Halftime in Detroit: Pistons 43, Magic 42

The Magic trail the Pistons, 43-42, at halftime, but I'm not worried at all. Strange as it may sound, this low-scoring, slow-paced game is exactly how I wanted us to play. Think about it: we're here to win a series and to earn some respect. How great would it be to steal Game One from the Pistons in the Palace by beating them at their own game?

Obviously, there's a high degree of difficulty here. The Pistons have taken away our biggest weapon, the three-point shot, by single-covering Dwight Howard. They're forcing us to play outside our comfort zone, and we've responded fairly well. If you told me "Ben, the Magic will shoot a mere 1-of-7 from three-point range in the first half and only trail by a point," I would have said, "You're crazy." So, I apologize.

If we can ever convert on a few open looks from downtown -- and that's a BIG if -- we can escape Game One with a victory. Join the discussion in the game thread, won't you?