Lebron and his Cleveland Cavaliers go up against
the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic
November 10, 2009 by Marc Jerbs

On Wednesday, Lebron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Amway Arena and face their nemesis in last year's Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic. The Cavaliers are off to a slow start, which was not expected by the analysts and fans. Most of them believed that the Cavaliers will start strong and would wreck havoc against their scheduled opponents at the start of the season.

The inclusion of veteran Big Daddy Shaq in the lineup is big boost in the Cavs' inside scoring and inside lane defense. Shaq is averaging 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game in his first seven games. A somewhat average stat for an old grizzled veteran but surely a big improvement compared to old reliable center Zydranus Ilgauskas.

The James and Shaq duo are doing fine with their respective roles. The main culprit in the Cavaliers' poor start points to their sub par shooting perimeter shooting and defense. Their deep guard lineup is not performing well enough to support James and Shaq. They still lack the team chemistry and cohesiveness they showed last season. There's still a lot of time for adjustment but once they get their mojos back expect the Cavaliers to make some boisterous noise around the league.

Likewise, the Orlando Magic is also off to a poor start in their division. The 10-game suspension of Rashard Lewis has somewhat altered to offensive flow of the team. Vince Carter proved to be a good substitute to now gone Hedo Turkuglo but has only completed three full games because of an ankle injury. Their main weapon right now is the inside play of Dwight Howard and the perimeter shooting of Ryan Anderson, Matt Barned and Mickael Pietrus. Their dreaded pick on roll play may be use sparingly until Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter are back on the lineup.

With their first meeting of the season just around the corner, the game between these two powerhouse East team is too close to call. But the handicappers installed the Cavaliers as the second best team in the East while the Magic came in at third. Its up to you to figure it out, then make your choice for this upcoming matchup.