It’s all a matter of greatness.
In Game 2, the question was if the Sixers comeback from 18 down in Game 1 was a fluke. In the first half, it was all Andre Miller. The Reticent Alchemist walked through hell drinking a gasoline cocktail in the first half, scoring 21. He was eazzzy.
The problem was, because he was heat hot, Andre Iguodala was limited to three shots in the half and scored 1 point. He was active and helped Miller facilitate the offense, but needs to take more shots whether plays are called for him or not. Once he puts his athletic stamp on the game early, he will become more of a feared player. He’s not a bust people. Iguodala has mad talent, but as his game personality grows, we’ll see how good he’s gonna be.
Who can guard this guy when he’s on? Definitely no one on the Magic.
This is something I’ve noticed throughout the season: When he’s hopping through the lane and his offense is on green, he’s very effective. When he’s doing the point forward thing and not lathered up, he’s not driving to the basket as much and limits his shots to broken sets.
Thad the Young one had 10 in the opening half. It took 16 minutes plus before someone other than Young and Miller to score when M-16 hit a 12 footer over Howard.
Another question was how Dwight Howard would respond after a couple of days of criticism. He received his Defensive Player of the Year trophy before the game, becoming the youngest player ever to win the award. I stand by my words that he needs to get some mean in that world-class physique. If he wants to be an all-time great, it’s up to him.
He and Iguodala are similar in that sense. Do they want to become great or just stars?
For the game, Dwight had 11 Dreams, 10 Barkleys and 4 Mutombos in a little over 30 minutes of action. He fouled out with 3:11 left and looked out of sorts. The Sixers were very physical with the big fella early and often, and threw every big they had on the roster his way.
He was 3-7 from the stripe.
Courtney Lee hit 10-17 shots for 24 points. He drove to the basket, hit the long range shot and also the pull up. His talent is on the rise and he’s a very confident player within the Magic offense.
The Magic held a 44-37 rebounding edge (14-9 offensive) and shot 12 more free throws than the Sixers (30-18).
Sixers went on a 16-6 run heading into the fourth. Again, they were down by 18 and were looking for a big Magic collapse in their own building.
Not this time bruh.
Rashard Lewis, Courtney Lee and Anthony Johnson hit big shots down the stretch and the ball bounced where the home cooking was.
The Magic had 6 in double figures led by Lee’s aforementioned 24. Turkoglu and Lewis put in 16 each. Howard (fouled out 3:11 in the 4th) and Rafer Alson both had 11.
Miller with 30 and 7 boards. Iguodala had 21 (20 in second half), 7 assists, 8 boards. Young with 20. Magic and Sixers tied 1-1.
The Sixers didn’t make the same plays they did in Game 1 down the stretch. Even when Howard fouled out, Philadelphia resorted to outside shots that were given to them.
As the Sixers head back home, will they man up and take their franchise to the next level or fall back, giving Orlando the organizational boost they need?
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