So I'm not going to lie, I didn't exactly watch the Sixers game last night. There were a few more important things on at the same time, and I certainly wasn't going to skip Game One of the World Series for the first game in an 82 game schedule. Of course, the Sixers didn't have their best showing last night, as the Orlando Magic dominated for about 40 minutes on their way to a 120-106 win.
Basically, the Magic put the game out of reach in the second quarter when they outscored the Sixers 41-20. The threes were falling for Orlando last night, with every starter but Dwight Howard nailing at least one. They also got help off their bench from Jason Williams, J.J. Redick and Matt Barnes. Overall, the Magic drained 16 threes, and when you compare that to the seven the Sixers made, that's your difference in the game right there. Dwight Howard also had his typical game, dropping 21 and grabbing 15 rebounds, but that's to be expected no matter who he plays. The key to beating the Magic is shutting down their other players, and last night, the Sixers just couldn't get that done.
It wasn't all horrible, though. Lou Williams was the only starter in double figures, scoring 18 with four assists, and Marreese Speights put in 26 on 10-11 shooting off the bench. He had some trouble guarding Dwight Howard, but hopefully that can come in time. At least last night he showed that flash that I was talking about yesterday. Jason Kapono also logged some serious minutes and finished with 13 points and two threes, so he did exactly what the Sixers brought him in for. We did see the first little look at what happens when Andre Iguodala tries to take over a game, and it wasn't very pretty last night. Iguodala finished with eight points on 3-11 shooting. That won't get it done against any team, especially one as good as the Magic.
Fortunately, it's just the first game of the season for the Sixers. They can hopefully grow from this and move on. Orlando is the defending Eastern Conference champions, and they have a stacked team this year. The game wasn't even as close as the final score showed, since the Sixers added a bunch of garbage time points, but there's at least a glimmer of hope there. Philadelphia still has another 81 games to play this season, so one game doesn't matter that much, especially at the start of the year. The home opener is this Friday against Milwaukee, so the Sixers will be the only sports ticket in town that night. Hopefully, the result is a little better than last night.
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