Mickael Pietrus shooting free throws before tonight's game. Pietrus has defended Andre Iguodala well this series, in the minutes he's been matched against him.

There are a lot of people who are already talking about Saturday's Game 7. No Dwight Howard. No Courtney Lee. That should equal an easy 76ers victory tonight, shouldn't it? Two starters gone from Orlando's lineup, 36 points per game, 18 rebounds. It's an interesting position for the Sixers. Through five playoff games, they've been the underdog, not expected to win a game. Now, after a couple of Howard elbows, they are presented with this: A should-win game, an elimination game that, if Orlando wins, would be quite an embarrassing way to end this season.

For the first time in this series, there is all kinds of pressure on the Sixers and none on the Magic.

There seem to be two options at each position for the Magic. To replace Lee, either J.J. Redick or Mickael Pietrus. To replace Howard, either Tony Battie or Marcin Gortat. *Update: Redick and Gortat will start.

We've seen all four of these guys off and on this series. Some thoughts.

1.) If Pietrus gets the bulk of the minutes tonight, maybe shifts to the small forward spot at times, keep on eye on his defense of Andre Iguodala. Throughout this series, when he's guarded Iguodala -- when Hedo Turkoglu rests -- he has been very effective on Iguodala. He seems to have no help responsibilities and he's very physical with Iguodala. The Sixers might be getting a break with Lee's offense missing, but Pietrus is an improved defensive option. Redick? Not so much. Willie Green should score anytime he wants against Redick. But the one thing with the former Dukie that he has shown in all his minutes this series (and all his life?) that he will shoot the ball -- all the time. So far, he's shot it poorly. But we've all watched Redick, for the better part of this decade, go on streaks and make 4 or 5 three-pointers in a row. The Sixers have kept the Magic's three-point shooting at bay. Tonight can't be the night that effort goes by the wayside. 

With Redick on the floor, Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said the Sixers would go after him on the perimeter, but only "in the flow" of the offense, that they won't go out of their way to isolate Redick outside.

2.) Howard missing. All right, so that's going to be a gaping hole for the Magic. But let's remember that in Game 2, in the last 3 minutes after Howard fouled out, the Magic grabbed a handful of killer offensive rebounds. They came from Pietrus, Gortat, Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, etc. They did not come from Howard. It was that game that Howard had his worst game of the series, and the Sixers lost by double digits. So .... 

So you would expect Samuel Dalembert to make his presence felt. That's what you would expect. He'll be playing two backup NBA centers, so he really should dominate the paint tonight. He should have 15 rebounds -- at least. I think a huge portion of this game rests on Dalembert's shoulders: Is he still going to pick up two early fouls, is he going to dominate like he should? Your guess is as good as mine. Really.

One other thing to watch is Thaddeus Young on Rashard Lewis, and Lewis dominating him on the block. DiLeo said this was because Young was in foul trouble last game, but I still think it's worth watching to see if Lewis will take Young to the block and continue to make those little 5-footers. Lewis and Turkoglu will be getting the bulk of Howard's shots. Given these guys haven't been great this series, that could be a good thing. But, also, given these guys have yet to be great, and might start being great, and given a lot of their makes will count for 3 points, and given they will shoot 80 percent from the free throw line, you never know.

I just asked DiLeo if Dalembert should dominate tonight. He avoided mentioning Sam's performance specifically, saying only that "the Sixers" should dominate the lane.

Those are just a few thoughts. We all know the Sixers should win this game. They know they should win this game. Let's hope that doesn't become a problem. DiLeo said he didn't even address the issue of overconfidence with his team. He said this is the playoffs, not a regular season game. They are focused.

Also of note, this game should draw about the same crowd as the first two, which means about 4,000 empty seats -- and that's using the Sixers attendance numbers.

One more thing ... If you want to read how Dwight Howard feel's about this suspension, click here: Howard blog.

--Kate

The Orlando Magic will be without Dwight Howard for tomorrow night’s Game 6 at the Wachovia Center. The NBA just announced a one-game suspension for the elbow Howard delivered in the first quarter of last night’s Orlando victory.

