LeBron James may be the King, but tonight Superman earned his cape

SCOTT JACOBS

They asked if Dwight Howard could stop joking around for just a few months, and finally get serious. They wondered if Stan Van Gundy, “the Master of Panic” was a good enough coach to take his team beyond the conference finals and into the championship.  They figured it was inevitable that the NBA was going to get their dream final of LeCleveland and the Black Mamba.

They were wrong.

Five years ago the Magic were the worst team in the sport.  Tonight, they’re kings of the Eastern Conference, sending The King home, and leaving Cavalier fans doomed to the thought of another post-season closer to his impending free agency.

There’s no question that Dwight Howard is a sensational talent, but tonight (and this series in general) he finally put everything together, going from great player to arguably elite.  Howard brought his cape tonight, and he looked like the Man of Steel.  Superman scored 40 points and 14 rebounds and completed his ascent from Defensive Player of the Year to Simply Unstoppable!

Van Gundy and Orlando finally came to their senses, and realized that Cleveland was powerless (and kryptonite-less) against Howard, feeding him the ball like a fat kid going after cake, and Howard delivered, out-muscling, out-hustling, and out-hustling Cleveland’s interior to the tune of anything he wanted.  When the Cavs doubled him, Howard found the open three point shooter.  When Cleveland let him go one on one, Howard destroyed Cleveland’s bigs.

And he made his foul shots too going 12-16.

Welcome to the show Howard.  His 14-21 shooting was just a tip of the iceberg for the Magic, and an Orlando team that looked like a nice story going into the post-season following a 59 win season, is all of a sudden four wins from their first NBA Championship.

Without All Star Jameer Nelson, the Magic were still able to shed their soft image, and bring the defensive toughness they needed to really make a move in the East.  Yes, they caught arguably the biggest break of the post-season with the Celtics playing KG-less, but no one can ignore the Magic now.   They’re for real, they earned this, and this team is no fluke.

They’re not a gimmicky team any more that lives on the perimeter.  Now they’re a mentally tough team that goes inside first, and burns you on the outside with their lethal three-point shooting.

Mickael Pietrus had another terrific game, nailing three more triples, and finishing with 14 points.  What a find he’s been for Orlando.

But it was a team effort for the Magic.  Whether it was Howard camping out in the paint and mutilating the Cavs inside or one of Orlando’s many slashers taking it to the basket and creating mismatches all over the court, the Magic exposed Cleveland, and sent the Cavs home.

We were all witnesses this series to the maturation of Dwight Howard.  Yes, he picked up some bad fouls in tough spots, but big men tend to do that.  What Howard did this series was seize the moment, use his size and power to overwhelm the Cavs while lifting the Magic (a perceived good team) into the NBA Finals.

I have to admit: I didn’t think Howard was an elite player going into this series.  Too many times in the past he had settled for bad shots, or wasn’t aggressive enough.  But that all changed after game five of the conference semifinals, when he called out Stan Van Gundy, demanding the ball in crunch-time.  Since then, he’s been a force (including the show he put on in overtime in game four), and the Magic, not surprisingly have gone 6-2.

“We’re not satisfied,” said an elated, but focused Howard on the podium after the win (and who can blame him either?  This team believes).

Whatever happens in the Finals, the NBA can’t be disappointed about this matchup.  Yes, BronBron versus Kobe would have been amazing star power, but Orlando is no slouch.  Not any more.  Not with a superstar of their own in Howard, and a supporting cast that just might be good enough to get him an NBA title.  Not with a “team” that plays together, shares the ball, and plays hard every night.  The Magic don’t have any prima donnas and when Howard stays out of foul trouble, and when the Magic are hitting their threes they are a tough out.  Beating the Lakers, who have a lot more talent than Cleveland will be a tough challenge but it won’t be impossible.

Will they do it?  I’m not ready to predict that just yet.  But these NBA Finals should be great.  No, wait, make that amazing.

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