When I discussed the NBA Finals on this site before, I was met with some indifference, which is understandable. Without being too obvious, the Finals involve the Boston Celtics and the L.A. Lakers, and not the Orlando Magic, so it's reasonable that Magic fans wouldn't be interested in watching it. But tonight, in Game 7, the season is on the line. If you're not a fan of either team--or just outright hate both teams, really--tonight's game is the one to watch. And in case you missed the first 6 games, NBA.com has cut together these nice mini-movies to help you get caught up:

Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6

Discuss the game in this thread.

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Privately, a few of you have expressed an interest in having threads to discuss playoff games that don't involve the Orlando Magic. You're in luck. Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals between the Phoenix Suns and L.A. Lakers tips tonight at 8:30 PM. Talk about that game in this space. And for more on the Suns, check out Bright Side of the Sun; for the Lakers, visit Silver Screen and Roll.

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Privately, a few of you have expressed an interest in having threads to discuss playoff games that don't involve the Orlando Magic. You're in luck. Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals between the Phoenix Suns and L.A. Lakers tips tonight at 9 PM. Talk about that game in this space. And for more on the Suns, check out Bright Side of the Sun; for the Lakers, visit Silver Screen and Roll.

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Scoreboard Watching will give Orlando Magic fans a heads-up on which games with potential playoff implications to pay attention to.

The Orlando Magic could learn tonight which team they'll face in the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Boston Celtics have the opportunity to finish off a huge upset tonight when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs dropped Game 5... by 32 points... on their home floor. Of this year are no doubt already aware, given the hyperbolic media frenzy that ensued; Bradford Doolittle of Basketball Prospectus says we should all get a grip. Reigning MVP LeBron James had a hideous game, and while there's no doubt he needs to step his play up--here are some suggestions from the incomparable Kelly Dwyer--there's more to it than that. It's about his teammates playing better and his coach realizing that Anderson Varejao needs more minutes, writes John Hollinger. And GM Danny Ferry goofed bigtime when he turned down the chance to acquire Amar'e Stoudemire to instead obtain Antawn Jamison, writes Mike Prada.

But this sort of analysis, as Kevin Pelton tweeted, is a bit unfair to the Celtics: they've played a great series, yet now "exist solely as props to allow us to judge LeBron."

Enough of that, though. Comment on the game in this thread, Magic fans.

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Scoreboard Watching will give Orlando Magic fans a heads-up on which games with potential playoff implications to pay attention to.

If you're a basketball fan, you've probably already planned to watch tonight's Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. But if you're an Orlando Magic fan, this game means more to you than most others, because the winner of this series will face the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. Discuss tonight's proceedings here.

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While it's never prudent to count one's chickens before they hatch--just ask Tracy McGrady!--the Orlando Magic are almost assuredly on their way to their second straight Eastern Conference Finals appearance, as they hold a 3-0 series lead on the Atlanta Hawks, whom they've defeated by an average of 29 points per game. Orlando, assuming it doesn't become the first team in history to blow a 3-0 lead, will draw the winner of the playoff series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. Cleveland finished the regular season with the NBA's best record, employs the league's two-time reigning MVP, and made a Conference Finals appearance last season, which made it the favorite against Boston going in. But Boston evened the series at two games apiece yesterday thanks to an extraordinary performance from point guard Rajon Rondo.

Brian Windhorst covers the Cavs for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and knows the team better than anyone else in the media. Thus, these comments he made after yesterday's game really caught my eye:

It is still unclear whether the Cavs have within them the desire to win 10 more games. Sometimes it looks like a "yes" but quite often it looks like a "no."

[...]

[...][T]he Cavs aren't playing like a team that intends to advance. Maybe not even a team that wants to advance.

Going in, I expected Cleveland to prevail in 6 games, as did Windhorst, so as he explains, the fact that Cleveland's lost twice already is "understandable."

But it is telling, perhaps, that the Cavs have looked so lackluster in these playoffs. It's in stark contrast to the Magic, who are playing their best ball of the season, and maybe even in franchise history, at the moment.

Scoreboard Watching will give Orlando Magic fans a heads-up on which games with potential playoff implications to pay attention to.

This afternoon, the Orlando Magic will finally learn whom they'll face in the second round of the NBA playoffs as the fourth-seeded Atlanta Hawks and fifth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks square off in Game 7 at Philips Arena. Atlanta won the opening two games of the series before Milwaukee took the next three to seize control. But the Bucks blew a chance to clinch on their home court in Game 6 with a prolonged third-quarter offensive drought. Now, they'll have to win a Game 7 on the road for the first time in franchise history. Also, the Hawks have never lost a Game 7 at home. The odds appear to be in their favor. But that was the case in Game 5, which Milwaukee stole after Atlanta's offense devolved into a series of one-on-one possessions that ended in clank after clank.

No matter who wins today's game, the Magic will kick off their next series on Tuesday. Here's the schedule.

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Scoreboard Watching will give Orlando Magic fans a heads-up on which games with potential playoff implications to pay attention to.

The Orlando Magic have known since Monday that they'd advance to the second round of the playoffs, and as soon as tonight, they can find out which team they'll face there. The underdog Milwaukee Bucks capitalized on an embarrassing, but not altogether, unexpected by the host Atlanta Hawks in Game 5, winning their third straight game to take a 3-2 series lead. Now, the Bucks head home to the Bradley Center and can potentially close the book on a chapter in Hawks history, with franchise guard Joe Johnson and head coach Mike Woodson entering free agency this summer. So it's win or go home time for the Hawks, who have lost 11 of their last 12 road playoff games. The odds are not in their favor.

Magic fans, follow the game and comment on it in this thread.

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