One MVP Candidate Stepped Up; One Did Not

NBA Orlando Magic player Dwight Howard reverse dunks the ball

It seemed like he didn’t touch the ball the final three or four minutes and he went scoreless in the fourth quarter. They need to be able to go to Howard at the end of games. I don’t know if Dwight is not calling for it or if Stan Van Gundy is not calling for him to get it. At some point he has to prove he can deliver.

They tried to win the game from the outside. They shoot 31 percent on 3-pointers when they lose and 41 percent from the outside when they win.

Orlando was able to take the lead because they came out in the third quarter and played good defense and Cleveland looked disinterested. Orlando was in up-tempo mode, while Cleveland was in the watch LeBron zone. They do that from time to time. They still have to play off of LeBron instead of standing around and watching him. Luckily for them, he was able to bail them out.

In the playoffs Orlando could end up being a problem for Cleveland because Cleveland has small guards. Orlando can slide Hedo Turkoglu to the two and he would give Delonte West problems. The Hawks’ Joe Johns on is another big two-guard who may give Cleveland headaches.

Cleveland will finish the regular season with the best record in the East. Boston is too banged up and the Cavaliers have 10 more home games where they are an unbelievable 30-1.

I don’t like them to go to the Finals, though. Mo Williams is averaging 22 points per game in March and is a great second option, but who is the third option for Cleveland? You can’t totally stop LeBron, but if you slow him down and take out Williams, who is going to step up for them? They need a third guy.

Plus, don’t underestimate the loss of Ben Wallace. If he can’t come back, that is a huge loss. He is a bigger piece than people realize. He does all of the dirty work, takes guys off the boards and is a good one-on one defender. They have been getting beat up inside without him.

The Celtics are still the best team in the East. They are the most mentally tough team in the league. If Kevin Garnett comes back and he is supposed to be back Friday I like them going back to the Finals. Boston is a shadow of them without him. They are not nearly the team they will be when he is healthy.

Meanwhile, Orlando is playing good basketball and they have some impressive wins, but they need a power forward. They play with the small lineup. They don’t have anyone other than Howard to go to in the post. They shoot a lot of jump shots and do a lot of one-on-one basketball. If they had another big body, they would be so much better defensively.