A week ago, the Orlando Magic was the sexy pick to represent the East in the NBA Finals based on the way they dismantled the Charlotte Bobcats and Atlanta Hawks.

Today, the Magic are on the brink of elimination and appear to be surrendering to the Boston Celtics, who have completely undressed the Magic in the 2010 Eastern Conference finals thanks to a stifling defense that is reminiscent of their championship run in 2008.

Is Orlando’s season over? According to Dwight Howard, his team seemed despondent and defeated in Game 3, and has not shown any signs of wanting to extend this series. The Celtics held the Magic to 39% shooting and 28% from behind the arc in their 94-71 rout in Boston to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Glen Davis (right) and the Celtics have kept Dwight Howard in check in the 2010 Eastern Conference finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Howard, Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis, all key cogs during Orlando’s eight-game playoff winning streak, have been handcuffed by the great Celtics defense.

Howard, aka Blankman, has once again smeared the Superman brand with his pathetic performance in the conference finals. He was held to seven points in Game 3 and is shooting just 45% from the field (he shot 84% in the previous series against the Hawks).

The biggest reason why Orlando has had a difficult time scoring (83.6) against Boston’s defense is Blankman’s ineptness in the low post. Because Blankman can’t beat Boston’s single coverage, the Celtics’ perimeter defenders have been able to attach themselves to the Magic shooters, running them out of the 3-point line every chance they get.

Nelson, who won his one-on-one battles with Charlotte’s Raymond Felton and Atlanta’s Mike Bibby, has been severely outplayed by Boston’s Rajon Rondo.

Celtics head coach Doc Rivers targeted Nelson as the key to the whole series, and Boston has done an excellent job in limiting his kick-outs to his shooters and funneling him to the teeth of the defense where his 5-foot-9 frame becomes an issue. Nelson is making only 38% of his shots from the field and under 30% from threes. He also has just seven assists in three games.

And then there is Lewis, the poster boy for Orlando’s struggles on offense. Boston’s suffocating defense, led by Kevin Garnett, has made Lewis disappear and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who vowed to get Lewis more shots after Game 1, has not been able to get his forward more involved.

Lewis, who is 6-for-24 for the series, is averaging a measly 5.0 points per game and has made just one 3-pointer (1-for-13).

No team has ever come back from an 0-3 hole in the NBA playoffs, so the odds are stacked against the Magic. Losing the first two games at home was crippling and, after tonight, don’t expect to see Orlando again until October when the 2010-11 season begins.

The Magic seemed like it couldn’t do anything wrong after the first two round of the 2010 NBA playoffs. After three games in the Eastern Conference finals, the Magic can’t seem to do anything right. The Magic is on the verge of getting swept out of the playoffs after dropping Game 3, 94-71, in Boston.

The Celtics are now ahead 3-0 in the series, and no team in NBA history has ever recovered from an 0-3 hole.

“The most disappointing to me was I didn’t have our team ready to play. That’s the most disappointing,” Van Gundy told reporters after Game 3. “I’m the coach of this team, and it starts with me. I’m not happy with where I had my team tonight. I thought we were a step late on everything. They just riddled us. Again, I’ll take the blame on that too.

“They were a step ahead on every play and I thought they worked harder than we did. I thought they outcompeted us.”

Stan Van Gundy can't bear to watch what is happening to his team. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

With their backs flushed against the wall, Van Gundy said the knee-jerk reaction is to pack it up and retreat. But it’s hard for him to fathom a team that has been so mentally tough all season long will go down without a fight.

“What I said to them after the game is there are a lot of guys in that room who have worked long and hard to bring this franchise up a long way,” Van Gundy said. “That game out there tonight, not just the score but the way it went, is disappointing because that’s not who we are. So, how do we pick it up? I mean, I think between right now and Monday night there’s gonna have to be a lot of soul searching and a lot of pulling together.

“The easiest thing to do for anybody when things go badly is to escape. That’s all we want to do. It’s going to be everybody’s natural reaction. I’m not saying our guys will do that. That’s everybody’s natural inclination. It takes very mature, very mentally tough people to stand up and say, ‘No, I’m part of this and we’re gonna pull together.’ ”

Magic center Dwight Howard had another horrendous game and was held to seven points on 3-for-10 shooting and had just seven rebounds in Game 3.

“Right now, we gotta find ourselves,” said Howard. “Seem like tonight our bodies was here but our minds wasn’t. Our hearts seem like it wasn’t into it, I don’t know.”