The incident occurred a few minutes into the first quarter when Howard, tangled with Sixers center Samuel Dalembert, elbowed Dalembert as the two were separating. Last night, Howard was only hit with a technical foul for the incident, but immediately after the game Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said the team had already contacted the NBA about further action.

For the first time in this series, the 76ers and Orlando Magic brought the game off the court, too. Tonight, after Orlando's 91-78 Game 5 victory, all kinds of things blew up.

Here's a quick outline: 1.) The Sixers believe Dwight Howard should be getting called for 3-second violations, but isn't. 2.) The Sixers have contacted the NBA about the elbow Howard delivered to the chin of Sixers center Samuel Dalembert. The elbow occured early in the first quarter. Referees hit Howard with a technical foul.

Here's how it unfolded tonight.

Sixers coach Tony DiLeo was the first to the podium for post-game interviews. He gave his initial statement, but quickly things turned to Howard. DiLeo was careful not to actually question the referees, or specifically say that Howard was illegally in the lane, but he repeated himself that Howard spent the entire game in the lane, on offense and defense, and that "he doesn't need any more advantages." When specifically asked if he was saying that Howard should have received more (or any) 3-second violations, DiLeo repeated his previous assertion and then said we should take from that what we will.

Okay, so the Sixers feel Howard has an unfair advantage: Maybe because he is superman Dwight Howard, young star, one of the faces of the NBA.

A few minutes after DiLeo exited stage left, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy entered stage right. Van Gundy walked up the podium and the first thing he said was something to the effect of, "So should I be lobbying the referees instead of talking about the game?" Then Van Gundy, cleared annoyed, went on to say again -- actually, for a few minutes -- that the Sixers should stop complaining about calls, and that Howard is a great player, got his points and rebounds from being great, etc., etc.

The Sixers players seemed to back up their coach, with point guard Andre Miller saying he thought Howard was in the lane too long, but that he's Dwight Howard, so ... Theo Ratliff agreed that Howard was in the lane too long ...

And for the second, and perhaps most important part of this drama: The elbow.

After the game, DiLeo said the Sixers had already contacted the NBA about looking into further punishment for the elbow Howard threw only 2 minutes, 45 seconds into the game. The NBA could fine Howard, could suspend Howard, or could do both.

Dalembert, visibly frustrated after the game, said that if he had thrown the same elbow Howard had thrown, he would have been ejected from the game.

Van Gundy, referring to the inadvertent elbow Howard landed on teammate Courtney Lee in the first half, quipped -- obviously frustrated with the Sixers -- "Yeah, we're going to have the NBA look at Dwight's elbow to Courtney, too."

Storylines abound.

--Kate

A Blackberry snapshot of the t-shirted arena.

The most recent image of this nip-and-tuck series is Hedo Turkoglu's game-winning three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left on Sunday night. With that made shot, the Orlando Magic tied this series, 2-2. But what else did that shot ignite? By now, the play-by-play, and each team's thought process before and during, has been discussed. Here's the Cliff Notes: 

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told his two guys -- Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu -- that whomever ended up with Thaddeus Young guarding them would shoot the last shot. We know what happened, the question now is: Will that motivate Thaddeus Young? I have to think at this point in the season, with this game as important as it is, this story line will play zero factor in tonight's game. If Young holds Lewis to an 0 for 12 night, perhaps we'll discuss it again. (Okay, of course we'll discuss it again.) But for the most part, I think each team should have enough motivation for tonight.

This series has been, perhaps, the best of the first-round series. Although Boston vs. Chicago, depending on your allegiances, has also been darn fine. But if you're a Sixer or Magic fan, this series has been an adrenaline rush. What has also been interesting to watch is the slight changes each team has made -- especially the slight changes the Magic made for Game 4.

