Hopefully being back at Quicken Loans Arena will do something to lift the spirits of LeBron and the rest of his teammates.

The Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves on the back end of four playoff contests in which three have gone down to the wire and could have been anyone’s game. However, the bad news is that the Orlando Magic have capitalized on two of those situations; game one on a Rashard Lewis three with under ten seconds to go, and most recently in game four in overtime off a LeBron James missed long three. The Cavs, who were the favorites for many to win this series, and perhaps the so-called “darlings” of the league, now need to become ferocious. If anything, there is one fact that they can lean on to fuel one notion they can believe in.

The Fact:

Cleveland this year was 39-2 during the regular season; one loss to the Lakers who they don’t have to worry about yet unless they both get to the finals, and the other to the Philadelphia 76ers in Cleveland’s final home game where they rested LeBron James and Mo Williams.

The Notion:

Although they lost one home game already in the post season (and no less to Orlando in game one of this series) they can still say “All we have to do is win one road game to get this series.”

The Conclusion:

It’s quite simple, but also a very realistic mentality to keep, and with that being said, if Cleveland wins game five in Cleveland, and then Orlando fails to close it out in Florida, well then my friends, I don’t think there will be too many people picking against the Cavaliers in a game seven at the Q.

Let's see where the eastern conference home games will be played in this year's finals.

The Orlando Magic did what many people thought they would, although not as fast as some people thought, and that was stop the injury-riddled Boston Celtics from any chances they had of repeating as champions. It may seem to some as though the Magic are not ready to stand the test that is the efficient basketball playing Cleveland Cavaliers who are led by the, this year, super-cool LeBron James. However, the adversity they faced in the Boston Celtics series (most notably games four and five) has helped them mature into a team that can definitely beat the Cavaliers and perhaps even in convincing fashion.

What about the Cavaliers looks like they should just run through the Orlando Magic with ease? That they are efficient, every player knows their place, and they all feed off of LeBron James’ confidence? Sometimes, that’s just not enough when you can’t match up well with your opponent. And I’m talking pure plain and simple physical matchups.

Let’s start with the most obvious… the 6 foot 11 inch Dwight Howard. There are three options to guard him; Anderson Verajao, Ben Wallace, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. First off, Verajao is 6 ft 11, so not bad. Anderson is very tenacious and plays with a lot of energy, but he does not have the scoring nor the speed or power to truly offset a Dwight Howard. Ben Wallace is 6 ft 9 and is a former four-time defensive player of the year. But when you factor in his digression at 35 years of age, it may be too much to ask of him to consistently keep Howard at bay. Finally, the 7 foot 3 inch Ilgauskas has the height advantage, but he is not known for his defense, nor does he have the body strength to prevent Howard from getting to the line for some free throws, and with “hack-a-Dwight” not always being a safe option, this could pose problems.

After Dwight Howard, Verajao will have to look after Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. These are two strong and tall forwards who also exceed Verajao in his strength and speed, and most obviously, scoring. Verajao can at best, produce one, maybe two nights, where he can match one of these men scoring wise, but one of two and only one or two times is not good.

But this is not all that Verajao will have to worry about. The Magic still have two more big men scoring threats that will be coming off the bench in Mikael Pietrus and Tony Battie, and this does not bode well for the Cavs, even if they are top two in the league in defense.

Raefer Alston and Anthony Johnson together can easily offset Mo Williams, who is more of a streaky scorer, and Williams’ backup, DeLonte West, who also needs space to score, or a clear lane to the hole. Whereas he could get a few lanes, he’ll have Dwight Howard standing under the basket.

This should be no easy task for either team, but what the Magic’s advantage is that they do not have to alter their game-plan or rotations too much to deal with Cleveland’s size. Cleveland most likely will have to. So, in that regard, this should be more of a strategical challenge for the Cavaliers than it will be for the Orlando Magic.

In 2009 the one seeded Cavaliers will do battle against the eight seeded Pistons on Saturday April 18th at 3:00pm on ABC.

