Orlando Magic - Atlanta Hawks 1st Round Playoff Preview:
By Mike Misek
Magic Overview
Orlando enters the postseason playing their best basketball of the season. The Magic won ten of their final fourteen games, and one of their losses was a final second loss to Chicago when Dwight Howard was suspended. The team made a blockbuster deal early in the season to bring in Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson while also bringing back Hedo Turkoglu, and much of the season has been spent getting the team come
Howard & Turkoglu together in their roles. After playing only 47 games in the previous three seasons, it should not be a surprise that Gilbert Arenas is not the same player he was in 2007. He will likely never be that player again, but this year is more about getting his basketball legs back under him and transition him towards being the player that he now will have to be. Hedo Turkoglu received a fat contract from the Raptors following the Magic’s 2009 run to the Finals, and then proceeded to get fat. After flopping out of Toronto and Phoenix, he is a half-step better than bad now that he is back with Dwight Howard. Jason Richardson really is not a drastically different talent than Vince Carter at this stage of their careers, but considering Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy were itching to get rid of Carter a negligible talent swap is a net positive. Once the early struggles had been worked through, the Magic now are playing like the team that on paper appeared to be one of the deepest rosters in the league.
The long-term reality for Orlando is that they desperately need to get enough out of the people they around Howard in these playoffs and next year in order to keep him fro leaving in the summer of 2012. GM Otis Smith has handed out a multitude of bad contracts that will quickly become toxic if Dwight Howard is not there to mask their odor. Jumping on an Atlanta team that quit on their coach in the playoffs a year ago is the first step.
Hawks Overview
The Hawks are as enigmatic team as there is in the NBA. They are a team capable of beating anyone. This year, they have beaten all of the other seven playoff teams in the East. Such a statement cannot be said of Miami, New York, Philadelphia, or Indiana. The problem is that they have also shown themselves to be capable of losing to anyone, and having losses snowball into huge losing streaks. When they play poorly, they can lose to anyone. Atlanta enters the postseason on a six game losing streak with losses to Houston, Washington, Indiana, and Charlotte mixed in. Considering the no-show performance last year against Orlando, one cannot even assume that Atlanta will bring its best for a playoff series. Will the best of the Hawks be on display, or the team that lost to Orlando in four games by an average margin of 22 points?
Any hope that the Hawks have of advancing will require Joe Johnson and Al Horford to play up to their abilities. The two biggest stars of the Hawks had precipitous declines following the All-Star Break. Before the break, Johnson was averaging 19.6 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 45 percent from the field. Since then, he is down to 15.9 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.8 rebounds while his field goal percentage was 44 percent. Similarly, 
Al HorfordHorford was at a solid 16.0 points, 3.6 assists, 9.8 rebounds, and 57 percent shooting before the All-Star break. After, he fell off to 13.9 points, 3.2 assists, and 8.3 rebounds with a shooting percentage of 53 percent. No team can survive in the playoffs with their best two offensive players operating at levels well below what they are capable.
Key Matchup
Dwight Howard versus the gang of big bodies on Atlanta
While Dwight Howard has not won an MVP award yet, and will not win it this season, he is the reason the poorly constructed Magic are as competitive as they have been. When he is able to be a dominant presence on both ends of the court, Orlando is a very difficult team to beat. While Al Horford will certainly get his turn on Howard, it is not in the best interest of Atlanta to have their best player in a situation where he is overmatched. This season, the Hawks have had some success against the Magic utilizing a big lineup where Josh Smith is at the small forward, Al Horford is the power forward, and the platoon of Jason Collins, Zaza Pachulia, and Etan Thomas at center. The Hawks were able to win three out of four with that big frontline starting every time. Zaza Pachulia is the primary backup to Horford, but he cannot handle Howard. In four games this season, Zaza has played a combined 53 minutes and committed 15 fouls. He effectively cedes the center spot in this series to Jason Collins who sole purpose in the NBA is that he can capably guard the huge scoring centers of the league. The problem with Collins is that he is such a non-threat on the offensive end that he allows Howard to freelance defensively, which is particularly dangerous against a team that runs as many isolation sets as Atlanta. Etan Thomas would be the third line center, and if he plays more than a handful of minutes, the outcome will all but be determined.
Prediction: Magic in 6
Schedule:
Game 1 – Saturday, April 16, 7:00 p.m., Sun Sports/ESPN (Orlando, Amway Center)
Game 2 – Tuesday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., Local TV TBD/NBA TV (Orlando, Amway Center)
Game 3 – Friday, April 22, Time TBD, Local TV TBD/ESPN 2 and ESPN 3D (Atlanta)
Game 4 – Sunday, April 24, 7:00 p.m., Local TV TBD/TNT (Atlanta)
Game 5 – Tuesday, April 26, Time TBD, Local TV TBD/National TV TBD, (Orlando, Amway Center), If necessary
Game 6 – Thursday, April 28, Time TBD, Local TV TBD/National TV TBD (Atlanta), If necessary
Game 7 – Saturday, April 30, Time TBD, Local TV TBD/TNT (Orlando, Amway Center), If necessary
All Times Easterm