Here are a few: 

For the first time in the series, Orlando had center Dwight Howard play a key defensive role on the Sixers' pick-and-roll. From the start of the game, when a pick-and-roll involved Andre Iguodala and a Sixers' center -- Samuel Dalembert, Theo Ratliff, Reggie Evans -- Howard jumped out on Iguodala, trying to force him to pick up the basketball. After the game, Iguodala said his centers were telling him they were open on the roll. Obviously, with Howard and a guard on him, it wasn't the easiest pass for Iguodala to make, but he said he discussed this option with Dalembert before their game-tying play with 14.8 seconds left. Dalembert told Iguodala, if they ran a pick-and-roll, he should be open on the roll to the basket. It wasn't the cleaniest, safest play, but Iguodala drove off the pick to the right wing, leapt into the air, and fired an overhead pass to Dalembert under the rim. It was a difficult pass with Howard on him as well as the trailing guard defender. Yes, on this play the Sixers capitalized on Orlando's adjustment, but for most of the game, they forced Iguodala to pick up his dribble, pass the basketball. Iguodala had his lowest point total of the series, although he contributed with assists and rebounds. Tony DiLeo said he would expect Orlando to continue this defensive scheme, and that the Sixers would need to take advantage, more, of that roll to the basket. As well as swinging the basketball for open outside shots. (Can the Sixers continue to shoot well from the three-point line? That might be the key to this game. If the Sixers go 1 for 8 -- as they did many games during the year -- this game will be Orlando's.)

The Magic also made a slight shift on offense. (And I credit an emailer for pointing this out in-depth.) Through three games, the Magic couldn't get much for Lewis. But in that third quarter of Game 4, you may remember, Sixers guard Willie Green ended up trying to match Lewis on the post -- a number of times. One time in particular, both Green and Lewis' main defender, Young, both went to Lewis, then both left Lewis, who shot a short, wide-open baseline jumper on the play. Orlando seems to have started running away screens between a guard -- guarded often by Green -- and Lewis. Since the Sixers often switch these screens, it leaves Lewis, on the block, against a much smaller player. Orlando took advantage of this a number of times in Game 4, although Lewis did not score as often as he probably would like.

DiLeo said they noticed a number of slight adjustments they would make for Game 5. He would not, of course, outline those adjustments.

In that Game 4, the Magic came out of halftime and made their first 7 shots, including 3 three-pointers. In that quarter, you had to wonder whether Orlando was about to explode for a 12 for 18 quarter, or somewhere along those lines. We know this team is capable of such an explosion. But they didn't. After that surge, they missed 1 of their next 8, then went on to miss a number of open shots that you would expect a third seed to make. Will Turkoglu's three-pointer start a shooting resurgence for the Magic? Will Turkoglu finally wake up and score 25 in this game? 

Speaking with some folks down here in Florida, they have been very impressed with the Sixers' defensive effort -- heck, their overall effort -- and many surprised me by saying they believe the Sixers are a bad matchup for the Magic. This is surprising only because entering this series, there seemed to be a sentiment that the Magic -- their perimeter-oriented, three-point shooting -- were a bad matchup for the Sixers. Here was their thinking: The Sixers are only one of a few Eastern Conference clubs whose forwards can legitimately match up with Orlando's. And considering Orlando's forwards are responsible for creating their offense, it's been a huge issue for them. Through four games, the Iguodala and Young have outplayed Turkoglu and Lewis. Which duo wins the forward battle these next couple of games?

So here's the setup down south here at Amway Arena. The Magic marketing department has placed blue t-shirts over the seats of half the arena and white t-shirts over the other half. Everyone I've run into has mentioned trying to make it to tonight's game. It sounds, and feels, like this is going to be a very difficult environment tonight for the Sixers. But, as they have proven all season, they seem to respond well to challenges, seem to be resilient, seem to like when everyone starts counting them out.

--Kate

We saw this a year ago: A 2-1 series lead, a home game to bust it open, a challenge against a much higher seed.

But, somehow, this series feels different. Should it? Will it? The 76ers have said they have not talked about last season's first-round loss to the Detroit Pistons. They said this Sixers team is a completely different team from last year's, especially with the veteran, experienced presence of Theo Ratliff and Donyell Marshall.