Perkins and Wallace, along with forward Glenn Davis, took turns in harassing Howard into a 3-for-10 night shooting from the field and held the Magic All-NBA center to 13 points in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Defense was the key to Boston’s 92-88 victory and for Orlando to unlock the Celtics’ game plan, Howard needs to stop acting like Blankman and start playing like Superman

“Rasheed was phenomenal defensively tonight, and he’s been good in the playoffs for us and that’s what we wanted from him when we signed him,” Rivers said of Wallace, who also scored 13 points off the bench.

Orlando's Dwight Howard struggled against Boston's defense in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Wallace knows Howard very well, and he seems to get in Howard’s head whenever they go head to head, going to back to Wallace’s days in Detroit when the Pistons knocked out Howard and the Magic twice in the postseason.

“He’s a knowledgeable big who has a lot of game,” Rivers said of Wallace, who was acquired during the offseason to bolster Boston’s frontcourt. “I thought, defensively, he did some old tricks that were just terrific.”

On one play in the first half, Wallace forced Howard into a traveling violation after pulling the chair on him. Howard became visibly upset when Wallace pinned his arm as both men locked up on the wing trying to gain post position.

“They’re going to make it tough for him. They’re going to foul him and get physical with him,” Vince Carter said of the Celtics’ defensive approach in stopping Howard. “I mean, he’s a physical presence himself but that’s what they are going to do. We have to do a better job, first of all when he’s open, getting him the ball. And we have to make plays to make it easier for him. Once we’re making shots and making plays, then we let them kinda worry about what we’re doing and I think it opens things up for him. Some nights when he gets rolling, it opens things up for us. So we have to return the favor.”

Carter’s advice to his teammate?

“Just keep playing. It’s going to be a battle, it’s going to be a war. We know that,” Carter said. “They’ve been there before, we’ve been through some battles throughout this season and we still feel good about ourselves. We’re going to continue to support him and stay on him to make sure he’s not frustrated, and just play basketball and have fun.

“He puts pressure on himself because he wants to win. He wants to be perfect or as perfect as possible and do what he has to do to lead this team. But at the same time we always tell him he’s not out there by himself. We’re going to support him. And I think when he realizes that, he settles down.”

Carter is confident the Magic will bounce back. He said it starts with better execution on offense, avoid turnovers and match Boston’s intensity on both ends of the court.

“I don’t think we were prepared for the level that they were ready to play. They were ready to go from the jump and we weren’t on their level in the beginning more than anything,” Carter said of the Celtics, who took a 22-14 lead in the first quarter and led by 16 after the third quarter.

“They’re relentless, they’re aggressive. They work on a string and play well together. So, we’ll just have to be smart, continue to move the ball to the open man to get good shots. They do a great job of contesting when they took away the paint. Took us a while to figure it out, but when we did we played a lot better. When you have a team like that that plays smothering defense and very physical at the same time, you just have to be patient. They tend to rush you, and that’s how they play.”

Instead of asking his alter ego if he’s faster than a speeding bullet or able to leap tall buildings on a single bound, Orlando’s easy going All-Star center should have asked himself this question: “Do you have a go-to move in the low post?”

Howard is without question the best center in the NBA today and has been able to dominate by bullying his way for layups and dunks against inferior opponents, such as the Atlanta Hawks. But against better competition, such as the Boston Celtics, his immaturity and lack of fundamentals rear their ugly head.

Here’s a memo to Dwight Howard: You can’t call yourself Superman when you can’t make a jump hook from 2 feet.

The Celtics, mainly Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace and Glenn Davis, exposed Howard’s ineptness by pushing him out of the block and frustrating him with some hard fouls. Boston opted to play Howard straight up for much of the game and stayed attached to Orlando’s 3-point shooters, banking on the fact that Howard won’t be able take advantage of the Celtics’ single coverage.

It worked.

Boston limited Howard to 13 points, but more importantly held the Magic without a 3-point basket in the first half and 5-for-22 the whole game. The Celtics’ stifling defense enabled them to take 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, hand the Magic their first loss of the playoffs and left Superman grounded and frustrated.

