Andrew Unterberger recaps last night's listless loss in Orlando. For video of Dwight Howard's nasty elbow click here
If
there was a positive to take from the game tonight, it'd have to be
that the Sixers at least kept the Magic honest. Down 14 with a little
over five minutes to go, they went on a little 8-0 mini-run, the kind
we're almost coming to expect from Philly late in these games, to cut
it to a respectable six with only three minutes to go. But the Sixers
looked exhausted by the fourth quarter, especially the two 'Dres, who'd
had to shoulder a ridiculous amount of the offensive burden with no one
except Willie Green (respect to our much-maligned two-guard, he kept
this team at pace in the first quarter) stepping up and the rest of the
team utterly smothered by a stellar Magic interior defense. A couple
sloppy turnovers and the game was over. The final score wasn't a
blowout, but it did feel--for the first time all series, really--that
the better team decisively won tonight. Yuck.
I don't really know what to make of Thaddeus Young's involvement in this series thus far. The team's not looking for him, and when he does manage to get looks he seems hesitant and out of rhythm. I don't know if it's something with his ankle that the team's been downplaying, or a general lack of confidence that DiLeo has in his second-year player (who, lest we forget, is still just barely in his 20s--a year younger than Marreese Speights, even, who has seen his minutes similarly cut to nil). Whatever the reason, though, without Young, there just hasn't been enough offense on the floor--Sweet Lou has been utterly annihilated by the Magic's interior D, Willie Green never stays hot for longer than a quarter and any look Sammy gets is one look too many. The Sixers were playing maybe their best ball of the year when Thad was on his 20-point streak, and you really just can't overvalue what having another big scoring threat on the floor can do for this team--especially since, skilled as they are, neither of the 'Dre's are really unstoppable offensive forces without others to play off of. It's hard to hope for two more wins when the Sixers haven't been able to break 85 in the last few games.
Of course, the main thing to really give the Sixers hope for the rest of the series doesn't have much to do with Philly at all. As Enrico previously mentioned, it looks like the league might have to take another look at a bow thrown by Howard at Sammy Dalembert in the game's opening minutes, with perhaps a one-game suspension for the Magic's unstoppable centrifugal force in the works. Such a blow to the Orlando lineup would by no means ensure a game six victory for our boys (Two words: Paul Pierce), but it would certainly sway the balances towards the Sixers in a series that, even with tonight's game accounted for, has been a relatively even one. If I were a betting man, though, I wouldn't wager on anything happening--Howard's Gentle Giant rep should give him a fair amount of credit, and although it looked purposeful, it could be argued as incidental--especially since, as has been pointed out, nobody at the Sixers took umbrage enough to do anything in retaliation. Stay tuned for further updates on this, in any event.
But even if Howard's out there, the series still isn't over. I considered writing in my game five preview that whatever team won tonight would almost certainly win the series, but it just really wasn't true--neither team has displayed enough firepower in this series to win based on momentum alone, so I'm thinking you actually gotta win a fourth game before you are unreservedly declared the victor here. In any event, I'll be watching, and so should you--one thing you can't question is that the Sixers, even the often infuriatingly passive Andre Miller, have been playing their hearts out, dying to come away this series. Don't give up on 'em yet.
Game six two nights from now, back in Philly. They say you gotta stay hungry, and baby, the Sixers'll be just about starving Thursday night. (Sorry, last one. Probably.)
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/04/da...