We'll find out tonight. To this point, the Orlando Magic have looked little like a 59-win team. They have looked average, perhaps even worse than average. Tonight is the game where the Magic will either show up, knock down 12-15 three-pointers and dominate offensively, or the Sixers will keep doing what they're doing and make this their series with a 3-1 lead. A few things to watch: 

1.) Stan Van Gundy: In the post-game press conference on Friday night after Game 3, Van Gundy shook his head and said it was his responsibility to get better shots for Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. Van Gundy sounded like a guy who spent all day yesterday looking at the game film and plotting a few options. In the first three games, these two guys just haven't done enough to make the Magic win. Van Gundy said the big issue was the way the Sixers are playing Turkoglu off the pick-and-roll: The Sixers are trapping him, not allowing him to create much off the dribble. Van Gundy said he didn't think those two guys needed to explode for the Magic to win, citing the fact that both Sixers wins went to the final possession. So watch Turkoglu and Lewis. Sixers coach Tony DiLeo said they will start the game with the same defensive scheme they have used the first three games (focusing on those two, leaving Orlando's guards and Dwight Howard to beat them). DiLeo also said that if the Magic present some different offensive options, the Sixers have a few different ways to guard guys that they will employ. (I figure this means guarding the pick-and-roll differently, perhaps a harder hedge, or a switch.)

2.) Orlando's three-point shooting. We've said it before and we'll say it again: The Magic have shot poorly from beyond the arc this entire series. Will tonight be the game they start making shots? 

3.) I really think Andre Miller is going to be the difference tonight. He's played very well so far and taken advantage of his post-up ability on either of Orlando's guards (Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston). I think in the first three games, especially the last game, Andre Iguodala has shot very well from the perimeter, a few shots falling that might not normally fall. I think tonight it could be Miller's steady game -- maybe 25 points -- that bring the Sixers through on offense.

4.) Free throws. For both teams, this should be an important stat. Orlando center Dwight Howard has shot free throws much more efficiently than usual. That could drop to normal. Iguodala has missed so many big free throws down the stretch -- and a decent number during the games. For the series, the Sixers have left a lot of points on the board from the free throw line.

So the recipe for a Sixers win: continued defense on Turkoglu and Lewis -- limit them to a combined point total of fewer than 28 points. Hold Orlando to 7 or fewer three-pointers. Strong scoring from Andre Miller and at least 75 percent free-throw shooting. Okay, so that's a recipe for victory on a lot of nights, but I would be surprised to see the same Orlando team we've seen the first three days. There's no way a 59-win team doesn't have the resolve to find a way to score.

--Kate

Tonight might be the clearest indication of where this series is heading. Are the Orlando Magic going to continue to miss shots? Can the 76ers avoid falling behind by 18? Can they avoid falling behind at all? 

In a seven-game series, so many story lines seem to develop. So many topics are rehashed, night after night. Here are a few crucial ones.

1.) The Orlando Magic's outside shooting. I really believe this will determine the series. Through two games they have choked from the outside. They have left 2-3 made three-pointers on the table -- outside shots they made for 82 games in the regular season -- in each of the first two games. That additional scoring, or lack thereof, has cost them. Yes, I think the Sixers have influenced some of those shots. They've flown out at Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis when they have been open. But some of Orlando's shooters are just missing. Considering the Magic aren't a seasoned postseason team, you can think the first two games were a fluke. But if they continue to miss shots tonight, we could be looking at a series where they struggle from the perimeter, where they've gone cold. But if the Magic find their outside stroke, I think it will be difficult for the Sixers to put up enough points to match an Orlando team clicking on all levels.

2.) Samuel Dalembert. He has been less than a non-factor. He has more fouls, 8, than rebounds, 7. Reserve center Theo Ratliff has played valiantly with Dalembert on the bench. But let's be realistic, can the Sixers win a seven-game series against Dwight Howard with their starting center putting up worse numbers (4.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 13.0 minutes) than a second-string player? With Willie Green providing virtually no scoring from the two-guard spot, that leaves two massive holes in the Sixers starting lineup. Tonight, Dalembert has to be a factor. He says so often that he won't change his mentality of blocking shots and attacking players who attack the rim. Okay, that's fair. But, also, the Sixers need his productivity, his rebounding. Ratliff is a great defender and shot blocker, but Dalembert is a better rebounder and has the ability to provide more offense than Theo.

