The Eastern Conference playoffs have become a sparring session for the Orlando Magic, as Dwight Howard and Co. have clearly separated themselves from the rest of the conference and should be considered the favorites to reach the NBA Finals.

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

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The Boston Celtics are not optimistic about Kevin Garnett's injured knee.

When Paul Pierce was asked which team was the toughest to eliminate in the Celtics’ road to winning their 17th championship, he said, without any hesitation, “Cleveland.”

The Cavaliers pushed the Celtics to seven grueling games in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals, and when the series was over, the Celtics and pretty much every team in the East said that if Cavaliers management provides LeBron James another all-star player to play with, look out!

When Mo Williams joined Cleveland this season, the Cavs soared to the best record in franchise history and claimed home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs.

News of Kevin Garnett to likely to miss the entire playoffs was so devasting that Boston GM Danny Ainge suffered a mild heart attack.  Garnett was tabbed very, very questionable by Coach Doc Rivers after watching KG struggle in practice. Though Boston will not be the same without its quarterback on defense, the Celtics are still the champs and they still have two studs in Pierce and Ray Allen.

Orlando did not finish well and is still vastly untested in the playoffs. As good as Dwight Howard has been during the regular season, there are still doubts about his ability to consistently carry the Magic on his broad shoulders when it matters most. He still lacks a killer instinct. He’s just too nice. And if Orlando gets in any type of trouble, it will be interesting to watch whether Coach Stan Van Gundy pushes the panic button.

OneManFastbreak.net analyzes and predicts the winners of the Eastern Conference playoffs:

FIRST ROUND

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Detroit Pistons – In a rematch of the 2007 conference finals, this should be a one-sided affair. Cleveland will not overlook Detroit. CAVALIERS IN 4.

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Chicago Bulls – The Bulls will make it close but the Celtics have enough pride to avoid getting bounced in the first round. CELTICS IN 5.

(3) Orlando Magic vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers – Orlando swept the Sixers during the regular season and there is no reason why the Magic can’t do the same in the playoffs. MAGIC IN 4.

(4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Miami Heat – NBA scoring champ Dwyane Wade is good enough to extend this series to the max. But in the end, home-court advantage will be the difference. HAWKS IN 7.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks – Size will matter in this series. Can the undersized Hawks keep up with the bigger Cavs? The answer: too much Ilgauskas, Varejao and LeBron. CAVALIERS IN 6.

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Orlando Magic – With or without KG, the Celtics are still better than the Magic. Boston won 62 games and most of it was done without Garnett. CELTICS IN 6.

CONFERENCE FINALS

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (2) Boston Celtics – When Boston was completely healthy last season and LeBron was basically by himself, it still took the Celts seven games to knock off the Cavs. This season, Cleveland clinches the series in Boston. CAVALIERS IN 6.

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