The Fan Voice: "No Pistons, No Problem??"

By Live or Die Magic | April 21st, 2009


The people are saying that the Orlando Magic should still win the first round series with the Philadelphia 76ers. And by people I mean me. Just now.

But I still find it humorous that Magic Land breathed a collective sigh of relief when it became certain that we wouldn’t face the supposedly “tougher” Detroit Pistons and instead got the Sixers, a team known more for its athletic wing players. See, while it can be debated that the Pistons are tougher than us – our team defense is solid – it apparently can also be debated that the Sixers are more athletic than us. Right? No, not really. It can’t be denied that the Sixers caught all of us off guard in Game One. Call it karma or call it the aftermath of a bad O-Rena Hot Dog, but when a fan base is so excited to take on one team instead of another, it isn’t surprising that this is the outcome. Had we won Game One in a match with Detroit, we’d be as giddy as WPMagic at a Ryan Adams concert, because it wouldn’t have been expected. Instead, we go from what should have been a ho-hum Game One victory over the Sixers to a wha-WHAT opening game loss that has us scratching our heads like we’ve just read a Jareth Cutestory post.

In Game One, the Magic took a fourth quarter beating from a team not known for its shooting. We took a class in wide open three point shooting from a player, Donyell Marshall, who was probably only in the game because his team was down by 18! The Sixers are a solid team to be sure. The point guard position is more than solid with Andre Miller. The center position is also solid with Samuel Dalembert. The small forward position is in tremendous shape with Andre Iguodala. Assuming that Elton Brand returns healthy and integrates himself successfully with the rest of the Sixers starters, then they have a very solid core amongst those four. Then, you have dynamic, young wing players like Louis Williams and Thaddeus Young that can play several positions and are only getting better. It should not be surprising that the Sixers were able to catch the Magic off guard both in the first half and certainly in the fourth quarter.

But the Magic have a clear, unmistakeable advantage over the Sixers with Dwight Howard. Until he was swiped in the eye, he was having his way with the Sixers. We lost our momentum after that, and lapses on defense led to wide open shots for the Sixers. In what logic-based universe should Donyell Marshall shoot 3 for 4 from beyond the arc? Was Robert Horry in the house or something? The likelyhood of that happening again are slim to none, with slim being fed an O-Rena Chicken Tender Basket for good measure. Stan Van Gundy would have to be catatonic in an O-rena janitor’s closet for Marshall to see two feet of space in any further games in this series.

Dwight Howard had a monster game...with that still being an understatement. Rafer Alston shot poorly but otherwise was solid and was our only threat from downtown. After slow starts, Courtney Lee and Rashard Lewis heated up, with Lee scoring 13 points in the 2nd quarter! Anthony Johnson, of all people, had the play of the game, going inside on noted shot blocker Theo Ratliff and laying a near-buzzer beater throw down. Since there has to be something negative to say after a loss of such magnitude, I will single out the bench, and Hedo Turkoglu. Outside of Johnson, the bench gave the Magic 43 surprisingly ineffectual minutes. Starters always play more in the playoffs, but I still would have expected the bench players to have some impact while they are in the game. As for Turkoglu, it was almost as if he wasn’t there! He only took 8 shots and only made two of them. He only took two 3 pointers, with one being a one-winged duck of a shot at the end of the game. It was so bad a shot that Coach Van Gundy called Turk out in his post-game press conference, implying that the team still needs to work with Turk on when to take shots with a short clock.

Someone only looking at the Magic’s box score would wonder how we lost. We shot more free throws than the Sixers, and for a good percentage. We shot nearly 49% from the field, which is excellent. We only had 10 turnovers, which is acceptable. The rebounding, assists, blocks, and steals totals for both teams were extremely even. However, we allowed the Sixers to shoot over 51 percent from the field. More shocking, we allowed them to shoot 58% from beyond the arc, while making two more 3’s than us. We shot a very poor 28 percent from 3-land, making only 5. Truly, the game was won by them and lost by us during the crucial moments at the beginning of the fourth.

So what happens tonight and for the rest of the series? First off, I think that Howard will try to assert himself even more tonight. The reigning 2009 NBA Defensive Player of the Year will likely take off early and often. As for Hedo, I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes 8 shots (his Game One total) in the first quarter alone. Personally, I would rather him take his risky shots early in the game as opposed to later. I know he has the reputation of “Mr. Fourth Quarter,” but personally, I’d rather that the Magic not have to rely on his heroics and instead feed the big man down low and then ride him to an early and definitive lead.

Look for Alston to at least keep up with Miller, if not totally take him out of the game. Look for Courtney Lee to do anything he wants with the basketball. Look for Rashard Lewis to take at least 8 three pointers and make at least four. And look for the Magic fans to go home happy tonight.


This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.

I resent that comment, and will never read a Fan Voice post again.

edit: I don't read them anyway.

edit2: Yeah I do.

edit3: Jerk

edit4: Good read LOD!

Thanks loyal reader #1.
Now, if WPMagic shows up, we can call it a day.

The way we played in game 1 it wouldn't have mattered who we were matched up with, 2 guys showed up and our offense is really off.

Last night they fought but the offense is still off, we are going to have a hard time unless we get back on track.

I was one of the few that wanted Detroit in the first round, and I was also shocked by the way a large portion of the forum was talking about a sweep against Philly.

This is exactly what our team cannot afford: we have enough talent for win with anyone, but we're not at that point in which we'll win the game anyway without put any type of effort on it.

Now we're even, but it could be a long way if we couldn't take care of the business right now.


BTW, great read as always LODM, and the reference to some users are laughable...

I missed this one, great read. Donyell Marshall was NOT given any good looks last night considering shooting three's is the only thing he can do.

Rashard also attacked him off the dribble like every other team in the league does when he steps on the floor.

We still shoot way under our average on three's and get a 9 pt win. We play our game with energy and this series will be over in 5 or 6 games.

i think this just turned into a 7 game series wit courtney lee and dwight howard both out tonite.

quote:

Originally posted by tom0131:
i think this just turned into a 7 game series wit courtney lee and dwight howard both out tonite.

I'm so very glad to see that this was not the case!