The chase for second continues in the East
With Boston (57-19) now one game ahead of the Magic (55-19) in the battle for second in the East, let's take a look at the rest of the schedule for both teams:
Orlando: Cleveland; @Atlanta; @Houston; Memphis; New York; @New Jersey; @Milwaukee; Charlotte
Boston: Atlanta; New Jersey; Miami; @Cleveland; @Philadelphia; Washington
The Magic will need to finish with a better record than Boston, as at this point, the tiebreakers would favor the Celtics.
Assuming for the sake of argument the Magic finish the rest of their schedule 6-2 to finish 61-21, the Celtics would have to finish the rest of their schedule 3-3 to finish 60-22 in order for the Magic to finish ahead of Boston in the standings.
The Magic's first round playoff opponent is far from being determined. If they finish second, they will play the seventh seed, which is currently Detroit (36-39), but Chicago (36-40) is only 1/2 game behind Detroit.
If the Magic finish third, they will play the sixth seed, which is currently Miami (39-36), but Philadelphia (39-35) is only 1/2 game ahead of Miami in fifth.
Less than two weeks to go before the dust settles and all the playoff matchups are determined.
Big game Friday night for the Magic as they host Cleveland in a nationally televised affair on ESPN. The Cavaliers saw their 13 game winning streak come to a stunning end Thursday night in a 109-101 loss at Washington, the team with the league's worst record.
The Magic are 3 1/2 point favorites, and will win the season series with the Cavs if they win the game.
For the complete game preview from Yahoo! Sports, click here
Orlando: Cleveland; @Atlanta; @Houston; Memphis; New York; @New Jersey; @Milwaukee; Charlotte
Boston: Atlanta; New Jersey; Miami; @Cleveland; @Philadelphia; Washington
The Magic will need to finish with a better record than Boston, as at this point, the tiebreakers would favor the Celtics.
Assuming for the sake of argument the Magic finish the rest of their schedule 6-2 to finish 61-21, the Celtics would have to finish the rest of their schedule 3-3 to finish 60-22 in order for the Magic to finish ahead of Boston in the standings.
The Magic's first round playoff opponent is far from being determined. If they finish second, they will play the seventh seed, which is currently Detroit (36-39), but Chicago (36-40) is only 1/2 game behind Detroit.
If the Magic finish third, they will play the sixth seed, which is currently Miami (39-36), but Philadelphia (39-35) is only 1/2 game ahead of Miami in fifth.
Less than two weeks to go before the dust settles and all the playoff matchups are determined.
Big game Friday night for the Magic as they host Cleveland in a nationally televised affair on ESPN. The Cavaliers saw their 13 game winning streak come to a stunning end Thursday night in a 109-101 loss at Washington, the team with the league's worst record.
The Magic are 3 1/2 point favorites, and will win the season series with the Cavs if they win the game.
For the complete game preview from Yahoo! Sports, click here
posted by Mike from Illinois @ 12:23 AM
2 Comments:
At 5:29 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I've said it before and I'll say it again... if the Magic are the elite team that Magic fans believe they are, and I believe they are, they will fear no team in the first round of the playoffs, including the Pistons.
The Magic know by now what it takes to beat the Pistons, it's just a matter of executing their game plan... if they execute it properly, they beat the Pistons; it's as simple as that.
Tonight's game against the Cavaliers is huge, and is basically a must-win game for the Magic if they hope to have realistic thoughts of finishing as the second seed in the East, as the Magic have very tough games at Atlanta and at Houston coming up.
Hopefully, the Magic can stop LeBron James from getting astro-points, and not let any of the other guys hurt them to any great extent.
This will have to be a solid team effort from the Magic if they hope to come away with the win.
At 11:37 AM,
Big Figure said…
I honestly beleive the magic win this game going away. Last time they played the magic held a lead late and should have won the game on their floor,tonight we have to render guys like zerbiak,verajoe and ilguaskas useless if the magic want to win. A good defensive effort mixed with high intensity should overwhelm the cavs who the magic have always played well against. RA has to push the ball and also look for his offense a little more going to the hoop.
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