In their most recent matchup April 3, the Magic crushed the Cavs, 116-87. It was Cleveland's worst loss of the season and it gave Orlando the season series, 2-1.

"We've got to get better from that," LeBron James said, referring to the 29-point loss. "But the regular season doesn't matter. You take things from that game, but you lose by one or you lose by 40, it's the same loss. It counts as one loss."

It's not as if the Cavs have been stewing over that loss, plotting for revenge.

But there clearly are issues they'll need to address as they prepare to open the Eastern Conference finals against Dwight Howard and the Magic on Wednesday night at The Q.

"We got our behinds kicked in transition," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "That's something, even with Atlanta, we tried to make a conscious effort to not get hurt in transition. Hopefully we'll do a better job with our transition defense this time around.

"Then their pick-and-roll game is tough for us to handle. It's tough for anybody to handle. Defensively, they do a nice job also, especially with Dwight hanging around the paint. So we're going to have to make sure we attack them and try to get to the free-throw line."

The Cavs know they're in for their toughest series so far this postseason.

"We've just got to come out and play hard," James said.

"They're going to make a lot of shots from the perimeter. But you can't let that get you down. You've got to go out there and execute. They've got great players. They've got guys who surround Dwight and can really shoot the ball and really play Basketball. We've got to just follow our game plan and get ready for a good matchup."

Ilgauskas said the Cavs were not surprised when the Magic knocked off the defending champion Boston Celtics in Game 7 on Sunday in Boston.

"They didn't fold," he said. "They kept fighting. I think as a team they've grown. Over the past few years, they've taken some beatings along the way but they've grown. You can see they have a very good team. They should be confident. They had a great regular season. They beat the defending champions in the semifinals.

"But so are we. We have the home court. So it's going to be a tough series. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes all seven games."

All Bark, no bite: The Cavs refused to be drawn into a war of words with TNT commentator Charles Barkley, who picked Orlando to win the series and has been critical of the city of Cleveland in the past.

Said Ilgauskas, "I think the best answer to that would be us winning."

He's No. 1: James, Howard and Joe Smith each was the overall No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

"It's tough," Smith said. "We automatically put high exectations on ourselves anyway. Trying to live up to other expectations is tough. I think both of those guys are handling it well."

Ratings hit: TNT's broadcast of Game 7 in the Magic-Celtics series was the most-watched second-round NBA playoff game in cable history and the highest-rated game of the 2009 NBA playoffs on broadcast or cable to date. The game was watched in 5,907,000 households and by 8,406,000 viewers. To date, the ratings for the NBA playoffs on TNT are up 8 percent over last year.

Cavs favored: According to bodog.com, the Cavs have been installed as 1-2 favorites to win the NBA championship, followed by the Lakers at 9-5, Denver at 15-2 and Orlando at 22-1. James is a 2-5 favorite to average the most points in the conference finals, followed by Lakers guard Kobe Bryant at 3-2 and Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony at 4-1.

The last words: From Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy, on whether he felt vindicated after winning Game 7 in Boston: "As far as vindication, you get vindication in the coaching business until Wednesday night. And if our team's not great Wednesday night, I'm back to being an idiot."

And from Howard, who called out Van Gundy after Game 5, saying he needed more touches: "Me and coach talked. Everything is great. We have a new stat that we came up with for ESPN. When we call out the coach we are 3-0."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mschmitt@plaind.com, 216-999-4668

BOX:

Cavaliers vs. Magic

Eastern CONFERENCE FINALS Best of seven

All games 8:30 p.m., TNT

Wednesday: at The Q

Friday: at The Q

Sunday, May 24: at Orlando

Tuesday, May 26: at Orlando

Thursday, May 28: at The Q*

Saturday, May 30: at Orlando*

Monday, June 1: at The Q*

*if necessary