The Magic left in all on the court yesterday but it wasn’t enough to beat the Pistons.  Dwight Howard was outstanding yesterday with 29 points and 17 rebounds.  Grant Hill was also very active with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.  Darko Milicic (14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists) and Keyon Dooling (11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists) both played well off of the bench.  Jameer Nelson had another rough game with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists but he was abused again by Chauncey Billups yesterday.  The Magic get swept 4-0 out of the first round by the Pistons.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270428019

The Magic kept the game close until halftime and then the Pistons took over outscoring the Magic 45-35.  The Magic were also outrebounded 47-39 and that didn’t help things last night.  Jameer Nelson finally showed up in this series and he scored 27 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and dished out 4 assists.  Dwight Howard had a decent game with 11 points and 12 rebounds, but the Magic needed more from him.  Darko Milicic only played 24 minutes last night but he scored 11 points and grabbed 2 rebounds.  Hedo Turkoglu was also pretty active with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.  Grant Hill had an awful game as he was only 2 for 12 from the floor.  Hill only wound up with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.  The Magic are now down 3-0 to the Pistons in this series.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270426019

The Magic fell behind 71-59 after the first three quarters and that was too much for them to overcome tonight.  Hedo Turkoglu had an outstanding shooting night hitting 10 of 14 shots and winding up with 22 points.  Grant Hill was also inspired as he scored 21 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 4 assists.  Darko Milicic had another solid game off of the bench with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots in 28 minutes.  Dwight Howard didn’t have too good of a game.  He only shot 3 for 9 from the floor and wound up with 8 points and 11 rebounds.  The Magic are now down 2-0 to the Pistons in this series.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270423008

The Magic played a good game last night, but their free-throw shooting doomed any chance of a comeback.  The Pistons built up a 81-67 lead after the first three quarters and that was too much for the Magic to overcome.  The Magic did shoot well from the floor as they hit 58.1%, but it wasn’t good enough last night.  Hedo Turkoglu led the Magic with 17 points, 3 assists and 2 steals.  Grant Hill also had a decent game with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.  Dwight Howard scored 13 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and stole the ball three times.  Howard also turned the ball over 6 times and he only hit 3 of his 11 free throws and that crippled the Magic’s chances to win this basketball game.  Darko Milicic had a solid game off the bench as he scored 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 27 minutes on the court.  The Pistons know lead the series 1-0.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=270421008

The Orlando Magic have the best player on either team in Dwight Howard, but the Pistons are a fantastic team that plays without egos.  It will be interesting to see if any of the other Magic players take their games to a higher level in this series.  I’m thinking that Grant Hill could be that guy as he’s playing against his old team.  The Pistons will need good work from their big men if they want to get the series over with quickly.  Here’s a look at the matchups for this series:

POINT GUARDS:  Chauncey Billups could be a matchup nightmare for the Magic.  He’s a big point guard that’s sometimes likes to post up smaller opponents and Jameer Nelson definately qualifies as one of those.  Billups averaged 17.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game this season and he should have better numbers than that in this series.  Jameer Nelson finished the season poorly for the Magic and that does not bode well for him or the Magic in this series.  He averaged 13.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.  He’s a shoot first point guard and that is not a good thing against a team that plays defense like the Pistons do.  EDGE:  HUGE FOR THE PISTONS.

SHOOTING GUARD:  Grant Hill returns to the city that made him a star.  Hill played a long time for the Pistons and would like nothing more than to knock them out.  That will be easier said than done.  Hill will be able to post up on Richard Hamilton all day long and the Magic should look to take advantage of the size difference.  Hill averaged 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season.  Richard Hamilton will try to take advantage of his speed advantage over Grant Hill when the Pistons have the basketball.  He should succeed with his usual mid-range game.  He averaged 19.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game this season.  EDGE:  PISTONS

SMALL FORWARD:  Tayshaun Prince is a very underrated basketball player.  He plays stellar defense and he has a good offensive game even though the Pistons don’t often showcase him.  He’s almost the perfect team player as he does the dirty work needed to help his team win the game.  He averaged 14.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season.  Hedo Turkoglu will have his hands full in dealing with Prince.  That being said, Turkoglu has a nice little offensive game and he might be able to drag Prince away from the basket with his shooting ability.  He averaged 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this season.   EDGE:  PISTONS