Dwight Howard gets called for an offensive foul after an inadvertent elbow to the face of Glenn Davis. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

“For me, I just have to get into a good rhythm. When I’m out of rhythm, I play like robot. I just need to get into a rhythm and not get into a wrestling match with those guys and that’s playing into their advantage,” said Howard, who made just three of 10 shots from the field and had seven turnovers in a 92-88 loss to the Celtics. He shot 84% from the field and averaged 21 points in Orlando’s four-game demolition of the Hawks in the conference semifinals.

“It was just like that in the first series against Charlotte. They had a lot of guys, a lot of bodies trying to frustrate me and get into my head and play their game. So I just have to do my best, stay focused and not get frustrated,” said Howard, who had 12 rebounds, five blocks and made seven of 12 free throws.

Though Rivers was pleased with the defensive effort, he thinks his team can do better.

“We are leaving them on an island, so that’s very difficult. When you have enough bigs that can just stay in there and take the pounding, it’s a good thing. But all of them were great,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of Perkins, Wallace and Davis, who turned the self-proclaimed Man of Steel into an ordinary citizen.

“You know, and I’ve said this earlier, I think Dwight is mislabeled. He doesn’t have to score to create offense,” Rivers said. “I think everyone keeps looking at Dwight’s numbers and they say he has four or six points that he didn’t have an offensive impact. But the reason why he has an offensive impact is he draws so much help, you have to double team him, he gets offensive rebounds and he throws them back out for threes.”

Rivers added: “So, we did a good job as far as his scoring numbers, but I thought we could do a better job quite honestly in helping on Dwight and getting back. I think they did get some looks that we have to do a better job. You think about the J.J. Redick drives. Those are all Dwight Howard generate because no one wants to leave Dwight and it’s allowing their guards to get to the basket.”

A very diplomatic statement by Rivers but, the fact of the matter is, the Celtics know they can defend Howard one-on-one and it’s a puzzle Magic coach Stan Van Gundy needs to solve.

“They pretty much guarded everybody one-on-one and we weren’t able to score one-on-one,” Van Gundy explained. “The biggest problem on the offensive end was clearly the turnovers. We said it going in, It’s what did in Cleveland in the last series. They’re very physical, very tough defensively. We’re not giving ourselves a chance to win with 18 turnovers.”

Van Gundy noted that he needs to figure out a better way to attack the Celtics defense, but it starts with his franchise center to be more efficient when he gets his opportunities in the paint.

“We’ve gotta be able to handle the ball better against them. We’ve gotta get better ball movement. And we either gotta be able to convert better in the paint or we’ve got to draw help and make passes. It’s one or the other,” Van Gundy said. “I thought we got the ball into the paint, both on drives and some paint catches for Dwight, but we were not very efficient.”

After struggling with fouls in the early rounds, Howard vowed that he wouldn’t let anything or anyone throw him off his game. One game into the conference finals, Howard is already way off track.

The Beast of the East barely broke a sweat in pounding the Atlanta Hawks by 43 points in Game 1 of their series. Some thought the Magic were going into the series a bit rusty because of the eight-day layoff after sweeping Charlotte. Instead, it was the Hawks who looked weary and tired after their seven-game battle in the first round against Milwaukee.

Orlando is 5-0 in the 2010 playoffs and Atlanta will be fortunate to win one game in this series.

“Coach [Stan Van Gundy] did a good job in making sure we were ready tonight,” said Dwight Howard, who scored 21 points in just 28 minutes, but it wasn’t because of the foul trouble that plagued him in the first round against Charlotte. The way the Magic shot the ball and played team defense on Tuesday night, they could have won with Tree Rollins at center.

Vince Carter scored 20 points in Game 1 against the Hawks, a game in which Orlando dominated from the start. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

“It wasn’t in our plans. It’s something we have to deal with and move forward,” said Hawks center Al Horford, who gives up three or four inches to Howard and has not played well against Orlando in the past.

“I think we had a solid game plan and it just kinda got away from us. It was just a snowball effect. We know we’re better than this. It’s gut-check time for our team.”

Horford and the rest of the Hawks big men will have the huge task of containing Howard, who averages 21 points and 17 rebounds against his hometown team. Howard, who attended a prep school in the Atlanta area, made eight of 10 shots and pulled down 12 rebounds in Game 1.

“We understand that it’s only one game. In order for us to win this series, we have to dominate every night and remain humble. We have to have the same effort every night,” said Howard, who says this series will be far different than the first-round series against the Bobcats, in which he barely stayed on the court because of foul trouble.

