What They're Saying: Sixers vs. Magic Game 1 4/19

-Dwight Howard was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week for their NBA Playoff preview. The headline: "Too Much Fun: Can the Magic's Dunk Machine Get Serious for a Moment?" has caused some stirring within the Magic organization to defend their fun-loving behemoth in the middle. Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated does a very good job describing Howard and how he does not quite fit the mold of the typical dominating center, but yet cannot escape the shadow of the previous dominating center, Shaquille O'Neal.

-But back to the headline. Stan Van Gundy has slammed it, but The Orlando Sentinel's Mike Bianchi says the Magic should embrace it. Who says a guy who smiles cannot win a title? Look at Magic Johnson.

-Whether he likes it or not, this postseason is going to be a big judgment of Dwight Howard. He is the presumptive Defensive Player of the Year, an Olympic gold medalist and the leading vote getter for the All Star game. But as Ballard mentions in his article on Howard, none of it matters unless he wins in the postseason. Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel sets the table for what could be the Playoffs of Dwight Howard.

-Not speaking of Howard, JJ Redick has gotten coach Stan Van Gundy's confidence. He has played more minutes this season than in any other of his career. But his trademark shooting has been, well... not so good. Redick knows he is going to have to be better this postseason for his team. As he tells The Orlando Sentinel, maybe he should watch his Better Basketball shooting videos.

-David Whitley of The Orlando Sentinel says it is time to party like it is 1995! And after Boston struggled in an overtime loss to Chicago yesterday, why not believe the Finals are realistic for this team?

-Frank Seravalli of The Philadelphia Inquirer enumerates the many different options the Sixers have at defending Dwight Howard. And none of them look promising. But they have to give it the old college try.

-With Derrick Rose going off this afternoon, it is clear rookies are going to have an impact on this postseason. Courtney Lee's impact might be muted, but he certainly deserves more respect than a certain Sixers fan gave him. Ben Q Rock of 3rd Quarter Collapse quietly reminds Philadelphia fans not to sleep on the rookie from Western Kentucky.

-I suggest you scroll through Orlando Magic Daily for the past couple days. Zach McCann and all the guys over there have done a great job previewing this series. Included in the preview: a position-by-poistion matchup breakdown and interviews with NBA experts including former Magic beat writer Tim Povtak. He also talks to some Philadelphia bloggers to clear the misconceptions about our opponents.

-Bill Simmons of ESPN, not so much a fan of this series.

-Sixers blog Depressed Fan (sounds like us... hmm) makes an interesting point about the Magic's record. 59 wins sure is impressive. But the 23 wins in 36 games does not impress him that much. Especially since Orlando went 9-8 against playoff teams in that stretch. Philly? The Sixers went 8-9.

-Jeff McMenamin of Philadunkia details the Sixers struggles with perimeter defending. That is something very important entering the series today.

-Sixers coach Tony DiLeo told Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "I think the team is ready to play. You can see it in their faces. They're ready to play." Lets get it on.

-Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer assures Philadelphia fans that there is some hope their team can pull off an upset.