Everyone should know by now that the road to the NBA Finals in the eastern conference is going through Cleveland, as long as they win in the first two rounds. With that being said, the first team that gets the chance to test Cleveland’s 39-2 home record mettle are the veteran Detroit Pistons.

If there was ever a first round matchup featuring two teams you could believe would be playing in a conference final rather than as soon as the first round, this is it. The Detroit Pistons have been reeling all season and have a losing record and no Allen Iverson. That’s not so bad though since they play better without him.

They still have their veteran core in Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and even Antonio McDyess. They also still have the same man-play approach to defense that allows for little scoring and emphasis on forcing opponents to play inside and make free throws.

On top of all this favorable detail, they also have a lot of experience matching up against Cleveland… too bad they don’t have enough beating them though.

In the last few years, the Lebron James versus “Bad Boys 2” saga has gotten progressively more favorable for Cleveland. The first time they ever met, the Cavaliers had lost the first two games in Detroit. When Cleveland won game three, then prompting Rasheed Wallace to say “We ‘gon bust dey ass in game four,” the Cavs turned things around and won the next two forcing a decisive game seven which the Piston manned up and won.

In all honesty, the Detroit Pistons, ever since losing to San Antonio in the NBA Finals, have been the kings of disappointments. The next season when they Pistons faced off, they ended up losing a back-breaking game 5 to Cleveland when Lebron scored his teams’ final 27 points, again, in Detroit. That time, the Cavs took advantage and won game six to get into the finals.

What is the difference between this Pistons team and those two? No Chauncey Billups and no in his prime Ben Wallace. So, in all honestly what’s to say that the Pistons, all though very savvy, are ready to beat the Cavaliers four times? Nothing.

The Cavs should win this series, even if it goes to seven games.

LeBron James' career year has him posting 28.1ppg, 7.4rpg, and 7.0apg. Those are the numbers of a star.

Much has been said this year about the great record and stellar play of the Cleveland Cavaliers as a unit. They currently are 2nd in the league in points given up per game only behind the Boston Celtics. Not only do they defend well, but with a league-best 28-1 home record, if they can hold onto their current number one spot in the east, then they would look to be a good favorite to enter the NBA finals. Guess again.

At this point there are five title contenders in the NBA; in the west, the Los Angeles Lakers (31-8) and the San Antonio Spurs 26-13, and in the east, the Cleveland Cavaliers (31-7), Orlando Magic (33-8), and Boston Celtics (33-9).

Right now, I would put the Spurs over the Lakers. I know the records are five games different, but lately I’ve been seeing Kobe take a lot of shots in the fourth quarter in games against Orlando and San Antonio that just haven’t been going down. Pau Gasol is having a great season, but now the Spurs have four guys who can be counted on to hit big shots, and not in any particular order; Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and now Roger Mason Jr.

Furthermore, the Spurs show no signs of getting older, and they even seem like they are playing “younger” than last year.

In the east, the one team with the overall best consistency has been the Cavaliers. The Celtics seem like their big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen are getting older (More-so Garnett and Pierce), and their role players have not stepped up much in their recent strings of losses. I would have to say that right now Pierce and Garnett seem to be taking a step back, but I know they can turn that around. However, until that happens, I have to keep them under Orlando and Cleveland, even if they are the defending champs.

The Orlando Magic just seem like they play within themselves every game, and that has been just enough to pull out some big road wins this season. But with their ever-growing regularity of settling on huge three pointers down the stretch to win games may not be so hot come playoff time… “You live by the three, you die by the three.”

Finally, it is the Cleveland Cavaliers who are my top pick in the east. LeBron James seems to be coming into his own, as if what he had been doing already wasn’t enough. He is really hitting his peak now, and is relying on his teammates much longer in games than Kobe Bryant.

What’s even more is that they (Cleveland) aren’t even letting any of the non-contenders come close to beating them at home. If they can hold on to the number one seed come playoff time, and have homecourt advantage in the Finals, I will pick them to win it all.

Dwyane Wade, aka Flash, may very well be holding the MVP trophy at the end of the season.

