Can NBA veteran Chauncey Billups hit big shots in the Big Apple? The New York Knicks sure hope so. /AP Photo

The New York Knicks are getting more than just NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony in this three-team, multi-player trade that went down today.

They’re getting Mr. Big Shot – NBA vet point guard Chauncey Billups – from the Denver Nuggets.

The Knicks gave up some good players, but everyone on their team other than Amare Stoudemire was fair game.

What the Knicks are besides one of the game’s best in Anthony is a guy who can hit big shots in Billups. In the playoffs, the game slows down to execution in the half court and that’s more up Billups’ alley. He’s not the complete pick-and-roll player for Stoudemire like Steve Nash was, but Billups can play off the pick-and-roll, catch a pass on the wing and nail the deep jump shot.

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Now that Dwight Howard and Orlando Magic have won a game against the Boston Celtics in this Eastern Conference finals series, can they get another one Wednesday at home? If Howard controls the paint, the Magic will force a Game 6.

It took the Orlando Magic three games to figure it out.

The Boston Celtics made them look bad in taking a 3-0 Eastern Conference finals series lead, but the Magic won Monday night in overtime, 96-92, to force a Game 5 Wednesday in Orlando.

Now let’s be honest here.

With no NBA team having ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, the odds are not in the Magic’s favor.

This is what is in their favor.

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If Dwight Howard can't play with fouls in Game 3 tonight, the Orlando Magic can kiss their championship aspirations goodbye.

We’re about 90 minutes before the start of Game 3  in Boston where the Orlando Magic will try avoid going down 3-0 to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.

Here are three keys for the Magic to win this game and stay in the series because if they lose tonight, it’s over.

1. Get Rashard Lewis going. After averaging 17 points in Orlando’s sweep of the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals, Lewis has scored 11 points total in the first two games of this series against the Celtics. At the same time, he can’t be standstill jump shooter. Got to mix his offensive game up.

2. Howard must keep cool. He’s been called for 42 fouls in 10 playoff games. His lowest foul total has been three and that was in Game 1 against the Hawks. Calls are going to go against him tonight, but he can’t let that frustrate him. Defense will win this game and the Magic need the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the game.

3. Contain Rondo. While the Big Three – Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce – are key components to the Celtics, point guard Rajon Rondo is the one who makes the team go. Jameer Nelson has to put pressure on him to play the defense and get Rondo in foul trouble. That is a sure-fire way to keep him from dictating the game.

The Magic are more talented than the Celtics, but Boston has had the edge in terms of point-guard play and bench play in this series and have the edge in championship experience.

Although Orlando made it to the NBA Finals last season, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Magic in five games. The Celtics beat that same Laker team in six games to win it all in 2008.

Center Dwight Howard and point guard Jameer Nelson will have the same look they did after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in last year's NBA Finals if the Orlando Magic are unable to figure out the Boston Celtics in this year's playoffs.

The Boston Celtics are the runaway locomotive no one in the Eastern Conference has been able to handle in this year’s playoffs.

After beating the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games, the Celtics take a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals Saturday at home.

Orlando is in big trouble.

The Magic got a big scoring night from Dwight Howard (30 points on 9 of 13 shooting), but he only got eight rebounds in Tuesday’s Game 2 loss, 95-92, at home.

So Boston has proven it can beat the Orlando even if Howard goes nuts offensively.

Here’s the laundry list of  problems for Orlando.

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He may be the shortest guy in the picture, but Derek Fisher (2) hit the two biggest shots of the night in Thursday's Game 4 win for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

The Orlando Magic gave the Los Angeles Lakers new life in this one.

Not a good idea.

They blew a 12-point halftime lead and then after failing to close out the Lakers in regulation, the Magic lost Game 4 in overtime, 99-91, in the NBA Finals on Thursday night in Orlando.

With a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Lakers will try to close out the Magic in Game 5 on Sunday night in Orlando. The reason the Magic are playing their third consecutive home is because in the NBA Finals, it’s a 2-3-2 series format.

Derek Fisher’s 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left forced overtime and then he hit another one off a Kobe Bryant assist to break a tie and put the Lakers up for good with 31.3 seconds left.

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Bryant went for 40 in tonight's win.

Led by Kobe Bryant’s 40 points, the Los Angeles Lakers opened the NBA Finals with a 100-75 Game 1 win on Thursday night in Los Angeles.

With Dwight Howard shooting just 1-of-6 from the field, the Magic didn’t get any inside scoring to force the Lakers to double down on him. So Los Angeles was able to play tighter defense on Orlando’s 3-point shooters.

Game 2 is Sunday night in Los Angeles.

The 75 points is the lowest point total for the Magic in the playoffs. I wouldn’t attribute it to the return of Jameer Nelson, but the Magic had developed a formula without him due to the shoulder injury.

Nelson took nine shots tonight. That’s taking shots away from Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu or even Howard.

So although the Magic shot a tragic 23-0f-77 from the field, maybe one of those shots Nelson missed might have been the shot Lewis or Turkoglu knocked down to get going offensively.

As for the Lakers, Bryant was magnificent, but the Lakers were the more aggressive team and took advantage of the matchups they have in their favor.

Kobe Bryant is ready to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a world title.

1-for-2

That’s how I fared in predicting the Eastern Conference and Western Conference finals.

Darn Cleveland.

Like most people, I figured NBA MVP LeBron James and the Cavaliers would face the Los Angeles Lakers in the finals, but Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic defeated Cleveland in six games to come out of the East.

Denver gave the Lakers a tough series, but L.A. has too much talent, skill and Kobe Bryant is just too good to let his team fall to the Nuggets.

So here we are.

Lakers vs. Magic. Superman vs. the Black Mamba.

Not Kobe vs. LeBron, but it’s not chump change either.

Orlando has versatile big men Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu that can shoot the 3 while L.A. has a Hall of Fame coach in Phil Jackson and the best closer in Bryant.

In the end, Kobe will finally win a title without Shaquille O’Neal against the franchise that drafted O’Neal when he came out of college in 1992.

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