The Raptors and Magic match up pretty well so this will be a very interesting series to watch. Here’s a closer look at the matchups:

POINT GUARD: The Raptors have two outstanding point guards in Jose Calderon and T.J. Ford. These two guys will try to push the pace which would favor the Raptors style of play. Calderon played in 82 games (56 starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 11.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He will give Jameer Nelson of the Magic all kinds of trouble.

Jameer Nelson of the Magic is a shoot-first point guard and that hurts the team sometimes. Nelson played in 69 games (62 starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 10.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.

EDGE: RAPTORS

SHOOTING GUARD: Anthony Parker of the Raptors is a deadeye shooter from long range. Parker played in 82 games (all starts) and he averaged 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. The Magic better keep close to Parker on defense or they will pay for it.

Maurice Evans snagged a starting job shortly after being acquired by the Magic. He played in 68 games (47 starts) for the Magic and he averaged 9.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.

EDGE: RAPTORS

SMALL FORWARD: Jamario Moon was quite a find for the Raptors as a rookie. He plays all out at both ends of the basketball court. Moon played in 78 games (75 starts) with the Raptors this year and he averaged 8.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.4 blocked shots per game. He will have to keep in Hedo Turkoglu’s grill if the Raptors want to win this series.

Hedo Turkoglu really stepped up this year and played the best basketball of his NBA career. Turkoglu played in 82 games (all starts) and he averaged 19.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

EDGE: MAGIC

POWER FORWARD: The Magic will start Chris Bosh at power forward in this series and this will be the matchup to really watch on the court. Bosh played in 67 games (all starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 22.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game.

Rashard Lewis is not the prototype power forward as he’s a little soft around the basket. So he will likely need defensive help from Dwight Howard to slow Chris Bosh down. Lewis played in 81 games (all starts) for the Magic this season and he averaged 18.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

EDGE: RAPTORS

CENTER: The Raptors will likely start Rasho Nesterovic at center as he played very well late in the season. Nesterovic played in 71 games (39 starts) for the Raptors this year and he averaged 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He will need defensive help to stop Dwight Howard inside.

Dwight Howard played the best basketball of his NBA career this season. He played in 82 games (all starts) for the Magic this year and he averaged 20.7 points, 14.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per game. Howard will likely be bully in this series.

EDGE: HUGE FOR THE MAGIC

BENCH: T.J. Ford will be the player off the bench who makes the biggest impact for the Raptors. Ford played in 51 games (26 starts) this season for the Raptors and he averaged 12.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. F/C Andrea Bargnani will also likely have a big role in this series. He played in 78 games (53 starts) this year for the Raptors and he averaged 10.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Carlos Delfino had his best season in the NBA. Delfino played in 82 games (0 starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Jason Kapono is a good shooter but that’s his only real skill. Kapono played in 81 games (7 starts) for the Raptors and he averaged 7.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists. Kris Humphries also had a good season off the bench. The reserve power forward played in 70 games (0 starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Center Primoz Brezec didn’t get to play too much after his arrival in a trade with the Pistons. He played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Raptors this season and he averaged 3.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game.

Keith Bogans is probably the best player on the Magic’s bench. Bogans played in 82 games (35 starts) for the Magic this season and he averaged 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Keyon Dooling can handle either guard spot. He played in 72 games (1 start) for the Magic this year and he averaged 8.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Carlos Arroyo is the top point guard off the bench for the Magic. He played in 62 games (20 starts) for the Magic and he averaged 6.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Adonal Foyle will be the backup center for the Magic in this series. He played in 82 games (0 starts) for the Magic this season and he averaged 1.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Pat Garrity is nothing more than a long range shooter. He played in 31 games (0 starts) for the Magic this season and he averaged 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

EDGE: RAPTORS

PREDICTION: THE MAGIC WILL WIN THIS SERIES IN SIX HARD FOUGHT GAMES.