Displaced Cleveland Fan

The Orlando Magic was the team that ended the Cavaliers season last year in the Eastern Conference Finals. They gave the Cavs too many match-up problems. So Danny Ferry set out this offseason to add the missing pieces needed to be able to beat the Magic in a 7-game series.

The most notable of these additions was Shaquille O’Neal. The former Magic center’s role would be to cause problems for current Magic center Dwight Howard - make it difficult for him to score, get him into foul trouble.

Tonight was the first meeting between these two teams this season. The Cavs traveled to Orlando to see how well they would stack up. I was especially eager to see how this game played out given the Cavaliers’ struggles early on this season. The Cavs were without Delonte West for the game. The Magic played without suspended Rashard Lewis. But we at least got a glimpse of where the Cavs were in the match-up. The results were encouraging - a 102-93 win on the road.

Shaquille O’Neal had just 10 points and 4 rebounds. But he did what he needed to do - neutralize Dwight Howard, holding him to just 11 points. Meanwhile, LeBron James led all scorers with 36 points. Mo Williams had another 28.

Next game is tomorrow night in Miami against the Heat.

Delonte West was inactive for the game. Plain Dealer’s Brian Windhorst reports that the team indicates this is not considered serious and that West could play tomorrow night in Miami.

-dcf

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny Ferry, Delonte West, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Mo Williams, Orlando Magic, Rashard Lewis, Shaquille O'Neal

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Cleveland Cavaliers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.