Playoffs Round 1: MAGIC v SIXERS Game 6 (Post-Game)

Yeah, baby.


Oh, and SVG mentioned Seminole High School in his post-game press conference. Just throwin' it out there.





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Playoffs Round 1: MAGIC v SIXERS Game 5 (Post-Game)

Another key Magic victory last night came at the cost of spark-plug shooting guard Courtney Lee, who took an accidental hit to the head from Dwight Howard as the high-riding center descended from a block attempt. The Magic reported today that he has a fractured sinus and will not play during Game 6 tomorrow night in Philadelphia.

Bummer.

And if that wasn't enough to cloud the win, NBA officials announced today that Dwight will be suspended for one game as punishment for a flagrant foul he committed against Sixers' center Samuel Dalembert.

You can watch a clip of the foul in question over at Yahoo Sports!

Watch closely, though, at the very beginning of the clip, and you'll notice that Dalembert grapples with Howard before actually shoving him from behind as Rashard's three-pointer hits. It seems like this was a classic playoffs frustration foul.

My analysis? No question, Howard threw an illegal elbow and ought to be punished according to NBA rules. With that said, I'd like to point out that Philadelphia's defense has been illegally hounding Dwight throughout the series. They're picking up fouls for it, but they're also getting away with a lot. Fact is, the Sixers have no answer for Howard's low-post dominance and they have, quite typically, resorted to familiar against-the-ropes Hack-a-Shaqtics.

Bottom line, the Sixers have been provoking Superman for four games now and it came to a head last night. Regardless, Dwight shouldn't have let his temper get the better of him. Deliberate illegal contact constitutes a flagrant, and quite honestly, I'd rather see our star player sit out a game and maintain the legitimacy of a series win than have to listen to Philly fans grouse about homecookin.'

Dwight had 24 points, 24 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal in Tuesday's game. He shot 57% from the field.

Rashard Lewis seems to have found his groove again, and added his own 24 beans. He hit 56% from the field and made 60% of his three-point attempts.

No predictions for tomorrow night. Considering the disadvantage of having both Howard and Lee out of action, the Magic will have to rely on strong performances from its starting forwards and bench. We'll just have to wait and see.


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Playoffs Round 1: MAGIC v SIXERS Game 4 (Post-Game)

Turk: "It's a new series now."

Game 4 transpired as another defensively-oriented maul and crawl, one which saw the Magic dangerously grazing the edge of OT before one Hedo Turkgolu (SF) rushed into a nearby phone booth with mere seconds left on the clock. Fans across the world were heard to take oaths and launch intricately profane invectives at the recently shorthanded third-seed squad. Exactly how many of these blue-blazered avengers aspired to Supermanhood, anyway?

Then, of a sudden, who should emerge from behind sliding glass doors but the near-forgotten Mr. Fourth Quarter! He danced left, then swayed for a time, languidly. The mouth beneath one flattened, hideous nose was seen to utter a strange string of unknown syllables. Methinks I spied a flight lambent, cascading doves as Señor Quatro pulled up beyond the arc. Rainbow three.

Swish.

The crowd in Philly goes dead.

What a game.

And in the immortal words of Joe Strummer, "What a relief!"


BOX SCORE at ESPN

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.

"Can't Front on Me" - Pete Rock & CL Smooth

One in the bag. Post-game reflections tomorrow.



Courtney Lee - Anesthetic Hymns player of the game

Playoffs Round 1: MAGIC v SIXERS Game 1

Much has already been made of the (admittedly) astounding comeback the Sixers pulled out in the fourth of yesterday's contest. For those who missed it, Philadelphia action hero Andre the Iguana channeled Michael Jordan with a last second fadeaway to put his team up by two with 2.2 remaining. On the other end, Hedo Turkoglu (née "Quatro," now "Turkey") flung a desperation three that missed completely.

I've discussed the results with a couple of friends back in Orlando, one of whom was present for the game, and here's the official Anesthetic Hymns conclusion. Orlando has everything it needs to rip right through the rest of this series. A strong road record, a budding Hall of Famer at the 5 (Howard), a rookie who has been known to play with the sagacity and surety of a 10-year vet (Lee), one of the most understated (if overpaid) All-Stars in the league (Lewis), a bonafide playground legend (Alston), and an aging backup PG / stained-glass window salesman who can still ball at Himalayan levels for short periods of time (Johnson). The Magic have experience and an Auerbach-esque coach behind them. Defense wins games and Orlando knows defense. The Sixers' shooting the ball so well represents more a case of stragglers' luck than any kind of proven winning formula. That's not to say that Philly didn't get it done on the defensive, but the next two games will go to show that speed and gunslinging can only carry you so far against a team as dangerous as the Magic.

Predictions for Game 2:

Expect a stronger showing from Lewis, who was coming off an injury, in Game 2 (Wednesday in Orlando). Hedo (also coming off an injury) will probably continue to slouch through the series, occasionally dazzling but also racking up TOs. He needs to get into a groove and that will take time. As much as people (including myself) will criticize his performance, his D against Iguodala on that fatal shot was impeccable. Orlando had no foul to give and he played perfectly for those few seconds. The fallaway is a nearly un-blockable, low-percentage shot that few in the league can pull off in the clutch (see MJ and Kobe highlight reels).

Lee will continue to play strong defense and contribute somewhere between 8 and 18 points. Howard will continue to be a juggernaut in the low post, where something like 28 points and 18 rebounds is very likely to happen. Alston will again rock 15 with 5-7 dimes. AJ will continue to be eye-popping AJ. Also, Pietrus was kind of a no-show in Game 1. In Game 2 we can look to him for some thrills from the baseline. Ditto for Tony Battie, though it's in the areas of defense and experience that he will contribute most.

Warlock AKA Machine AKA Gorat (Gortat) will continue to struggle, I think, but will find his footing further down the stretch. J.J. Redick will almost certainly continue to choke. If he can drill even two threes in this game I will gladly post a fervent apology.

Foyle will write an inspiring poem to be read in the locker room before Wednesday's game begins. Jeremy Richardson and Tyronn Lue will play horse for a while.

Thoughts?

Barbs?

Aspersions?

Oh, and the dreaded BOX SCORE.



You can do it if you try!