“I just understood that the first series was very physical,” said the two-time NBA defensive player of the year. “I just looked back to last year, the first series was tough for me mentally. As the playoffs went on, I got a little bit better and matured. I didn’t allow anything to just throw me off my game tonight, and this is what I need to do for the rest of this series.”

Howard added: “I just focus on the next play. If I miss a shot or miss a free throw, just move on to the next play. I’ve been doing that in practice, allow myself to play and not focus on things that could go wrong.”

Video courtesy of NBA.com

Howard made NBA history when he led the league in rebounding (13.2) and blocked shots (2.8) in consecutive seasons (2009 and 2010). The 6-foot-11, 275-pound All-Star center was a near unanimous choice as the league’s top defender, garnering 110 of a possible 120 first-place votes.

The best way to measure a player’s worth on defense is how his team ranks defensively. Howard’s presence allows the Magic to be one of the top defensive teams in the league as Orlando yields just 95 points per game (4th) and opponents shoot just 43.8% from the field (1st). Howard joins Ben Wallace, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Dennis Rodman and Sidney Moncrief as back-to-back winners of the defensive player of the year award.

OneManFastBreak.net ranks the five best defenders in the NBA (regardless of position):

1) DWIGHT HOWARD, Orlando Magic, center
Howard stops and alters shots like a great goalie in hockey. Orlando’s entire philosophy on defense is to funnel all the scorers to Howard, and more often than not Howard ends up protecting the basket with his incredible jumping ability and intimidating raw power. No big man in the league defends the paint better than Superman II.

2) GERALD WALLACE, Charlotte Bobcats, forward
Wallace finished 13th in the rebounds (10.0), which is very impressive for a small forward. He also ranked 17th in steals (1.5) and 42nd in blocks (1.09). He earned the nickname “Crash” for his penchant for crashing to the floor, the stands and the basket padding. Wallace is a solid one-on-one defender, but he is even better as a weak-side defender.

3) RON ARTEST, L.A. Lakers, forward
Age may have robbed Artest of his quickness but definitely not his power. Ron-Ron uses his hands very well, and he has extremely strong hands. At 250 pounds, he likes to put his body on opposing scorers to take away their air space and thrives on physical contact. But his biggest strength is probably his reputation, as most players are afraid to go at him.

4) LeBRON JAMES, Cleveland Cavaliers, forward
James learned to play one-on-one defense from Kobe Bryant when the two were teammates on the U.S. Olympic Team. His signature blocks from behind have become regular highlights on SportsCenter and NBATV, and his intensity has picked up on the defensive end, LeBron is the only guy on this list who can defend all five positions.

5) RAJON RONDO, Boston Celtics, guard
Rondo is the leader in the NBA in steals (2.33) and has one of the quickest hands in the game. Boston’s defensive scheme doesn’t highlight Rondo’s one-on-one defense because they prefer to use him as a free safety. He tends to gamble a little too much, but Doc Rivers will live with that as long as he gets two or three steals a game.

6) KIRK HINRICK, Chicago Bulls, guard
Suns coach Alvin Gentry said that Kirk Hinrich is the best on-ball defender in the league. That’s high praise for a guy who doesn’t get enough credit for his ability to make it extremely tough on perimeter players to score. Just ask Dwyane Wade, who always struggles against the Bulls mainly because of Hinrich’s defense.

7) KOBE BRYANT, L.A. Lakers, guard
Because of injuries and wear-and-tear on the body, Kobe has lost some of his aggressiveness on defense. But when Phil Jackson needs to apply the glove on an opposing team’s scorer, he often calls on No. 24. Bryant’s best attribute is his preparation and intelligence. He does his homework off the court and scouts his competition.

8) KENDRICK PERKINS, Boston Celtics, center
Perkins is big and strong (6-10, 285) and is tough to root out of the post. Then, you combine his size with effort and you have a unbelievable post defender who plays his role to perfection. He rebounds, he blocks shots, he steps out on pick-and-rolls, and he also plays with a huge chip on his shoulder.

9) JOSH SMITH, Atlanta Hawks, forward
Smith has grown into a borderline All-Star player and his defense sets the tone for the Hawks. Mike Woodson said, “You think back six years ago, Josh Smith has come a long way. I tip my hat to him because he’s worked over the years and has developed into a player.” Smith averages eight rebounds, nearly two steals a game and is the only forward in the NBA ranked in the top 20 in blocks (2.06).