Who is the Man whose momma spells the name “Dwayne” as “Dwyane?” Who is the Man who leads his team to victory by being the league’s top scorer at 28.7 points per game, almost a full point over the one they call “King” with 27.8 in Cleveland? Who is the former Marquette Master that let his team sit back and watch as he carried them to four straight victories once upon an NBA Finals ago? Who is this Man you say? D-Wade?

Yea… that and Dwyane Wade.

For those of you who it isn’t too early to be talking MVP yet, Dwyane Wade ought to be your man. He has no Shaq, and at 9-9, has his team just four wins shy of the 13 total they had all of last season. To say he has gotten much help would be a bit of a stretch.

Sure, Michael Beasley has been turning in a pretty fine rookie season at 14.7 points per game with a 45% field goal percentage. Other than, they have no big men and their pick up from last season, Shawn Marion has not presented himself as much of a scoring threat with just 12.3 points per game (coupled by a big 9.3 rebounds per contest), but at 6ft 7in, he is shorter than rookie Michael Beasley at 6ft 9in!

Thus far, Dwyane Wade has played like a man who wants no part of the shame and deplorable play his city and fans suffered through last season, and definitely does not want to be watching most of the playoffs as opposed to playing in at least part of them.

As long as Dwyane Wade can keep carrying his team to victory, especially in the fourth quarter, he has my vote for MVP right now… D-Wade! All the other usual and potential names, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, or Chauncey Billups have an at least decent supporting cast around them.  

So far in the NBA a few teams are back up to their old tricks, a few have been somewhat disappointing, and a good number of upstarts from last year as well as some surprising newcomers have begun to surface.

The newcomers that need to be involved in this discussion are as follows; in the east it’s Miami, New York, and New Jersey and in the west all of the other teams with playoff aspirations are of no surprise at this point in the season. Miami, led by top scorer in points per game, Dwyane Wade, are currently 9^th in the eastern conference standings. Last year, everyone remembers how atrocious they were. New York seems to be hitting its stride under the tutelage of former Phoenix head coach, Mike D’Antoni as they are 8-8 and 8^th in the standings. Finally, the previous season’s trade between the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets has finally begun to payoff, as the Devin Harris led Nets are 8-7, 6-4 in their last ten, and 7^th in the east.

The Upstarts from last year that are proving their worth are as follows; in the east it’s the Orlando Magic, the Atlanta Hawks, while in the west we have Portland and Denver. The Magic currently sit at 3^rd and atop the eastern conference standings at 13-4 going 9-1 in their last ten. Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, and Hedo Turkoglu and company are really hitting their stride. The continued and improved production of guard/forward Keith Bogans and the extra lift provided by off season veteran pick up Anthony Johnson as point guard have been stalwart.

The Hawks slid a bit after starting off 5-0 mainly because of losing Josh Smith for the next few months, but have regained form and are now 10-6 and 5^th in the eastern conference.

In the west the Portland Trailblazers, continue to look like a team of the future with stars Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and the potential of first-year NBA players like Rudy Fernandez, and Greg Oden. They are now tied with Phoenix, Denver, and Houston at 11-6 while going 7-3 in their last ten games.

Denver’s success can be attributed to the trade of Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson. The Nuggets are 11-6 and 7-3 in their last ten while holding 3^rd place in the west. They have had many impressive victories and performances as they beat Boston in Boston, and took the Lakers to the brink of a loss in L.A.

Now come the disappointments. The Detroit Pistons are hovering somewhere between average and above average. Although they are 10-5 and in 4^th place in the east, they are suffering some inexcusable losses, most recently a 10+ point loss to Minnesota, do not yet seem to have their act together with Allen Iverson skipping the thanksgiving day practice (however, I do give huge props to Michael Curry for taking charge by suspending him for one game), and are not nearly as consistent as they were when they had Chauncey Billups in the lineup. 

The other eastern disappointments for the eastern conference are the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards.

The Raptors just 8-7 and are barely holding a spot in the eastern conference as the 7^th seeded team. With capable point guard Jose Calderon, and former all-start Jermaine O’Neal, they should be doing better.

