Conference Finals Preview: Celtics vs. Magic

The Celtics, fresh off of their six game series win over the Cavs, now will face the streaking Orlando Magic. The Magic have won all eight of their playoff games and they are winners of 14 straight.

In the regular season, the Magic beat the Celtics in three of their four games. However, this isn't the same Celtics team as the regular season, as we have come to see. Rajon Rondo has turned it into another gear and Kevin Garnett is playing his best basketball since the teams' championship run two years ago.

This is a DEEP Orlando team though; much deeper than the Cavs. They have a well rounded starting five and a very capable bench with starting caliber players.

Here are our keys to the series:

1. Get Dwight Howard in foul trouble. Howard has averaged 4.75 fouls in eight playoff games and has been one of the many vocal about the NBA's officials. It's crucial to keep Howard, the league's Defensive Player of the Year, off of the floor. He is averaging 11.25 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game in the playoffs and the C's would rather have his back up Marcin Gortat on the floor. Hopefully Kendrick Perkins and his knees are up to the task of limiting Howard.
2. Rebound the basketball. This is becoming a repetitive key for the Celtics, but they must continue to battle the boards after finishing second to last in the league this season. The Magic were the fifth best rebounding team in the Association this past year and rebounding will go a long way in determining the outcomes of these games.
3. Guard the Perimeter. The Celtics are coming off of a match up with the Cavs that saw Cleveland shoot very poorly from thee point range. However, the Magic are lethal from downtown. They are hitting 11.1 of their 29 attempts in the playoffs and they led the league with 10.3 makes per game in the regular season. Every player outside of the team's centers have outside range, so the Celtics must step up and contest the many threes the Magic will put up. For what it's worth, the Celtics were fourth best in the league in the regular season, giving up just 5.6 threes per game.

This is a daunting task for the C's. The Magic are a deep team and are playing well, but so are the Celtics.

Prediction: Celtics in 6