10) JOAKIM NOAH, Chicago Bulls,
When Noah was sidelined with an injury, the Bulls struggled. When he returned, the Bulls made a playoff push. Noah plays with great energy and a vocal leader. He not only defends his position, but he also helps his teammates. He is among the league leaders in rebounds (11.0) and blocks (1.6) and loves to compete.

OneManFastBreak.net rates the five best players in the NBA (rankings will change from year to year):

5. DWIGHT HOWARD
Orlando Magic, Center

Superman II made the biggest leap of any player on this list. He surpassed San Antonio’s Tim Duncan as the best post player in the league. Though his statistics were slightly lower last season compared to 2007-08 (his points per game dropped from 20.7 to 20.6 and his rebounds went from 14.3 to 13.8, but his blocks went up from 2.2 to 2.9), Howard’s team got better as he improved his defense and his awareness on offense. Behind Howard’s more focused approach, the Magic reached the NBA Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. Howard has very little competition at the center position so he should be able to lock up first-team status for the next five to 10 years.

4. CHRIS PAUL
New Orleans Hornets, Point Guard

There is no denying CP3 as the No. 1 PG in the league. His competition is either too old (Steve Nash and Chauncey Billups), too young (Derrick Rose) or took step back a year ago (Deron Williams). Paul’s ability to get to the rim going to his right as well as his left without losing any speed is second to none. And throws one of the prettiest alley-hoop passes I’ve ever seen since Sherman Douglas. He has become the most dominant player under 6-foot-1 the league has seen since Isiah Thomas and if he gets any help from newly acquired center Emeka Okafor, the Hornets should be a factor in the West. Hornets coach Byron Scott should thank Paul for saving his job, which was on the ropes four years ago. CP3 has single-handedly changed the whole culture in New Orleans and will always be in consideration for MVP.

3. DWYANE WADE
Miami Heat, Shooting Guard

D-Wade is back! After a subpar season in 2007-08 (if you consider scoring 24 points per game below par), Flash returned to the elite level, lifting Miami back into the playoffs and winning his first scoring title (30.2). Tim Grover, Michael Jordan’s super trainer who put D-Wade back together during the offseason, should get some kind of residual check for helping Wade get his explosiveness back and added strength to his frame. After playing in just 51 games the previous two seasons, Wade played a career-best 79 games in ‘08-09′ and the added burden of being the undisputed superstar of the franchise didn’t hinder the 2006 NBA Finals MVP.

And now, for the top two. Drum roll please ….

In order for LeBron James to win that elusive ring, he'll need to go through Kobe Bryant.

No big surprise here. In fact, you can probably pencil these two for next year as well.

2. LeBRON JAMES
Cleveland Cavaliers, Forward

I apologize for sounding like a broken record but…I’ve always believed that if LeBron James ever got that second option, that all-star type player who can take some of the pressure off LeBron, the Cavaliers easily becomes the best team in the NBA. Mo Williams was suppoed to be LeBron’s Scottie Pippen a year ago but he fizzed during the postseason. Enter Shaquille O’Neal. The Diesel has promised to “get a ring for The King” so LeBron is going to hold him to that statement come June. That’s how good James is. He’s like a one-man army. But to win an NBA championship, James needs a little help from his friends. Remember, he took the Cavs to the NBA Finals in 2007 despite playing with a rookie point guard, an old center, average-to-subpar power forwards and a coach who doesn’t know a thing about offense. Last season, the Cavs were ousted by the Magic mainly because Howard simply overpowered the Cleveland big men and James could not possibly guard both Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu at the same time. Whoever LeBron didn’t guard, that was the player the Magic targeted and made the big shots down the stretch. A championship ring is the only thing separating LeBron and being officially crowned king of the NBA.

1. KOBE BRYANT
Los Angeles Lakers, Shooting Guard

Speaking of The King, even though he goes by the nickname “The Black Mamba” Bryant is…and always has been for the past four seasons, the BEST PLAYER ON THE PLANET. The reigning NBA Finals MVP added a fourth championship ring to his collection box and his No. 24 jersey is No. 1 around the world. He finally shed the “couldn’t win without Shaq” label last season when he pushed the Lakers past the Magic in the NBA Finals. With the addition of Ron Artest, the Lakers should roll through the West again and Bryant could potentially face LeBron and Shaq or Howard and the Magic or Kevin Garnett and Celtics in the Finals. At this stage of Kobe’s career, he’s not as into statistics and individual awards. He knows his Lakers are built for the long haul and he doesn’t have to carry the load night after night. Besides, at 31 years old, Kobe understands that he needs to start preserving his body for the playoffs. Although when challenged, he can always put on his Black Mamba game face and devour anyone who tries to get in his path. He knows his legacy is secured and his Hall-of-Fame pass is waiting for him at the doors of Springfield, Mass. About the only thing missing on his checklist is the No. 7. That’s the number championship rings he needs to win to surpass Jordan.

