The Orlando Magic will try taking another step forward in their quest to become the first NBA team to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series tonight when they visit TD Garden to play the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Less than a week ago, the Celtics dealt the Magic an embarrassing defeat here, one that sent Orlando's fans into hysterics. But Orlando has battled back, winning the last two games due to the reasons Eddy outlined here, poor performances from Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and perhaps because Boston is just tired. So, improbably, here we are, with ESPN hosting a roundtable of seven writers to discuss the possibility of the Magic breaking through. Sadly, talk of injuries and officiating has overshadowed discussion of what's actually happening on the court, with a Boston Herald writer's calling for the Celtics to intentionally injure Dwight Howard tonight serving as the most obvious example; Andrew Sharp deconstructs that column here, while Whit Watson discusses it in this podcast.

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The Orlando Magic will try to save their season tonight when they face elimination from the Eastern Conference Finals at Amway Arena against the Boston Celtics. Riding reasonably high after their first win in the series, Orlando has a chance to make the Conference Finals interesting with a win, shifting the competition back to Boston for what could be the Celtics' last home game of the season. No one, except for the good people voting in this poll, believes Orlando will pull off the historic comeback. But maybe it will happen. After all, Celtics star point guard Rajon Rondo just made the cover of Sports Illustrated, so he's due for a devastating knee injury any day now, isn't he?

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The Orlando Magic's season is on the line tonight when they take the TD Garden court to face the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. A loss, and they're finished until the fall. A win, and they come back to Orlando for Game 5 on Wednesday. Surprisingly, most of you prefer the Magic face the indignity of a sweep than the indignity of potentially losing Game 5 at home; the lesser of two evils, I guess, is the sweep. I'm not sure. At this point, Orlando doesn't have any adjustments to make. Play harder, play smarter, play better. No strategy is going to force the Celtics to double-team Dwight Howard, for instance. Boston's extraordinary defense has dictated everything in this series. And on the rare occasion where the Magic's offense manages to get someone open, like here, when a Rashard Lewis screen frees Vince Carter coming off a curl? Nothing happened. Because the Magic have, for the most part, checked out. Carter says he expects the Magic "to go out there and fight" tonight. And maybe over the last few days the Magic found some fight, in which case the series could indeed return to Orlando.

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Tonight, the Orlando Magic visit the Boston Celtics at TD Garden in hopes of drawing to within a game of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Down 2-0 in the series, Orlando hopes to become the fourth team to rally back to win a series after dropping the first two games at home. To do that, well, everyone has some ideas, which we've covered in the last two news posts. To me, it's simple: play better. The gameplan and rotations are solid, but execution and focus are lagging. Orlando's playing like a team that hasn't quite been there before, which needs to change.

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Tonight's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics is automatically required viewing, given the stakes and level of talent involved. But this contest is shaping up to be one that we might remember for a while, and I mean that. On one side, you have a Boston team that imposed its will on the Magic for the first 42 minutes of Game 1: forcing turnovers, taking away passing lanes; eliminating all three-point attempts, but especially the corner three-pointer from Orlando's arsenal; and scoring in transition. And it distinctly has the look of a squad that won't be satisfied with less than a 2-0 lead by night's end. On the other, you have the Magic, who have owned up to their mistakes and appear to have the right approach going forward. Dwight Howard has to drive around Kendrick Perkins and Rasheed Wallace, not through them. Jameer Nelson has to initiate the offense with a pick-and-roll with Howard, not by dumping the ball to him in the post. Rashard Lewis has to make shots (analysis!) and play with more energy. All this talent, with solid coaching, in a game that's a must-win for the home team? Yeah, you'll want to watch, even if it means staying up late--the game won't tip until around 8:30 Eastern--and tolerating the, shall we say, less-than-focused broadcast booth of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson.

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In today's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, you'll see the Boston Celtics visit the Orlando Magic in a battle of two teams playing their best ball of the season at exactly the right time. Boston's playing like the team that won the championship in 2008, only with an improved Rajon Rondo at the helm. Orlando? Rolled through the first 2 rounds with an 8-0 record, owns the best offense and the best defense so far in the postseason, and has phenomenal confidence. This series could well go the distance, given the talent involved. We'll see the start of that battle today.

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With a win tonight, the Orlando Magic can become the second team to sweep its way into the Conference Finals this season, and the 6th team to open a postseason with an 8-0 record, when they face the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of their second-round series. Coach Stan Van Gundy says his team "is trying to play our best game of the playoffs tonight" and will not take victory for granted. For what it's worth, the Magic are 5-1 in closeout games in Van Gundy's tenure.

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The Orlando Magic can take a commanding, 3-0 series lead against the Atlanta Hawks with a victory today at Philips Arena. After the Hawks' second-half meltdown in Game 2, which Orlando hosted, Tania Ganguli reports forward Josh Smith "pleaded" to a local TV camera, begging the fans to come to Philips and "sell it out like they sold out this arena." And why would't he be happy to go home? The Hawks went 34-7 there this season, compared to 19-22 on the road. They need a win, and if they're going to get one, their building is the most likely place.

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