There's nothing Magical about this series

Four games into the Eastern Conference Finals, there has been continued reluctance to acknowledge just how superb the Orlando Magic are over the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.

Bigger, more experienced and deeper (can’t argue that), Orlando has shocked the world by putting the suddenly LeBron JamesLeBron James-only Cavaliers in 3-1 hole as it heads to Quicken Loans Arena attempting to dismantle what was a team that wasn’t threatened in its first two rounds. All of a sudden, Cleveland looks more like the team that was in void, lacking another presence to take the pressure off of LeBron who’s having a monster series with three 40-point games (all games were losses).

Mo Williams was great up until this series, as he’s shooting 23-of-71 in four games and seemingly disappears down the stretch when the Cavs need one more to contribute. He’s also taking flak for guaranteeing a Game 4 win over the Magic. Yeah, it seems to be a good idea to make a claim in the opposing team’s home court. What made things more comedic for the boisterous Williams was his failure to even recognize that Rafer AlstonRafer Alston was playing in the game. 26 points and a Magic overtime win later, Alston’s the one laughing it off.

It’s scary to accept that Cleveland could have been swept if LeBron had missed that miracle 3-pointer at the buzzer. Instead, the King rose to the occasion and seems to be the only Cleveland player doing so. Delonte WestDelonte West doesn’t have enough offense, while Zydrunas IlgauskasZydrunas Ilgauskas is not built for this series. Dwight HowardDwight Howard is running circles and through Big Z and Anderson Varejao isn’t having much luck either.

But let’s give the credit where it is more due. Orlando lazily walked into the playoffs loser of four of its last six regular season games, its starting point guard out for the rest of the season and a fiery Philadelphia team waiting. Orlando had to battle trailing a game twice against the 76ers and did so resiliently, destroying the Sixers in Game 6 without Howard (suspended a game for elbowing Sixers center Samuel DalembertSamuel Dalembert in the head).

Orlando then had to battle a green giant in the Boston Celtics. Competing and winning in Boston is easier said than done. The Celtics, albeit missing their best player in Kevin GarnettKevin Garnett, were more than the Magic can handle and even put them in a 3-2 hole and Howard frustrated with his team and his head coach over lack of touches in the fourth quarter. But Orlando once again righted the ship and did away with the defending champions in seven games, winning a decisive Game 7 in Boston by 19 points.

Feeling a bit offended by all the wishes of a Kobe-LeBron final, Orlando has played this series with fury and relentlessness, draining threes and dunks while forcing LeBron to have to win by himself. While Williams and the rest of LeBron’s teammates are seemingly playing a bit nervously, Orlando is playing like it has seen and done it all. The fact is, they are battle-tested enough to feel that way.

A point must be reiterated: playoffs are all about match-ups and we can face it: Cleveland just doesn’t match up well in the frontcourt with Orlando. The trio of Howard, Rashard LewisRashard Lewis and Hedo TurkogluHedo Turkoglu has been too much for the MVP to handle. Lewis has made shot after shot in the clutch, while Turkoglu makes the big plays when it has always mattered.

The Cavs just don’t have the personnel to counter their size and versatility. Howard has been too quick in the paint for Ilgauskas, while LeBron is pushed to stick around both Lewis and Turkoglu because Ben WallaceBen Wallace is struggling mightily to slow Lewis down in the perimeter. Alston is inexplicably left on an island, while Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus are making the shots open to them.

The next point is the most critical one: depth. Orlando’s bench is playing much better than Cleveland’s. It’s no surprise that LeBron – who got a lot of rest in the first two rounds against Detroit and Atlanta – has had to revert back to his every-second game without any type of proper rest on the bench. It led to his cramp after Game 1 and his countless 3-point attempts in the fourth quarters of all four games. LeBron would normally drive to the basket; I have never seen him chuck up so many threes in my time watching him. You’d think he was trying to beat Orlando at its own game. That is nothing but a bad idea.

Cleveland is looking at its first disappointing season since LeBron arrived, but the franchise overall is used to this type of failure. Ask Michael JordanMichael Jordan, whose “Shot” still gives long-time Cleveland fans nightmares. The Cavaliers, picked by most (including myself) to win the series because of better talent and home court advantage, appear to lack both against this upstart team. They have been outscored, out-rebounded, out-coached and virtually out-hustled in this series.

Orlando was built to thrive in this match-up. They have responded to a coach (Stan Van Gundy) that has called out by a future Hall of Famer (Shaquille O’Neal) for panicking in the big moments by playing solid defense and playing to the best of their potential. Orlando, unlike previous seasons, knows they can win the NBA title. They were always talented enough to get this far, but never showed the consistency to fulfill their aspirations. If you can look at every game in this postseason for Orlando, only one loss (Game 2 at Boston) showed the Magic being thoroughly outplayed. Every other loss usually resulted from a late meltdown by the Magic or a buzzer-beater (four losses on game-ending shots within two seconds or less).

Orlando’s biggest threat so far has been…well, themselves. It’s hard to acknowledge that and put down a Cleveland team that won 66 games this season. But people failed to realize a critical stat: 2-1. That is Orlando’s record against the Cavs in the regular season. There’s been nothing magical about that, nor this series. It’s just been all Magic.