Can King James Force a Game 7?

The Orlando Magic already finished two rounds of playoffs on the road, clinching the first in Philadelphia and the second in Boston.

They better do this one at home.

The Magic take a 3-2 lead into Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final Saturday night at Amway Arena against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, well aware that they might be pushing their road luck if they are forced into a return to Cleveland for Game 7.

"We don't want to go back and play in their arena again,'' said Magic forward Rashard Lewis. "They feed off that crowd there.''

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The Cavaliers, who had the NBA's best record during the regular season, still believe they can ride the King James wave and become just the ninth team in league history to win a series after trailing 3-1.

Here are five questions heading into Game 6:

1. Is LeBron James just so much better than everyone else in basketball today that he can overcome a better balanced team with so many more late-game weapons?

Our theory all along was that the One Man Show doesn't win NBA titles. Only once in the last 30 years – the Houston Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994 – has a team so unbalanced won a championship.

James is trying to become the second, and it's becoming hard to argue against him. He has averaged 41 points per game in this series, putting the icing on his Most Valuable Player Award that he earned during the regular season.

His fourth-quarter performance in the Game 5 victory was one to behold because there was no pretending that it was anything but a one-on-five plan of attack.

"You get him the ball and get out of the way,'' admitted teammate Delonte West.

2. How can the Magic slow him if he tries to repeat his fourth-quarter show again?

They better run defenders at him quicker instead of just trying to react to what he does. On Thursday, they assumed he couldn't sustain his torrid pace and eventually would slow down. But he didn't.

If you're the Magic, you have to get the ball out of his hands sooner, just overplay him so badly that it forces him to pass to a wide-open teammate. Take your chances with good defensive rotations and someone else trying to win a game for Cleveland.

James is almost magical when he has the ball. All rational defenses are out the window because he plays at a level that no one else has played at before. There never has been anyone with his combination of size, athleticism and feel for the game. If you're defending him, you can't think conventionally anymore.

"He and Dwight Howard are the next generation human beings,'' West said. "We are all witnessing something special here.''

3. Who else can step up to make it happen for the Cavs and send this back to Cleveland for a Game 7?

When the Magic overplay James late in the game, shooters like Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic will get a chance to earn their pay. They will see wide open looks at the basket. Unless James has lost confidence in them, they might be the ones winning or losing the game.

The Cavs are going to use lots of fouls on Dwight Howard again, making him march to the free throw line. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace might have 17 fouls combined before Game 6 ends.

It's better for the Cavs to stay home on the Magic shooters and send Howard to the free throw line. If he is too jacked up for the game – and that could happen – he might struggle there.

4. Who is the key Magic Player tonight?

The Magic need good games from at least two of their Big Three – Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. If all three play well, the Magic should win pretty easily.

Point guard Rafer Alston, though, is the one who holds the cards. His career has been marked by inconsistency, both his overall play and his shooting. He played well when they won Game 4. He played poorly when they lost Game 5. And that's no accident.

Alston doesn't get flustered, he just isn't good enough to play well all the time. He knows his time in Orlando will be short because Jameer Nelson returns as the starter next season. But wouldn't it be great for him if he directed the Magic into the Finals before he gets shuttled out of town.

5. If there is a Game 7 in Cleveland, is it over for the Magic?

Not really. They have been their best throughout the season when everyone starts counting them out. They have been one of the best road teams in the league in each of the last two years. They already have won five road games this post season.

The Magic, in 2003, lost a seven-game series to the Detroit Pistons after leading 3-1. That was the beginning of the end of Tracy McGrady in a Magic uniform.

The Magic certainly don't want to go back to Cleveland, but nothing says they can't win there like they did in Philadelphia and Boston to end a series.