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Originally Published: May 20, 2009

Cavs ready for biggest test yet

Confident Cavs are ready to prove they're for real against a talented Magic squad

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By Chris Broussard
ESPN The Magazine
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AP Photo/Mark DuncanAre the Cavs really this good? Or have they yet to be challenged in the playoffs? We'll find out soon.

CLEVELAND -- They have looked like a juggernaut, a dynasty in the making.

While the other regular-season elites have struggled, faced elimination and suffered extended periods of brain lock and blah, the Cleveland Cavaliers have treated two playoff teams like dummy squads.

We can't believe they're really that good. You know: 8-0 good; every-win-by-double-digits good.

So we've rationalized their domination, belittling their opponents, saying they've beaten up on chumps: Detroit was old and listless; Atlanta was goofy, banged-up and just happy to be in the second round.

But the speculation stops now. The questions about whether the Cavaliers are truly of championship ilk start getting answered Wednesday night.

Orlando is here, and the Magic cannot be disparaged. They are talented, skilled, versatile, dangerous, and -- after their impressive Game 7 performance in Boston -- tested. They're the barometer that will tell us how good the Cavaliers really are.

If the Cavs prevail but are pushed by Orlando in a tough six- or seven-game series, well, the Cavs are what we thought they were: a very good team with a genuine chance of winning the championship.

But if the Magic go the way of the Pistons and the Hawks, getting swept -- or even downed in a lopsided five -- Wheaties can shoot the photo for its cereal box, President Obama can pencil in the Cavs' trip to the White House and the NBA can start engraving its jewelry.

For their part, the Cavs think this "finally-they'll-be-tested" theory is poppycock. They say Detroit was a test, Atlanta was a test. Sure, they passed with flying colors, but to them, their mettle has already been proven.

"For somebody to say you're not tested -- it's the playoffs!" LeBron James said incredulously after Tuesday's practice. "Every team makes the playoffs for a reason. They want us to lose, I guess, and then they'll say we've been tested. But we're trying to win every game."

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Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty ImagesDwight Howard and the Magic have had success against the Cavs.

There is, of course, another possibility in these Eastern Conference finals: an Orlando victory.

While the Cavs are the rightful favorites, a Disney World Finals wouldn't be a complete shock.

The Magic have owned Cleveland for the past three seasons, winning seven of their 10 contests by an average of 12.5 points. This season, they took two of three, including a resounding 29-point victory last month in which they led by as many as 41 points.

But that's ancient history as far as Cleveland's concerned. When James and Mo Williams spoke to the media Tuesday, confidence was seeping through their pores, as easy to read as one of their many tattoos. Williams said Orlando is making a huge mistake if it's resting its hopes on the regular-season matchups.

"Hopefully, they're comfortable; hopefully they're feeling themselves right now," he said of the Magic. "We're a different team. Trust me.

"Our mentality is at an all-time high. Our focus is at an all-time high right now. We don't need any motivation. We don't gain motivation from Charles Barkley saying they're going to beat us. We don't gain motivation from that. We're motivated to win it and we're ready to play."

Part of Cleveland's self-assurance stems from the fact that it has a history to fall back on. Under coach Mike Brown, the Cavs have always been a much stronger team in the postseason than in the regular season, a scary thought considering they won 66 games this season.

In recent years, opponents who have dominated Cleveland from November to early April have been in for a surprise come playoff time. Back in 2005-06, Washington appeared to have the Cavaliers' number, beating them three of four times by an average of 10.6 points. But in their first-round series, Cleveland took the Wizards in six.

A year later, when the Cavs made their stunning run to the Finals, a victory over the big, tough Bad Boys of Detroit seemed impossible. The Pistons had whipped Cleveland twice in the Cavs' building and taken three of four overall by a double-figure average. Yet in the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavaliers won four straight games en route to a 4-2 victory.

This speaks to Brown's excellent preparation, and with nine days off to examine Orlando, the Cavs probably know the Magic's system as well as the Magic do.

"Against a team like that, you have to have a lot of time to prepare," James said. "In the regular season, like when you play the Knicks one night, then Orlando the next night, there's not a lot of time to prepare for a good team like that. Nine days and then these last four days, we've had a lot of time to prepare for this team and we're looking forward to the challenge."

It will definitely be a challenge because the problems Orlando presents for the Cavaliers are not imagined.

Defensively, the Magic put Dwight Howard on Anderson Varejao (or Ben Wallace) instead of on Zydrunas Ilgauskas. That keeps the perimeter-oriented Ilgauskas from dragging Howard away from the basket, allowing him to roam near the rim and contest the drives of James and others. And the teams that give James the most trouble are those that can put a solid perimeter defender on him backed by length around the basket. To try to keep Howard occupied, look for the Cavs to put Varejao in pick-and-rolls and in constant motion.

But James sounds like he's ready to attack the cup, whether Howard's in front of it or not. When asked Tuesday if LeBron's the only player who can stop LeBron, he responded humbly.

At first.

"Uhhh, I don't want to say that," he answered, before pausing and searching for an explanation that just wasn't there.

Then, realizing that the politically correct answer might just sound absurd, he said, "Yeah, I will say that."

On the other end, Orlando has hurt Cleveland in transition, even running off made baskets by the Cavs in their 29-point thrashing in April. We're not talking 2-on-1, 3-on-2 fast breaks, but 3-pointers early in the shot clock before the defense is set. While the Cavaliers held opponents to a league-best 33 percent shooting from behind the arc, the Magic blitzed them for more than 11 3s per game.

So unlike the series against Detroit and Atlanta, this won't be a pop quiz.

While they're clearly playing at a high level, the Cavaliers thus far have really done only what they did all season: trample on the also-rans, has-beens and pretty-goods. Against the league's other three top teams -- the Lakers, Magic and Celtics -- they were just 3-6.

Beginning Wednesday night, we'll find out which mark is the fluke: 3-6 or 8-0.

Chris Broussard is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine.