Playoffs Round 1: MAGIC v SIXERS Game 2 (Post-Game)

The headlines all read much the same. "Magic barely survive late Sixers push."

There were a great many similarities between last night's game and game one. The stars, once again, were Courtney Lee and Dwight Howard, although the recently-named Defensive Player of the Year fouled out with minutes still left in the fourth. The team couldn't quite shake themselves from the scoring dearth that let them down in the series opener. The three-ball simply wouldn't fall; Hedo continued to turn the ball over, making bad passes and a sucession of poor-choice fadeaways. Rashard Lewis continued his search for rhythm.

The all-important difference, of course, is that we won.

Game three is tomorrow night in Philadelphia. If the Magic are going to win again and drive this thing home, they're going to have to dismantle the Sixers' double Andre blitzkrieg. Sure, Philly has other options on the offensive side (Young, principally) and players like Ratliff can easily become defensive behemoths, but it very much seems to me that if Orlando shuts down one Andre and let's the other think he's got to take over the game, things will run according to the Stan Van Plan.

We'll know which way the tide has turned late tomorrow night.

Digits crossed.

Note: the Orlando Magic placed third in the league for rebounds per game during the regular season, registering roughly 43.25 in each contest. Philadelphia ranked 17th with 41.15. The Sixers out-rebounded the Magic in game one, but only very slightly. Given that the Magic scored just a paltry 19 to Philly's 35 in the fourth, it's fair to assess that the bulk of these extra rebounds came late. In game two, the Magic out-rebounded the Sixers 44 to 37.