Dwyane Wade and LeBron James (w/headband) are eying an NBA title, but Indiana is doing the same./AP Photo.

It’s just a formality.

The Indiana Pacers will be just a footnote in their storybook championship journey. Just another team the Miami Heat had to beat because they’re going to win it all right?

Right?

They’ve got the game’s best player in LeBron James, who won his third NBA MVP today.

They’ve got the league’s second and third best option in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, respectively.

And they don’t have to contend with the Chicago Bulls, who lost Derrick Rose to a season-ending injury and their first-round series to the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in six games.

The road is paved for Miami to take it all. Indiana is just a speed bump in the road right?

Right?

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The big man of Boston's Big Three, power forward Kevin Garnett remains the emotional leader of the surging Celtics.

People can blame the coaching, the lack of effort and the inability for one player to take over a game, but the Orlando Magic’s biggest problem can be narrowed down to one thing: The Boston Celtics.

Playing the best defense I’ve seen in a long, long time, Boston has had an answer for everything Orlando has thrown out, which truthfully hasn’t looked like much, but that’s beside the point.

Boston has won every match up, its bench is playing better, its coach Doc Rivers doing a number on Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy and its veterans – Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace – have raised their level of play.

They remind me of old guys at the YMCA that turn it up when stiff competition comes into the gym. Trust me, the Magic were stiff competition coming into the Eastern Conference finals after sweeping their first two playoff opponents, but the Celtics are taking care of them.

With all that being said, I think Orlando gets this game tonight even though it’s in Boston. Can’t see how a team that talented can get swept.

Pride has got to kick in at some point so they’ll get Game 4 and might get Game 5 at home, but it s not going further than six games.

Do I hear “BEAT LA” chants coming from the TD Garden?

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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If LeBron James' elbow goes haywire again later in this series against Boston, the schedule won't be in his favor.

Have you seen the playoff schedule for the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics starting Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland?

Take a look.

Game 1: Saturday at Cleveland, TBD (TNT)
Game 2: Monday at Cleveland, TBD (TNT)
Game 3: Friday, May 7 at Boston, TBD (ESPN)
Game 4: Sunday, May 9 at Boston, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
*Game 5: Tuesday, May, 11 at Cleveland (TNT)
*Game 6: Thursday, May 13 at Boston, TBD (ESPN)
*Game 7: Sunday, May 16 at Cleveland, 3:30 p.m. (ABC).
*If necessary.

Now I know many folks, including my guy, Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, have complained about the playoff schedule in terms of too much time between games. I’d love to spend this entire blog post doing the same, but the sun is out here in Erie, Pa., so I’m going to look at this differently.

When I look at that Cavs-Celtics schedule, three things come to mind.

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“I’ve said all along we all know how the vote is going to go. LeBron will win the MVP every year until he retires.” – Stan Van Gundy.

Stan Van Gundy has been a strong advocate for Magic center Dwight Howard winning the league MVP honor this season.

He speaks his mind. Don’t we love that?

Nod your head. You do. I know I do.

Even if Stan Van Gundy’s voice can sound a tad bit on the whiny side, you’re going to get an honest answer out of the guy.

 So when talking to the media before today’s game at Cleveland against the Cavaliers, the Orlando head coach had a few words to say about Magic center Dwight Howard’s deservement of the NBA MVP award and LeBron James being a clear cut favorite to win it for a second straight season.

On being an advocate of Dwight Howard being the NBA MVP and if he’d disappointed if LeBron James won the award unanimously: “I would never diasappointed on anything that happens on a vote type of thing. As I’ve said, look, I’ve also made very clear you can’t argue (with James getting the MVP). It’s not I’m saying somebody else doesn’t deserve it. I haven’t come out and tried to say that LeBron doesn’t deserve it. I think you can make a case for him. I think you can make a hell of a case for Dwight. I think you can make a hell of a case for Kevin Durant and what he’s done for that team. I think there are six or seven guys you can make very good cases for, but no, I wouldn’t be disappointed with anyone in the vote. I know good Dwight has been and I know how important he is to us. We know his value like Cleveland knows LeBron’s value.”  

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Here a recent interview Dwight Howard did heading into tomorrow’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic.

Check out Howard’s impersonation of Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy at the end. Great stuff.