Dwight Howard made just one of six shots from the field in Orlando's 100-75 blowout loss to the L.A. Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. (GETTY IMAGES)

Hey, Dwight Howard. Shaquille O’Neal just sent you a message on Twitter: “I want my nickname back!”

In Game 1 of the NBA Finals with the whole world watching his every move, the self-proclaimed Man of Steel of the Orlando Magic was completely undressed and reduced to a mere mortal. He made just one of his six field goal attempts in his Finals debut – a far cry from his 40-point superhuman effort in the series-clincher against Cleveland – and 10 of his 12 points came from the free throw line. He did grab 15 rebounds, but you expected that from him. What the Magic did not expect was his ineffectiveness on both ends of the court.

When you want the general public to call you Superman, you cannot have a bad day. If Superman had a bad day, Lex Luthor would rule the planet and there would be complete chaos.

At the end of the day, Howard went from being Superman to Blankman.

The Los Angeles Lakers were able to blitz the Magic, 100-75, because they outrebounded the Magic, 55-41, and outscored them, 56-22, in the paint to take a commanding 1-0 lead in the series. It’s a commanding 1-0 lead because Phil Jackson is 43-0 when he wins the first game of a series and Kobe Bryant quite simply will not allow his Lakers to lose.

The Lakers’ domination of the paint was more of a reflection on Howard’s inability to put his stamp on the game. If Howard, aka Blankman, is supposed to be the best big man in the NBA then the league must have some really bad centers because the 23-year-old NBA first-teamer looked very ordinary. For a guy who is the reigning top defender in the league, Howard did a very poor job of protecting the basket. For a guy who makes 56% of his field goals and leads the league in dunks, Howard was outscored by Mickael Pietrus (14 to 12) and failed to throw down a single dunk in 34 minutes.

During his best years, Shaq would bust through arm tackles and take two or sometimes three people with him to the rim and unleash one of his signiture throw downs. Howard was held down by Pau Gasol, who is not exactly the most physical player in the league.

When Laker big men Andrew Bynum and Gasol took away Howard’s dunks, the Orlando big man began shooting blanks. His shortage of inside moves was magnified.

“He has to work on getting another move,” said Gary Payton, who now works for NBA TV. “Bynum and Pau Gasol are very good. They can play defense and they can go at [Howard]. What they did was, Bynum started off from the beginning. He went at him. Then, all of a sudden, Gasol started guarding him and he gets two offensive fouls on him. That takes you out of your basketball game. [Howard] has to understand that he has to face up guys, get a Tim Duncan bank shot or something like that, or get another move.”

Because Blankman could not punish the Lakers’ single coverage in the low post, the Magic shooters struggled mightily from the perimeter, making just eight of 23 threes (34%) and shooting 29% overall. Hedo Turkoglu was 3-for-11, Courtney Lee was 3-for-10, Rafer Alston was 2-for-9 and Rashard Lewis was 2-for-10 and scored just eight points, the first time he has been held under 15 points in the playoffs.

“If you can play Dwight Howard straight up, not allowing him to get dunks and make him finish his shots in the lane, you have a good chance of beating this team,” said Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw, who has scouted Orlando all season.

Basically, Shaw revealed that the Lakers’ game plan on defense was to stay with Orlando’s snipers.

“You live by the bomb, you die by the bomb. That’s our philosophy,” Shaw said. “Everybody talked about how we’re going to match up with their 3-point shooters. Well, they have to match up with us on the inside. We play inside out. And we feel like we have an advantage because we can make Dwight Howard guard Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum inside and that means Rashard Lewis has to guard the other one as well.

“So, if we keep that as our focus, that’s putting a lot of pressure on them defensively,” Shaw continued. “The more we can play Dwight Howard straight up we can match up with their shooters, and if they keep bombing from the outside we’ll live with that.”

