Halftime in Philadelphia: Magic 62, 76ers 48
by Evan Dunlap on Apr 30, 2009 9:00 PM EDT
in Halftime Updates
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PrintThe Orlando Magic jumped out to an early 30-15 lead against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series, and have not really looked back since. The Magic hold a commanding 62-48 advantage at intermission, resembling an offensive juggernaut in the process.
| Team | Pace | Efficiency | eFG% | FT Rate | OReb% | TO Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magic | 42 | 138.2 | 65.0% | 25.0 | 37.5 | 15.6 |
| 76ers | 106.7 | 46.2% | 30.8 | 27.8 | 15.6 |
Rashard Lewis has indeed seized the opportunity to carry the Magic to victory, leading the team with 17 points, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots, so the 56% of 3QC readers who picked him to pace the team in scoring this evening look pretty smart right now. With Dwight Howard suspended, Lewis has more freedom to operate in the low post, from which he has scored effectively. In fact, Philadelphia hasn't defended anyone particularly well. The best defense on Rafer Alston (6-of-11 for 14 points in 18 minutes) and Hedo Turkoglu (10 points on 4-of-4 shooting in 16 minutes) has been played by themselves; Skip has missed his fair share of layups, while Turk has committed 3 turnovers. J.J. Redick has lit up the Sixers with 9 points on 3-of-3 from three-point range. Even Tony Battie has gotten in on the act, with 7 points in 7 minutes off the bench. 7 first-half minutes for Battie, with is 28-times as much time he played in Games 4 and 5 combined.
Orlando's hot start from the field has limited the Sixers' vaunted transition offense, thus forcing them to execute in the halfcourt, in which they are far less effective. Andre Miller and Louis Williams, the point guards, have 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting; the rest of the team has 25 on 10-of-28. Obviously they need more production from Andre Iguodala from Thaddeus Young. Don't count against those guys eventually turning it on... but the entire team--save for the veteran Miller--has looked rattled in what is an elimination game for them.
Orlando needs to maintain its defensive intensity. If it does that, it stands a great chance of coming back to Orlando with the series in hand.
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The Magic's effort in the first-half was superb. The entire team was engaged from the opening tip.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
I comment WAY too much.
Die for my family and live for the moment/And that's the main difference between me and my opponent - Phonte of Little Brother
Seriously. Awesome full team effort.
by Stan in a Van (Down by the River) on Apr 30, 2009 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Definitely. I was impressed.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
I comment WAY too much.
Die for my family and live for the moment/And that's the main difference between me and my opponent - Phonte of Little Brother
Trade Dwight
hahaha just kidding…I had confidence we could pull this out, but i never would have guessed we’d have our best game of the series. everyone stepped up…biggest props to JJ for having the game of his life after having so many struggles just cracking the rotation. If Lee is missing for the long-term (which sounds likely) he’s going to have to keep it up because I’m convinced Pietrus picked the number 20 because it is his IQ
Yeah, the Magic picked a good time to play lights-out basketball.
Right now, I think the assumption should be made that Lee won’t return the remainder of the playoffs. I say that because Orlando needs to adjust accordingly and not wait for Courtney. If C. Lee comes back, great. If not, the Magic can’t wait around for him .. hopefully Pietrus and Redick are up to the task.
If tonight was any indication, they are .. thing is, they need to keep it going for multiple games.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
I comment WAY too much.
Die for my family and live for the moment/And that's the main difference between me and my opponent - Phonte of Little Brother
At least one Magic player thinks the Magic are better off without Dwight, according to Andre Miller
From the AP recap:
“They’re actually better without Dwight Howard,” Sixers guard Andre Miller said. “One of their players told me that they were better without Dwight Howard. They said the ball moves quicker. They’re not standing around a lot.”
I’d like to know which player said that.
.. I'd like to know too.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
I comment WAY too much.
Die for my family and live for the moment/And that's the main difference between me and my opponent - Phonte of Little Brother
I’m guessing it was Pietrus. He made some similar comments while in GSW — ball stoppers, lack ball movement, didn’t like isolation offense, wanted to be more involved … that type of stuff … so if I were guessing, he’d top my list.
…………………………………………………………………….
As for the comment, it’s not altogether wrong. Obviously the team is worse without Dwight, but I’m assuming the comment was just misinterpreted or said incorrectly.
I think the team’s offense is at it’s best when Dwight is scoring 10-12 garbage points a night, 6-8 points off pick and rolls, and 4-6 points off post ups. When opposition teams force Dwight to be a scorer, a creator out of the post, it damages the team’s offense hugely.
Dwight isn’t a prolific enough scorer to punish teams for this strategy, and, he isn’t a good enough passer out of the post so his teammates generally get lower percentage shots than they normally get. It takes the team too much time (shot clock) and effort to get him the ball, while at the same time the rest of the team is fairly stagnant — which makes it harder for the team’s creative players (Hedo, Nelson, Rafer, and to a far lesser extent Rashard) to do their jobs. The team struggles, struggles more so, to create shots for role players when Dwight is the top scoring option, versus a perimeter orientated drive and kick game.
Making Dwight a scorer makes Orlando a worse offensive team.
It’s one of the best, if not the best, defensive strategies a team can make …. especially if the opposition team have a solid-to-excellent post defender.
Clearly the quote/comment is wrong, but there is some truth behind the comment.
by NBR on May 1, 2009 5:54 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree but I also think that this game demonstrated the need for SVG to push the Magic to go for offensive rebounds more often.
Last night the Magic went for SEVERAL Off Rbs and it kept their offense going while simultaneously crushing Philly’s spirit.
Also, I think the Magic should start to run offensive sets where they pull Dwight away from the basket, let Rashard work down low and tell Dwight to go after the offensive rebound. The less Rashard settles for 3 pt shots, the better off (& more dangerous )the Magic are.
Not too hard to do ..
.. just need to run more pick & rolls with Dwight at the top of the key, while simultaneously spotting Rashard down low on the low block (left hand side, his preference).
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
I comment WAY too much.
Die for my family and live for the moment/And that's the main difference between me and my opponent - Phonte of Little Brother
I would agree that the Magic benefit less than Howard is forced to shoulder the scoring load.
It’s no secret that Orlando plays the best when Hedo and Rashard are as involved as Dwight.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
I comment WAY too much.
Die for my family and live for the moment/And that's the main difference between me and my opponent - Phonte of Little Brother
And I don't know who saw the Celtics-Bulls game
but I went to the bar and was able to catch some of it during the Magic game. But Rondo basically threw Kirk Hinrich into the scorers table. There is no way he should be allowed to play game 7. If the NBA has any credibility or integrity at all, he will not be playing.
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if Rondo will be reprimanded for his actions against Hinrich.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
I comment WAY too much.
Die for my family and live for the moment/And that's the main difference between me and my opponent - Phonte of Little Brother
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