| 22 April 2009
Before this game started, I wondered aloud to no one in particular why it wouldn't be one of the featured games on TNT. Sure Miami-Atlanta has Dwayne Wade, but game one in this series was infinitely entertaining and the likelihood of seeing a handful of ridiculously athletic plays from Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala was very high.
Had I only known what I was in store for me.
This was one of the sloppiest playoff games I have ever witnessed. There was an abundance of turnovers, the shot selection was atrocious and decision making of both teams left a lot to be desired. As if that wasn't bad enough, neither team cracked 75% from the free throw line (Orlando 73% & Philadelphia 67%).
Many will misinterpret that there was great defense being played which led to those turnovers and low field goal percentages, but that is just lazily looking at the box score. There were stretches of good defense by both teams, but more often than not the Sixers were playing one-on-one and jacking up off-balance shots or the Magic would force a pass that just wasn't there.
Andre Miller finished with 30 points and had a great first half which allowed the Sixers to stay in the game, but he also only had 3 assists and 4 turnovers. His insistence to score at every opportunity kept his teammates besides Thaddeus Young from getting involved. In fact Young and Miller were the only players that had scored until Marreese Speights hit jump shot at the 7:09 mark of the second quarter. Young and Miller had accounted for 32 of the Sixers' 39 first-half points. Andre Iguodala, the star of game one, had one point at the half on just three shots.
That wasn't to say that Orlando's stars were doing much in this game. Howard finish with just 11 points and 10 rebounds after fouling out with 3:11 left in the game. Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu combined for 32 on just 7 of 24 shooting. Rafer Alston was repeatedly getting beat by Andre Miller and only ended up playing 22 minutes.
I don't want to say that Orlando outplayed Philadelphia in this game in as much as they just didn't play as badly, so it was almost as if they won be default.
Why the Magic Won This Game
Courtney Lee has decided to play the role of savior for the Magic in this game. He was the only player that brought consistent offense scoring 24 points on 10-17 shooting. He drove aggresively to the basket and finished around the rim. He also added 3 steals and didn't have a single turnover in 37 minutes of play. For a team that just couldn't seem to find consistent scoring, Lee was the shot in the arm that put them over the top in this game.
Why the 76ers Lost This Game
Reggie Evans had a stretch at the end of the first half that was one of the worst displays of basketball ever produced. He had a +/- of -7 in just 8 minutes of play which is about as inefficient as a player can be. It would be so easy to blame him for the loss, but it wasn't his fault that Samuel Dalembert and Theo Ratliff got into early foul trouble. The real culprit was a lack of ball movement, unbalanced scoring and an inability to secure defensive rebounds down the stretch.
Heading into Game Three
The Sixers have done an impressive job of slowing down Orlando's outside game while also keeping Howard from getting touches, but it feels like that is all about to change. The question is: do the Sixers have anyone besides Miller, Young and Iguodala that can offset that? I don't think they do.
Prediction: Orlando gets a close win in Philly
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