Rashard Lewis, here with teammate Hedo Turkoglu (left), is selling his Washington state home for $4.9 mil.

Orlando star Rashard Lewis is selling his 8,000 square-foot home equipped with five bedrooms, 5 1/2 baths, swimming pool and more in the state of Washington for $4.9 million.

State of Washington?

Yeah, Lewis used to play for the Seattle Supersonics.

Wonder if he ‘s keeping tabs with the bidders as he tries to help Orlando win tonight’s Game 6 at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers and advance to the NBA Finals.

Better not because the Magic are going to need Lewis on his ‘A’ game if they’re going to defeat the Cavaliers tonight.

Lewis, who hit the game-winning shot in Game 1 and a big 3 in a Game 4 win for the Magic, had just 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting in Orlando’s Game 5 loss at Cleveland. Lewis was just 1-of-5 from 3-point range.

One thing I did notice in Game 5 is Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy had Lewis checking 7-foot-3 Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Although Z shoots mostly Js, he does lean on you and that may have sapped the legs of Lewis, who stands 6-10. He’s a jump shooter so having fresh legs is imperative for him.

LeBron James' only 3-point basket won the game for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Wow.

That was the word LeBron James used in describing his buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Cleveland a dramatic 96-95 win against the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

James said more than that, though.

On how the fans reaction to the shot…
“Wow. I mean, the reaction from the fans and my teammates. It was; the loudest it has ever been in this building was the first time I made the playoffs my third year and we faced Washington (in the first round). When we won that game, the towels was out. It was unbelievable. I lost my wind soon as I ran out on the court. Tonight surpassed that by 10 times. It was unbelievable. You couldn’t hear anything except the roar of those 20,000-plus fans, man. They deserved it. They deserved it.”

On the final shot…
“Well, the first option was for me to fake up and go for the lob. Two things happened. We had 6-10 Rashard Lewis on Mo so it was going to be a difficult pass. When I went to go for the lob, Hedo (Turkoglu) never bit on it. I told Mo, whatever it was going to take from me, I was going to get the ball. No matter what happened. If the first, third, second, all the options run out, I’m coming to get the ball. I knocked down the shot. Biggest shot I’ve made in my career.”

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“He told us at halftime we were all witnesses. That’s what he said to us, and it really motivated us when he said y’all playing like y’all witnesses.” – Dwight Howard.

Cleveland Cavalier star and NBA MVP, LeBron James, left the court after Wednesday night's Game 1 loss to Orlando with a career playoff-high 49 points and leg cramps.

That’s what Dwight Howard said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy told them at halftime after LeBron James scored 26 first-half points in leading the Cavaliers to a 15-point lead at the break.

The Magic listened.

Instead of folding up shop, the Magic came back to stun the Cavaliers, 107-106, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

For those who have been sleeping under a rock, James’ Nike campaign uses the word “Witness” to indicate how special he is. He showed it Wednesday in scoring a career-playoff high 49 points.

Now after the game, Van Gundy said he doesn’t have a clue on how to stop James, but as long as he can motivate his team the way he did Wednesday night, the Magic will give the Cavaliers all they can handle in this series.

If the Lakers lose today's Game 7 at home against the Rockets, who are without Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant will have a hard time showing his face.

In a few hours today, the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets will play Game 7 (3:30 p.m., ABC) in Hollywood.

In a few more hours after that finale, the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic will play Game 7 (8 p.m., TNT) in Beantown.

The odds aren’t in Houston’s favor for three reasons.

1. People want to see Kobe Bryant play for a world title, again, without Shaquille O’Neal and against LeBron James. 2. As entertaining as Ron Artest is, he’s not as captivating as Bryant and Rockets aren’t as entertaining as the Lakers. 3. The game is at Los Angeles where the Lakers should roll.

The odds aren’t in Orlando’s favor for three reasons.

1. The game is at Boston. 2. The Magic haven’t shown the ability to close out the Celtics throughout the series. 3. Do the Magic really trust their coach, Stan Van Gundy, to make the right decision in crunch time. You know, indecision typically leads to failure.

After all of this is over, the real question I have is can either of these four teams beat Cleveland in the playoffs. I’d say the Lakers because they’ll come out more focused against a team they know that can beat them.

As for Houston, Boston or Orlando, they’d have no shot to stop the Cavaliers.