title or content with being the third best team in the East.