The Lakers’ convincing victory in Game 1 revealed two things: Orlando is not going to win a championship and Dwight Howard is just a civilian posing as Superman.

Dwight Howard, also known as Superman II, soared over Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals and landed in the NBA Finals. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Dwight Howard is Superman II. LeBron James is Iron Man. The two collided in the Eastern Conference finals and the end result was a ground-shaking victory for the superhero from Orlando.

Howard, the self-proclaimed Man of Steel, put on his red cape Saturday night, loaded his teammates on his back and lifted the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals for the second time in the history of the franchise after defeating Cleveland, 103-90, in Game 6 to win the seven-game series at 4-2. The other time Orlando played in the NBA’s biggest stage was in 1995 when Superman I – aka Shaquille O’Neal – was flying high, protecting and serving the people of the Magic City.

You could say O’Neal was Christopher Reeve and Howard is Brandon Routh.

Now that O’Neal is basically retired in Smallville, Ariz., Howard is the new defender of truth, justice and conspiracy theorists. Howard crashed the much anticipated party of Kobe and LeBron, soaring over Cleveland and landing in Los Angeles where Orlando will play Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Bryant’s Lakers.

It’s not the dream matchup Vitamin Water, ESPN/ABC and Nike were hoping for but that’s where we are at. Nike execs are not exactly crying over their Armani suits because they still have the Lakers in the Finals, the NBA’s crown jewel that moves the ratings meter and the franchise with 30 appearances in the Finals.

Maybe the guys in Madison Avenue should flip the script and include Howard in those Most Valuable Puppets commercials. A Dwight Howard vs. Kobe Bryant showdown may not be as sexy, but it has great potential. It’s Superman II vs. The Black Mamba. Or, is it Superman II vs. Darth Vader?

Let the Twittering begin!

Bryant, the most dangerous player in the league, calls himself The Black Mamba because of his ability to strike rapidly with uncanny accuracy from anywhere on the court. But Kobe loves being the villain. He is at his best when he can sense weakness in his opponent and takes great pleasure in ripping someone’s heart. A huge “Star Wars” fan, Kobe is the perfect Darth Vader – the anti-hero who is cold, calculated and menacing on the outside, but emotionally scarred on the inside.

Kobe won’t easily intimidate Howard and the Magic because Orlando is confident it can stand toe to toe with L.A., having dropped the Lakers twice during the regular season. Orlando is one of the few teams in the league that can match up with the Lakers’ length in the frontcourt and can throw a couple of capable defenders at Bryant in Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus.

Conversely, the Lakers have the bigs to lean on Howard and keep him occupied. The game within the game will come down to this: Will the Lakers send a second defender at Howard? Back in 1995, Orlando surrounded Shaq with 3-point snipers, aka the Super Friends, that included Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson and Dennis “3-D” Scott to prevent teams from crowding O’Neal. This time, the HD version of the Super Friends are named Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Rafer Alston and Pietrus who complement’s Howard’s devastating inside game.

The Super Friends were critical to Orlando’s improbable run to the Finals, but make no mistake about it Orlando’s world revolves around the man with the massive shoulders and wears No. 12. Howard posted superb numbers against Cleveland despite fouling out in three of the six games.

“I believe in my team, first of all, I believe that if we come out every night and play our brand of basketball we can beat anybody,” Howard said. “If we run, defend and rebound we can win a lot of games. Since I’ve been here, everybody has written us off. But we continue to work everyday, we put in the work in the gym to become a better team. We’re not at our best yet, but I’m happy with our progress.

“I think we started to bring back some Magic in Orlando. That’s one of the goals a I set out to do when I first got here. I felt like we were a laughing stock around the league. When everybody played the Magic they thought about Disney World. So, I just wanted to change that.”

In the series-clinching win, Howard changed the flow of the game by establishing his dominance early, scoring 21 points in the first half on 8-of-12 shooting and powered the Magic to a commanding 18-point lead at halftime.

“I don’t know what else he could have done. He was fantastic. He was unbelievable today,” said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy of Howard. Van Gundy also took a swipe at the perception that Howard is “too nice” or “too goofy” for his own good and does not have the killer instinct to knock out an opponent.

“He was smiling, by the way, and yet was able to play well. Imagine that,” Van Gundy said with sarcasm.

