G2: ORL @ DET aka Magic gets Robbed...

[TheGlyde]

@

@ Detroit Monday May 5th 7pm on TNT

Probable Starters:
Pistons
Chauncey Billups

Rip Hamilton

Tayshaun Prince

Jason Maxiell

Rasheed Wallace


Magic
Jameer Nelson

Maurice Evans

Hedo Turkoglu

Rashard Lewis

Dwight Howard


Game Thoughts
- In Game 1, The Magic shot just 2-15 from down town, by far their worst long range shooting of the season, The Magic will need to get back on track here if they are to compete, and it's hard to expect them to shoot so badly twice in a row.

- Dwight Howard needs to get back on the boards and hit some free throws. His 8 rebounds in game 1 marked the 1st time he has ever been held below double figures in the playoffs.

- Billups was held in check from the floor, but Nelson and Dooling need to restrict his access to the free throw line.

- The Magic picked their poison and Jason Maxiell made them pay, can he do it again?

Prediction
The fact is, if the Magic lose this game by more than 10points the series probably won't make it past game 5. They simply must come out with high intensity and play from in front, not behind. The Magic aren't expected to win on the road, so a win or even an unlucky/close loss could give them the momentum they need to win their games at home and extend this series.

I predict a close game that could go either way, someone will step up in the final minutes, will it be Billups, Rashard, Hedo, Rip or Meer?

I say Hedo.

(Thanks Adam)

Magic by 2.

[bstein14]

Orlando plays a much better game.

Close after 3 quarters, Detroit pulls away in the 4th.

Pistons 105
Orlando 95

Dwight with 17 and 12

[mattyBoi]

Magic win by 10

[mattyBoi]

Series will be 2-2 going back to Detroit

[drsd]

..

Time for Stuff to bring his A-game:

[7r5ur]

Girlz by 12

[pikimagic]

we need to steal this one bad.......in hedo we trust

[Jackattaq]

If the Pistons continue to play FOCUSED ball, I see this coming back to Orlando 2-0. The one thing the Pistons did in game 1 was they DID NOT ALLOW OPEN SPACE for the Magic's 3 pt shooters. None of those guys got in rhythm or flow. If the Pistons play Dwight 1 on 1 and make it hard for him to get EASY buckets, I can't see how the rest of the Magic players are going to get open. Detroit's man vs man defense is usually pretty good.

I'm expecting a closer game, but I do expect Detroit to pull it out in the end.

[UKMagic]

Dwight Howard has to be uber-dominant inside....something to the tune of 25, 20 and 5....at that point Detroit is gonna have to start leaving some of our shooters open.

I get the feeling Dwight's pride is hurt and that may just spell trouble for Mr Maxiell and co....

And yeah I still think Maxiell is a punk

[UCFJayBird]

if the Magic play THEIR game they'll have a shot and can win this game. But if they play Detroit's game again, we'll be coming back here down 0-2. Dwight needs to come with some fire after his lackluster performance. The wing players need to continue to shoot those 3s, against Detroit for some reason they looked uncomfortable and wouldn't take shots they normally would (thinking too much).

Optimist: Magic by 4
Pessimist: Detroit by 10
Realist: Detroit by 3

[CourtsideTV]

we lose this game we lose the series.

[NEM]

im looking at this as a must win situation for us, if we want to make it past this round and make it past game 5 of this series. if we win, i think we can come home and split, if not win both, putting us into a situation where even if we lose in detroit, we can come home and close out here or tie the series at 3 sending it back to detroit for game 7

GO MAGICS

[Jigish]

I predict a 45 point loss by the magic, after reading the trash talkign articles its clear Detroit got into our heads. So yeah, sweep in 4.

[drsd]

There are two and a half keys to this game:

1) FT% . If Howard is to dominant, then he needs to attack the rime. Here, he will get fouls and he needs to hit the charity shots. Also, Nelson is quoted that he will drive more. If so, he to will get hacked, and needs to hit his charity shots.

2a) FG%. THe Magic need to be well above 45% with their shooting. And ...

2b) ... for this to happen, the Lewis, Turkoglu, et al. need to rediscover the long ball. THe Magic need a 5-12 or better night behind the arc. Actually, an 8-20 night might be more required.


Minor points include the old hat of lowering TOs, winning the rebounding battle, and dominating the FG% comparative stats.

It already seems quite clear that the Pistons will continue to get more scoring opportunities per game. For the Magic to win, they must be more efficient and have more points per scoring chance.

[drsd]

Accuscore has not-so-surprisingly dipped percentage wise for game two. The Magic are at 38% to win the game. Sounds about right.

[Superman]

A must win for Orlando.
We lose this game, we lose the series.

GO MAGIC!!

[Bay_Areas_Finest]

lol @ the Jameer photo.


Gotta be truthful guys, my confidence level is a big fat ZERO right now. That game 1 was so pathetic I had to turn the game off w/ about 6 or 7 minutes left.

Anything can happen though. Go Magic.

[magicfan4life05]

The magic gotta steal this game, if that doesnt happen, i just cant see how they can then go 4-1 against the pistons. This game is critical if they want to win the series, or just make it competitive until the pistons win.

[magicfanejc42]

This is how I see it, Dwight needs to come out with a fire like never before.The momentum has to begin in our favor, and if it does it will stay there.. Lewis needs to come out takin it to the hoop as often as possible, same as Hedo....I love that this team can shoot the three ball, but for this series that has to ALWAYS be the second thought. Detoit has a team that will go down and score two every time. We need to worry about gettin our own, more than anything.

It's all up to Dwight's passion, and his willpower. It's all about tonight, the Magic need to come out with a GREAT confidence in themselves if not, this series is over 4-1...

Go Magic

We lose by 5....Come on Magic, Prove me wrong!

[Rodya]

Good luck for game two. I really respect this years Magic team, you have a good head coach, one of the best franchise player, and a couple great complimentary pieces. That being said, this team is still a back-court away from contending for anything. You guys should target TJ or Calderon in the off-season.

Pistons pull-away late in the third, win by 12.