The Orlando Magic and star Dwight Howard struggled in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal, getting routed by 19 points and scoring only 72, 13 fewer than their previous low this season.
The main reason for Orlando's offensive struggles was the Pistons' group efforts defensively against Howard, who will need a monster Game 2 for Orlando to rebound - the Magic are 6-point betting underdogs (over/under: 185) on WagerWeb.com.
Jason Maxiell worked the first 5 1/2 minutes on Howard in Game 1 before Detroit coach Flip Saunders subbed him out. Then Rasheed Wallace took over manning up Howard. Later, Antonio McDyess switched onto him, and for 12 minutes Theo Ratliff helped out, too. When Howard put the ball on the floor, the Pistons would occasionally send help, but they battled him for the most part one-on-one.
"We've got so many guys running in there 6-10, big guys stepping in there after them," Ratliff said. "They really can't match up with us."
In the first quarter against Detroit, Howard had six points, five rebounds and three blocks. The rest of the game, he scored just six points, grabbed three rebounds and didn't swat a shot. Howard's 12 points were the fewest he scored during this postseason and his eight rebounds marked a career low in 10 playoff games.
By comparison, Howard averaged 22.6 points, 18.2 rebounds and 3.8 blocks against Toronto in Round 1.
In addition, Howard injured his left thumb late in the third quarter of Game 1. He returned early in the fourth with the base of his thumb wrapped in a splint, but he only scored two points the rest of the way. He finished Saturday night on the bench with his hand wrapped in ice.Howard had an X-ray on the thumb after the game at the Palace, but he said it was only a bruise.
"I'll be all right," he said.
Coach Stan Van Gundy said the Pistons played Howard straight-up more than any team in the league, which normally would work in his favor.
"There's not a big remedy there," Van Gundy said. "It wasn't like some of the teams who doubled him all the time and everything else. He didn't really see a double team. He was one-on-one. They were very physical. They did not allow him to get angles to the rim, so he had to shoot over the top with a very physical presence. I thought he made some good, strong, forceful moves and was not able to get the ball in the basket. We've got to find him some ways to get him the ball deeper."
Creating more room for Howard and getting the ball to him "in better spots," said Van Gundy, is essential for a Magic offense that averaged 104.5 points per game during the season.
It also didn't help that Orlando was 2-of-15 on 3-pointers in the series opener. The Magic set a club record by making 801 3-pointers this season, and Game 1 was the first time Orlando didn't hit at least five 3-pointers in a game this season.
Another bad Game 1 sign was that the Magic were 10-for-20 from the free throw line after connecting on 77.3 percent in the first round.
"I thought our poor free-throw shooting demoralized us a little bit," Van Gundy said.
Betting trends: Under is 9-1 in Magic's last 10 road games. ... Over is 6-2 in Magic's last 8 Monday games... Magic are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 Monday games. ... Over is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings in Detroit. ... Road team is 15-6-3 ATS in the last 24 meetings.
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