“I thought (Howard) did a lot of great things today. I thought that he protected the basket and didn’t worry about what was going to happen on calls,” Van Gundy added. “And I thought the other thing he did really, really well was run. I thought that wore on them. I thought he was making good plays, scoring when they didn’t double and pass out when they did double. What the post-up game allowed us to do was just settle in, get back and defend them on the break and we can work the clock a little bit.”

Before tip-off, Howard sent one powerful text message to his teammates that really resonated with all of them: “Dominate.”

When Superman has something to say, everyone listens.

“I just told them that when they wake up today, think about dominating. Come to the shoot-around and think about dominating. When they get to the gym, to the game, think about dominating,” Howard said. He made good on his own mission statement with a career-playoff high 40 points and was his usual beastly self in the paint with 14 rebounds.

“He pretty much carried us on his back. He came out and he was dominant,” Lewis said of Orlando’s 23-year-old All-Star center, who made 14 of 21 field goals, converted 12 of 16 free throws and, according to Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, made the correct play eight out of 10 times when the Cavaliers decided to double team him.

“Dwight was a monster. He was a monster early on. They got a big lead because of it. With the way Dwight was playing, it kinda set the tone for the rest of the game,” Brown admitted.

As dominating as Howard was, James was equally impressive and more than did his part to keep the Cavaliers in the series, winning two games by himself. He won Game 2 with a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer that had all of Cleveland rocking. In Game 5, he scored  17 points in the fourth quarter and had a hand in 32 of the Cavs’ final 34 points to send the series back to Orlando.

But Cleveland’s Iron Man finally showed his human side in Game 6. The MVP of the regular season, who entered the sixth game of the series with a robust 41-point average, could not muster another superhuman performance. Hard to blame him considering he had to carry 11 other guys on his bionic shoulders.

James clearly emptied his tank during the series. Prior to Game 6, James’ numbers were astounding: 41 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, making 50% of his field goals while playing 44 minutes. But on the night the Cavaliers saw their season come to a bitter end, James was just 8-of-20 from the field, 2-of-8 from 3-point range and limited to 25 points.

While Superman got stronger as the series got longer, Iron Man simply just ran out of energy.

Magic center Dwight Howard called out Coach Stan Van Gundy after Orlando fell 92-88 to Boston in Game 5. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Dwight Howard is showing his age in these NBA playoffs. In the first round, he threw a malicious elbow to the head of Philadelphia’s Samuel Dalembert that resulted in a one-game suspension. Then in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, the 23-year-old All-Star center threw Boston point guard Rajon Rondo to the floor out of frustration and later threw his coach under the bus.

The Magic pulled a disappearing act in the final six minutes of Game 5 in Boston and allowed the Celtics to rally and outscore them, 17-3, late in the fourth quarter. The Magic’s inability to close cost them the game, as the Celtics won 92-88, and it most likely cost them the series.

After the game, a defeated and disappointed Howard complained about not getting enough touches on offense and blamed Coach Stan Van Gundy for failing to put the correct lineup on the court.

“The coaches have to recognize what’s working on the floor. Stick to it. Even if it’s half your starters on the floor. Not just the guys you have put the most trust in. You have to have trust in everybody,” Howard said.

“The reason why we were winning is because we moved the ball, we ran, got easy shots. Our coach has to recognize when he has a certain group out there and they are getting the job done, we have to leave those guys on the floor. We are going to make mistakes, but I think you have to go with what works.”

Then, Howard added more fuel to the fire by praising Celtics Coach Doc Rivers. “Their coach left the guys on the court who got the job done,” Howard said. “That’s what championship teams do.”

Howard finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shots from the field and 2-of-3 from the line. He grabbed 17 rebounds but failed to block a shot for only the second time in the series.

“I would just say it’s tough to win all season when you play inside-out with people who got you off to a good season. I think I’m capable of scoring in the post,” said Howard, who was outscored by Glen “Big Baby” Davis, 22-12. Howard made one basket in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t’ want to say it’s all about offense. But when you have a dominant player, let him be dominant,” Howard said. “I have to do it defensively where I have to be more aggressive and offensively I have to get the ball. I don’t think you are going to win a lot of games when your post player only gets 10 shots.

“It’s tough to get yourself going and get a lot of shots without a lot of touches. We have to do a better job with that.”

Van Gundy said the Magic has no one to blame but themselves for playing not to lose at the end.

“We just quit playing,” Van Gundy said. “We looked like we were trying to run the clock out, walking the ball up the floor, playing halfcourt. It’s not the way we wanted to play it.”