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Rivalries are made in the playoffs, but how they play out in the regular season can be important as well.

The Cavaliers and Magic will meet on Wednesday for the first time since they battled in the Eastern Conference Finals in May. The Magic got the better of that series, winning 4-2, although a lot has changed since then.

Cleveland traded for Shaquille O’Neal this off season to counter Dwight Howard and also signed two, tall athletic free agents in Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon.

Orlando lost Hedo Turkoglu to free agency, but quickly traded for Vince Carter and young sharpshooter Ryan Anderson. They also signed three key free agents in Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes and Jason Williams.

Still, even with all the roster turnover, two things remain the same: LeBron James and Dwight Howard.

Both players were spectacular last season–James won the MVP and Howard was Defensive Player of the Year–but saved their best for each other.

James averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and eight assists in the series, including a triple-double in the Cavs game five victory. Howard averaged 25.8 points and 13 rebounds and had 40 points in the series-clinching game six.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace struggled to guard Howard in the loss, which is why O’Neal was brought in this summer.

“I’ve been in a while, and I’ve played against the best of them and he’s pretty good,” said O’Neal this week. ”He’s young, active and agile. But there’s nothing that I haven’t seen before.”

Howard’s game has been compared to a young Shaq’s over the past few years, even though on offense there is no comparison, at least at this point. Last season, at the age of 23, Howard averaged 20.6 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. During the 1995-96 season, at which time he was 23, O’Neal averaged 26.6 points, 11 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.

Howard is still fairly raw offensively, which shines through against the top centers in the league. Against Pau Gasol and the Lakers in the 2009 Finals he averaged just 14 points in Orlando’s four losses, well below his 20.3 point average for the entire postseason.

Whether the 37-year-old O’Neal can slow down the athletic center is still unknown, but Wednesday’s game could be a good measuring stick. The two played against one another just once last season, resulting in a 111-99 Magic victory. O’Neal scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Howard scored 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds.

“I’m really too old to be trying to outscore 18-year-olds,” said O’Neal after the game. “It’s not really my role anymore.”

His quote should continue to ring true now that he plays for the Cavs. With a star like LeBron James alongside him, O’Neal will not be counted on to carry the load vs. Howard and the Magic. Instead the 15-time All-Star will look to do his part, which is guarding the opposition’s young center.

Although seeing how O’Neal performs has to be important to James, at this point in the season the main thing he is looking for from his team is improvement, especially in a hostile environment like Orlando.

“We are looking forward to going down there and continuing to get better and helping our chances of becoming the team we want to be late in the season,” said James.