3.) The Bench. Yesterday, DiLeo said this team is its bench. I agree. The big games they have won, the bench (Donyell Marshall, Lou Williams, Speights, Royal Ivey, Reggie Evans) have scored 30-45 points. When the bench only scored 12 points on Wednesday, that was the game. Because Lou couldn't provide them offense, their ability to score was negated. Lou doesn't have to score 18-20 points again, but he needs a more efficient scoring night. Even a 5 for 7 would be important.

4.) Courtney Lee. So far, he's been Orlando's guy that has stepped up while the Sixers focus their defensive energy on Howard, Turkoglu, and Lewis. In the last couple of days, the Sixers have said they would focus a little more energy on Lee, but would not shift their defensive philosophy for this series. One thing the Sixers did say was that they must contest Lee's drives to the rim. It sounds like they are okay if he hits the outside shot, but allowing him uncontested penetration is unacceptable. Look for Dalembert and Ratliff to try to get some blocks if Lee goes to the rim.

5.) The defensive rotation onto Howard. I've received e-mails from people saying that Ratliff allowed Howard uncontested put-back dunks. Come on. Ratliff rotated to cover the rim on penetration, one time actually picking up a block. But no one is rotating to Ratliff's man -- Howard -- leaving Dwight to powerslam a couple of missed shots. This is not Ratliff's (or Dalembert's) fault. They have to rotated off Howard and protect the rim. What the Sixers need to address -- and DiLeo said before they game they had -- is the next player rotating and putting a body on Howard. No one is saying that whomever rotates will be able to prevent Howard from getting the offensive rebound. But they could certainly prevent him from soaring 50 inches into the air, kissing the rim, and slamming home a miss. Even if they make Howard come down with the rebound and make a move, or even foul him, that sure helps the Sixers chances.

--Kate

Winning Game 2, undoubtedly, will be much more difficult than winning Game 1. In the last three days, we've seen the Dallas Mavericks, in their bid to go up 2-0, lose badly to San Antonio. We've seen the Chicago Bulls, despite an amazing performance from Ben Gordon, lose their bid to go up 2-0 on the Boston Celtics. The task of winning two games on a top seed's home floor is daunting. And that's what the 76ers face tonight against the Orlando Magic. 

If we take a look at Sunday's result, we can find a number of areas with solid execution. And areas with subpar execution -- for both teams. 

For the Magic, the good: Free throw shooting. Dwight Howard was 9 for 12, that's about three more free throws than he makes on average. Low-post scoring from Howard. We all know he is amazing on the boards and blocking shots, but he doesn't always provide an efficient low-post scoring option in terms of giving him the ball and letting him execute a low-post move. On Sunday, he was 11 for 13, including a number of difficult shots. Scoring from Courtney Lee and Anthony Johnson. Those two average a combined 13.7 points per game. On Sunday they combined for 27. Orlando also had 15 second-chance points.

For the Magic, the bad: Three-point shooting. They finished 5 for 18, 27.8 percent. On the season, they shoot 38 percent and have made 817 three pointers. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis combined for 1 for 6 from the three-point line. Hedo didn't make any. Also subpar for the Magic, Hedo scored only 6 points, and 4 of them were down the stretch. For most of the game, he was non-existent. He has the ankle injury, but for a guy averaging 16.8 ppg to score only 6 is a huge blow on the offensive end, especially considering Lewis does not often create his own shots. Bench play. They had only 13 points off the bench, nine from Johnson and four from Tony Battie. J.J. Redick played 6 pretty bad minutes and contributed a turnover to the Sixers comeback. He didn't even attempt a shot.  

For the Sixers, the good: Outside shooting. 7 for 12? Two more than the Magic? Yeah, that was a huge difference. Donyell Marshall and Lou Williams (6 for 7 combined) were the difference here. Bench play. The Sixers killed the Magic off the bench, scoring 42 points off the bench, led by Williams' 18 points. Overall FG percentage. The Sixers shot 51.3 percent for the game. Rebounding, the Sixers outrebounded Orlando, 37-35. Turnovers, the Sixers committed only 10 turnovers, most of those in the third quarter.

