This matchup will be served first

Now it’s Dwight Howard vs. LeBron James, not quite winner-take-all, but a highly appealing appetizer.

So much so that there is a search for another nickname for James on the eve of the Eastern Conference finals, which open tonight between Howard’s Magic and James’ Cavaliers.

For the moment, it’s merely Superman (Howard) vs. the King (James).

“I thought about that,” Cleveland forward Joe Smith said. “Both of those guys are great talents. I’ve played with LeBron and he’s a great teammate, but we’ve got to come up with a good name for him, especially if we walk away from this series with a victory.”

Walking away with a win could mean a date with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals. Bryant may be several thousand miles away, but the hype machine is just that and any little nugget involving the greatness of LeBron vs. the greatness of Kobe is worth exploring.

Someone asked James about the recent endorsement of him by Jerry West. West told Reuters that “LeBron has surpassed Kobe as a player.”

James called the words humbling.

“That’s the logo of the NBA, man,” James said. “He’s everywhere. Can’t play basketball without seeing Jerry West. . . . All I can say is, ‘Thank you.’ ”

First, the Magic and the Nuggets may have a little something to say about the Cavaliers and the Lakers.

Orlando left the Cleveland floor to the well-rested Cavaliers, staying home to practice Tuesday after a grueling seven-game series against the Boston Celtics. They were scheduled to travel here Tuesday night.

Surprisingly, Coach Stan Van Gundy did reveal one hand, telling the Orlando Sentinel that speedy rookie Courtney Lee would start against the Cavaliers, instead of J.J. Redick because of matchup reasons.

Orlando won the season series against the Cleveland, 2-1, including a 29-point blowout in early April.

“At the risk of giving away a huge secret . . . because of matchups we’re going to go back to Courtney in this series. For Delonte West, a guy who puts the ball on the floor more and attacks with the dribble, I think Courtney is the better matchup, so we are going to go that way,” Van Gundy told the newspaper.

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com