POWER FORWARD:  Rasheed Wallace has seen his numbers go down this season, but make no mistake, he’ll show up in the bright lights of the playoffs.  He is still a little bit of a dirty player but he’s still got some game.  He averaged 12.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game this season.  He’s a great outside shooter and he still can pack it in the paint and get key rebounds.  Tony Battie will start at power forward for the Magic and his game is all in the paint.  He’s a good defender and a decent rebounder, so he should lend some support inside for Dwight Howard.  Battie averaged 6.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game this season.  EDGE:  PISTONS

CENTER:  Dwight Howard is the best basketball player that will be playing in this series.  He averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game this season.  The only thing that can stop him from dominating in this series is if he gets in foul trouble at some point.  The Pistons don’t have anyone on their roster that can stop Dwight Howard.  Chris Webber played decent for the Pistons after the Sixers dumped him.  For the Pistons, Webber averaged 11.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season.  Webber will have his hands full dealing with Howard.  EDGE:  GIGANTIC FOR THE MAGIC

BENCH:  The Pistons have a veteran bench that all buy into the team concept and that helps the team as a whole.  F/C Antonio McDyess is the most important reserve for the Pistons as he backs up both Webber and Wallace.  He averaged 8.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  He should have a pretty good series against the Magic.  Forward Jason Maxiell has really impressed the Pistons this season and he will likely get some PT in the playoffs behind Tayshaun Prince.  He averaged 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game this season.  Flip Murray is an important player for the Pistons as he backs up both guard positions.  He averaged 6.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season.  Carlos Delfino also had a solid season as he averaged 5.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Reserve point guard Lindsay Hunter provides defense at point guard off of the bench.  He averaged 4.9 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season.

The Magic use their bench a lot and they likely will continue to do that in this series.  Trevor Ariza is a sparkplug off the bench that provides a ton of energy for the Magic.  He averaged 8.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Power Forward Darko Milicic could be a factor for the Magic as he will likely get a lot of playing time against the team that never let him off of the bench.  He averaged 8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game this season.  Keyon Dooling (7.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists) and Carlos Arroyo (7.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists) both provide good minutes off the bench at guard for the Magic.  Keith Bogans also should get some PT for the Magic in this series.  He averaged 5.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game this season.  EDGE:  EVEN

PREDICTION:  The Magic will play hard in this series but it won’t show on the scoreboard.  Look for the Magic to win a game at home, but the Pistons will win this series in 5 games.

Many more Duke players fail in the NBA that make it so drafting one is always risky.  Still, the Magic couldn’t really pass on J.J. Redick based on how well he played in college.  He played in 42 games for the Magic and averaged 14.8 minutes, 6.0 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  Redick only shot 41% from the floor, but, he hit 38.8% of his three-point shots and 90% of his free-throws.  It’s hard to say at this point whether Redick will be a good player or just another Duke stiff.  Only time will tell.  F/C James Augustine only played in 2 games this season and he averaged 1.0 point, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game.

The Orlando Magic finished in 3rd place in the Southeast Division with a 40-42 record, 4 games behind the Miami Heat.  The Magic did a good job defending the home turf with a 25-16 record, but they were only 15-26 on the road.  The Magic were 26-26 against the Eastern Conference and 9-7 against the Division.  They averaged 94.8 points per game while allowing 94.0 points per game.  The Magic are running hot going into the playoffs on a four game winning streak and they’ve won 7 of their last 10 games.

Jameer Nelson is playing horrible down the stretch when the Magic really need him as they are trying to hang onto the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.  He has played in 5 games this April and he’s averaged 28.6 minutes, 9.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game.  He also is throwing up a lot of bricks as he’s only hitting 37% from the floor this month and 1 for 11 from three-point range.  The Magic will have a hard time making the playoffs if Nelson doesn’t play a little better in the last couple of games.

The Magic have been a one-man wrecking crew most of the season with Dwight Howard carrying the load, but the last couple of weeks he’s been getting big-time help.  Hedo Turkoglu and Grant Hill are both really picking up their games at the right time as the Magic are trying to hold onto the #8 spot in the NFL Playoffs.  In his last 6 games, Turkoglu is averaging 18.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.  He also has nailed 14 of 27 (51.9%) of his three-point shots the last two weeks.  Grant Hill has also been busy in his last 6 games as he’s averaging 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Hill also is getting hot from the floor as he’s hit 55.4% of his shots in his last 6 games.

The Orlando Magic are sitting in the #8 slot in the Eastern Conference with a 35-41 record on the season.  The Magic could move up in the playoffs of completely out of them in the last six games of the season.  The Magic are only 1 game behind the Nets and only 1 game ahead of the Pacers.  A big problem for the Magic is the fact that the are 12-25 on the road and have 4 road games left.  Dwight Howard will need some help if the Magic are to secure a playoff spot this season.