For the Sixers, the bad: Free throw shooting. To win the game and shoot 11 for 20 (55.0 percent), is an amazing thing. Running in transition. The Sixers scored only 9 points on the break, which is crucial since that means they had to mostly attack with Howard defending the lane. Consistency. Getting blown out in that third quarter, 29-19. Trailing by 18 points. That combination is not one from which the Sixers will normally be able to produce victory. Samuel Dalembert. He picked up two quick fouls and played only 17 minutes. Theo Ratliff did a fantastic job in his 24 minutes, but you have to wonder how many games the Sixers can win with Dalembert non-existent. Willie Green. Some games he starts 5 for 6 and gives the team a huge boost. On Sunday, he was 1 for 6. You even have to say that Andre Miller wasn't at his best, although he finished with 15 points and 7 assists. You could expect more from him.

So both teams can look at Sunday's game and say they didn't play as well as they wanted. And it seems both teams, in the three-day layoff, had the time to address every one of these things. Having listened to what the Sixers side has been saying the last two days of practice and at this morning's shoot around, a couple of things stand out. Here they are: 

1.) They were in this position last year against the Detroit Pistons. They won Game 1 at Auburn Hills, then lost Game 2. Nobody would claim the Sixers are an experienced playoff team, but they at least have some experience of what an arena is like in this circumstance, what kind of changes the other team makes, and what kind of mindset is needed. Maybe last season they were thrilled to win that first game and weren't sure what to expect the next game. This year, they don't seem as thrilled, they seem eager to prove it wasn't just a fluke.

2.) They really focused on how they got down 18 points. From watching, that third quarter seemed a lot like how they were playing in the six-game losing streak: no communication, bad shot selection, general frustration. Tony DiLeo said, immediately after Sunday's win, that they would focus on that quarter, try to prevent that from happening again.

3.) It sounds like they will still go one-on-one against Howard. Howard scored 31 points, but the Sixers seemed pleased with the shots they made him take (other than the dunks). And they seemed to feel comfortable with being able to focus their other guys on Orlando's perimeter shooting.

Which brings us to the reality check: Orlando's outside shooting. To me, that's the most important thing in Game 2. I admit the Sixers played with much more energy on their defensive rotations on Sunday, but it still wasn't great. The Magic still had about 6-8 open three-pointers that they just missed. I would be surprised to see another poor shooting night from the Magic. Obviously, that's the difference in the game. If the Magic go 9 for 20 tonight, that's 12 more points they are putting on the board. I just don't know the Sixers have the offensive firepower to score 111 points against a very good Orlando defense.

Here are a couple of other thoughts.

1.) Can the Sixers get Howard into foul trouble? He is prone to foul trouble, and the Sixers mentioned the last couple of days that they will continue to attack the rim, to go at Howard's body and see if they can draw fouls.

2.) This is just a thought, but do the Magic have the same mental fortitude that the Boston Celtics have? I don't think so. They haven't been through it all like Boston has. If Ben Gordon and the Bulls had done what they did to the Celtics against the Magic, I think they win Game 2. So you have to ask: If the Magic are going to develop that postseason mentality, who will lead them? Will it be Dwight Howard? Will it be Turk? 

The Sixers seem to know who their go-to guy is ... it's Andre Iguodala. Keep an eye on him tonight. His follow-up performance to Sunday's game-winner will say a lot about whether the Sixers are in this series, or whether they will go the way of last year's first-round attempt.

--Kate

p.s. The photo is off the O-rena about three hours before tip-off. The Magic staff have placed white towels across all 17,461 seats. So look for a sea of white tonight on NBATV/Comcast.

A Blackberry snapshot of the post-game media room. It is, most definitely, the NBA Playoffs.

76ers coach Tony DiLeo just spoke about 90 minutes before tonight's 5:30 p.m. tipoff at Amway Arena: Game 1 of the first-round playoff series between the Sixers and Orlando Magic.

Considering the poor play of his team down the stretch, it seemed an appropriate question to ask DiLeo if he felt sure about which team would show up tonight. DiLeo said that he was sure his team was mentally prepared, and if that things did not go well it would not be because of focus and effort. It might be because they don't make shots, but not because they aren't ready for this game. (Although I tend to think making shots would signal focus, missing them would signal unfocused, but I see DiLeo's point. He guarantees the Sixers are going to play hard.)