The Sixers were a team last year that without Elton Brand finished 6^th in the east and took Detroit to six games in the playoffs. Now with virtually the same team and Elton Brand, they are struggling to find their rhythm and are 7-9 and 5-5 in their last ten. As for the “Wiz Kids,” although without injured star Gilbert Arenas they may not have been a playoff contender anyway, they are still abysmal with their 2-12 record which is good for worst in the east. Last season they played without Arenas for the most part, but still managed to finish above .500 and make the playoffs. They have now fired their coach Eddie Jordan and are in a state of disarray.

The disappointments in the west are the New Orleans Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, and L.A. Clippers. The Hornets finished second last year and were one game away from the western conference finals. They are now 9-6 and 7^th in the standings in the west. The Mavericks are 8-8 and look like they are ready to get their act together one game, and then go back to mediocrity the next. As for the Clippers, you would think they could be more competitive than their 3-13 record would suggest with the pickup of marquee point guard Baron Davis. Oh well.

As for the Spurs, I’m sure a lot of people would like to put them in as a disappointment, but they have been playing without Manu Ginobli for the entire season (who is set to return soon), and Tony Parker has just returned from his injury earlier in the season. To further their defense, they are now 9-7 and 7-3 in their last ten while being 8^th in the west.

Finally we come to the top dogs in the league.

In the east you have the Cleveland Cavaliers with their 14-3 records, 9-1 in the last ten games, and 2^nd place spot in the standings. They have put together a bevy of blowouts on their opponents this season, and the addition of a scoring point guard in Mo Williams has been absolutely huge for them.

The second team that has picked up right where they left off from last year is the Lakers. They are 13-1 and making mince meat out of would be superpower teams and have the best record in the NBA.

But the pinnacle of all teams continues to be the Boston Celtics. They’re 16-2 and are still dominating defensively and continue to get great production from their supporting cast members. And although the Lakers get much help from their bench and up and coming players, let’s face it… the Celtics are still the champs.

The last three teams I must mention are the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz. To me, these three teams are in a state of limbo. Houston would look to be an upstart, but they can’t seem to keep their stars, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, healthy. The Suns seem like the same team as last year, which wasn’t a contender anyway, and the Jazz keep being a team with potential that can’t seem to build on it.

That would about sum up the NBA season at or around its quarter mark. We’ll look to see who shifts from wherever they were in this discussion and who remains where they are in the coming weeks. As for those that I did not include in this article… you really just aren’t worth mentioning (Chicago, Indiana, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Golden State, Minnesota, Sacramento, Memphis and Oklahoma City).

Stephon Marbury will play with a New thirst to excel after riding the bench

Stephon Marbury has been headlining the news for the last three days, and Sportsroids has consulted with a source who says that, “Stephon may see time sooner than most people think.” Considering he is currently being paid 22 million this year, the source stated, “the New York Knick’s management wants to make the most of that investment.” So there is the inside SportsRoids scoop. Marbury will be placed into the rotation within the next month and activated. Also to address all the trade talk rumors, I need to just pose one question, “why would the Knicks trade an expiring 22 million dollar contract if they want to have a chance at D. Wade or Lebron James?”

LeBron James looks to remind us why they call him "The King."

When the NBA opens up their regular season tomorrow, the fans should be treated to a hotly contested battle between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics.

Last season, the two teams went to seven games before Boston finally came out on top. The main stat of the series was the fact that both teams won all of their home games. If the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to make a statement to open the season, a win in Boston would be a great way to do so.

The second game of the TNT double-header features Greg Oden’s NBA regular season debut when Portland travels to L.A. to face the reigning Western Conference champs.

The Lakers welcome back a promising young star in Andrew Bynum and look to continue their Western Conference dominance from last year when they finished with the best record in the conference. Last season, Portland was off to a surprising early start when they went on a 13 game winning streak at one point, but faded away the remainder of the year. Don’t count out the young and talented Trail Blazers to make things interesting.

The schedulers did a decent job putting some spirited potential on the board for day one of the 2008-2009 NBA regular season. 

Greg Oden hopes to be wearing a Jersey and in a puddle of sweat the next time he's in this position.