Play-off perfect Magic ready for anyone
May 14, 2010 10:36:49 UK
The only questions the play-off perfect Orlando Magic face are when and where they'll begin the Eastern Conference finals.
Fourteen straight wins - including 8-0 in the postseason - have left the Magic beaming with confidence ahead of another lengthy layoff. But the time off provides no assurance of continued success.
"The one thing you have to understand about playoff basketball is you've got to get beyond the last game and the last series," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
"It has no meaning for the game or the series coming up, whatsoever. So you go in with good confidence, you get a little rest, but it will come down to how you play in the next series."
Orlando proved prior perfection - or imperfection - doesn't guarantee anything last year, when the franchise squeaked out two series before toppling the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals.
Now Boston leads the Cavaliers 3-2 in the best-of-seven series after winning 120-88 on Tuesday night, and Orlando is the team with time to wait and watch.
The earliest Orlando will play again is Sunday, and it could be as long as next Tuesday - eight days between games.
The Magic would have home-court advantage against Boston but would start on the road against Cleveland. Van Gundy gave his team two days off - again - after dusting aside Atlanta in the most lopsided four-game sweep in NBA playoff history.
In the NBA Futures market, the Orlando Magic can be backed at 17/10 to win the NBA Championship, while the LA Lakers are 17/10, with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers at 11/2.
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