We're about 45 minutes from tip-off right now, so here are my Top 3 keys to winning this game.

1.) Samuel Dalembert. I could have "Samuel Dalembert" as No. 1 on my Top 3 keys for every game the Sixers have played all season. But games like tonight's, games against teams with legitimate, big-time centers, his importance, like his height, goes through the roof. If he leaves early with foul trouble, or disappears, or plays 25 minutes or less, I really questions the Sixers ability to win this game. If he's not guarding Dwight Howard, that means the Sixers are throwing a tag-team of Theo Ratliff, Reggie Evans, and maybe Marreese Speights at Howard. I think that's too risky. If the Sixers can, for much of the time, have Dalembert guarding Howard, that will allow them to go 4 on 4 on the perimeter. Given the Sixers struggles guarding penetrate-and-pitch and double-team kick-outs, they need to stay 4 on 4. If they try to guard four Magic players with three guys, this game will look like the first three. Howard is not a great passer, but if he can get it out of the double-team, he'll get it to someone who is.

Second thing, if the Sixers can rely on Dalembert to defend the rim, they won't have to help so much on the penetration of Orlando's quick guards -- Courtney Lee and Rafer Alston. If Evans is the guy defending the rim, they're going to have to rotate and scramble, surely not their specialty.

2. Lou Williams. The Sixers have an advantage off the bench. It's one of the few advantages they have over the Magic, and if they don't take advantage of it, there are few others to exploit. This responsibility falls largely with Williams, who can either spark the Sixers, or leave them hanging -- depending on his play that given night. If he can be electric off the bench, that will be a huge second-quarter boost for the Sixers. One they will probably need. If the Magic bench provides more than the Sixers bench -- uh-oh.

3. The Pick and Roll defense. I know this is a general statement, but watch it carefully tonight. It's been a weak spot for the Sixers all season. Watch exactly what develops after the Orlando player comes off the screen ... can he turn the corner? Does another defender (other than the ballhandler's defender and the screener's defender) have to come over and provide help? If the Sixers can't contain the pick and roll with those two defenders, then a rotation is set in motion. The Sixers have not rotated well all season. And it's not just the ballhandler you need to keep an eye on. If Alston comes off an on ball and draws, say, Willie Green and Reggie Evans to him, then kicks it to the rolling screener, drawing a third Sixers help defender, that puts into play another rotation. It will be impossible to contain, all the time, with just the two defenders, but what's going to be important is the amount of time that third defender has to commit. Is he just showing, for a quick second, before the assigned defender recovers? Or does he have to switch for the rest of the possession because the Sixers are so far behind the play? The pick and roll, especially the ones involving Hedo, are where the Magic create their three-pointers.

Game 1 in a few minutes ...

--Kate

A few hours ago, the 76ers playoff opponent was determined: The Orlando Magic.

A few minutes ago, the NBA released the game schedule. Here's how it looks: 

Game 1: Sunday, April 19. Philadelphia at Orlando. 5:30 p.m. TNT

Game 2: Wednesday, April 22. Philadelphia at Orlando. 7 p.m. NBATV.

Game 3: Friday, April 24. Orlando at Philadelphia. 8 p.m. ESPN2.

Game 4: Sunday, April 26. Orlando at Philadelphia. 6:30 p.m. TNT

Game 5: Tuesday, April 28. Philadelphia at Orlando. TBD. TBD*

Game 6: Thursday, April 30. Orlando at Philadelphia. TBD. TBD*

Game 7: Saturday, May 2. Philadelphia at Orlando. TBD. TNT*

* If necessary.

With the last seven games, plus the first-round playoff matchup set, there's plenty to talk about during today's Live Chat we're having at 3:30 p.m. Even though the Sixers defeated the Cavaliers a few hours ago at Quicken Loans Arena, the vibe in the locker room afterward was not exactly celebratory. We'll talk about that, Samuel Dalembert's shoulder, Thaddeus Young's ankle, the Sixers chances against the Magic, and everything else that's happened lately. If you have a few minutes, click here: Sixers Chat.

--Kate