Regrettably, I have no recap to write for last night's game. I'm scrambling to back up all the files on my laptop because I fear I need to send it off for repair. If you don't hear from me for a while, that's where I am.

Crisis averted. Here are some bullets on last night's big win over Philadelphia:

• The Magic set the tone on the first play of the game when Dwight Howard got an uncontested dunk. I've never seen him -- or anyone, come to think of it -- that wide-open under the basket. There wasn't anyone from either team within 15 feet of him. So what happened? Samuel Dalembert left Howard to trap Jameer Nelson on the pick-and-roll, but no 76er rotated over to cover Howard. Nelson was able to thread the needle to Dwight, which made Dalembert look foolish. He stared at his teammates incredulously, as if to say, "How the heck did you forget to cover for me?"
• The same thing happened on the Magic's next possession.
• No fouls were called for the first 6 minutes of the first quarter. There were at least 3 committed on every play, though.
• More fun with Dalembert: on one second-quarter Magic possession, Dalembert committed 3 fouls. It's one thing to pick up 3 quick fouls within a 10-or-20 second span; it's quite another to do it within one possession. It was an Ostertagian "effort" on Dalembert's part.
• Despite the whooping Philadelphia gave us last month in Philly, I still think we match up with them better than with any other potential first-round opponent. The 76ers are the worst three-point shooting team in the league, and they play at a slow pace. Put those two factors together and you have a team that's simply ill-equipped to battle back from double-digit deficits. Something tells me the 76ers would like that Kyle Korver fellow -- shooting .386 from beyond the arc as a Jazzman Jazzer Jazz with Utah -- back in their lineup.
• Hats off to the Turkish fans who populated three upper-bowl sections. They were loud, crazy, and passionate, and they enhanced what was already a fantastic experience.
• Hats off to Hedo Turkoglu for purring together a great all-around performance: he scored 16 points, 4 below his average, but did so on only 8 shot attempts, and only one 3-point attempt. Philadelphia game-planned on Hedo shooting threes, and he used that to his advantage with some great pump-fakes to confuse Philadelphia defenders; he would then barrel into the lane with intensity I haven't seen from any Magic player since Tracy McGrady. Make no mistake: when T-Mac was in attack mode, he would not be denied at the rim. Hedo was the same way last night. Incredible.
• Maurice Cheeks certainly deserves some Coach of the Year consideration -- even at 34-35, the 76ers are overachieving -- but he made two pretty big blunders tonight:
  • He did not take advantage of Andre Miller's size advantage over the Magic's point guards. Miller is fantastic in the low-post and routinely gives Nelson fits. For whatever reason, the 76ers did not exploit that matchup as much as they have in previous games.
  • He stopped applying full-court pressure. Late in the first quarter, the 76ers began using the full-court press, which gave us fits. Not only did we have a hard time just getting the ball up the floor, but we also struggled to get into our offense once we did. Philadelphia closed the quarter on an 8-0 run and continued to chip-into that lead in the second quarter. Then the 76ers stopped pressing, we reasserted ourselves, and we coasted to victory.
• It seemed as though everyone in the arena participated in the "WE-WANT-J.-J.!" chant, which started at the beginning of the fourth quarter and did not subside until Stan Van Gundy relented, subbing J.J. in with 7:31 to play in the game. I thought the ovation was loud then, but I hadn't heard anything yet: when J.J. hit the first shot he took -- a tough jumper from the left wing -- the crowd went nuts. This is not hyperbole: it was nearly as loud as the commotion that took place after Hedo beat the Celtics with a three-pointer at the buzzer.
• So yeah, one might say J.J. is one of our more popular players.
• We could have won this one by thirty points had Van Gundy not called off the dogs. I'm not complaining.
• You know it's garbage time when Brian Cook recovers a loose ball near midcourt and drives hard to the basket in transition. It was the least spectacular "fast"-break in NBA history.

	vs.
45-25		34-34
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Andre Miller
Maurice Evans	SG	Willie Green
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Andre Iguodala
Rashard Lewis	PF	Reggie Evans
Dwight Howard	C	S. Dalembert
Season series:
1 Feb 2008: Magic 108, 76ers 106
22 Feb 2008: Magic 115, 76ers 99
27 Feb 2008: 76ers 101, Magic 89

Let's see: we're at home, playing a .500 team we may later face in the first round of the playoffs. Where have I heard that one before?

Oh. Right.

Can we agree that it's not safe to overlook Philadelphia? The 76ers don't stand a chance at defeating Boston or Detroit in a seven-game series, but they'd give everyone else in the East absolute fits. We just match up poorly with them, particularly at point guard; Andre Miller and Louis Williams routinely destroy us. In fact, Miller's average of 24.7 points per game against us is his best against any Eastern opponent, and nearly 8 points higher than his season average. Ditto for Williams, who averages 15.3 points per game against us, a shade over four points higher than his usual output. So, to state the obvious: stopping Philadelphia's point guards will go a long way to securing a victory for us this evening.

Even with all that, I think we stand a good chance of winning tonight. If being limited by foul trouble and outplayed by Brendan Haywood (?!) Wednesday won't motivate Dwight Howard to punish Philadelphia, I'm not sure what will. Philadelphia is ill-equipped to stop Howard, and Rashard Lewis is due for a big night as well. I sincerely like our chances in this one.

Note that Matt Guokas, the first coach in Magic history, will be honored this evening as part of the Magic's "Commitment to the Past" program. A banner bearing his likeness will be unveiled in the concourse. I love that we're honoring Matty, and I'm not trying to take anything away from him, but I wish this organization could think of a more dignified way to honor its most important historical figures. A banner in the concourse. Great. We can be reminded of these men's greatness each time we head down to grab some nachos or to use the john. Retire some uniform numbers already! Goodness.

My buddy Lane and I will be there tonight to make complete asses of ourselves cheer the Magic, and Hedo Turkoglu in particular. We love us some Hedo. Tip's at 7 on Sun Sports. Go Magic.

	vs.
25-32		37-22
Wachovia Center
7:00 PM
FSN Florida
Probable starters:
Andre Miller	PG	Jameer Nelson
Willie Green	SG	Maurice Evans
Andre Iguodala	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Thaddeus Young	PF	Rashard Lewis
Samuel Dalembert	C	Dwight Howard

I'm really sick of playing Philadelphia. We've played the 76ers twice already this month, including one game just five days ago. Tim Povtak noted the 76ers' inability to win if their opponent scores more than 100 points. They're just 1-19 when that happens this season. Philadelphia just isn't equipped to outgun anybody, especially since trading three-point assassin Kyle Korver to Utah. Surprisingly, the 76ers do have an above-average defense; they rank eighth in the league in defensive efficiency.

Hopefully, Jameer Nelson will get back on track tonight. He's scored 10 points in 50 minutes over the last two games, shooting just 3-of-16 in that span. In the first game against Philadelphia this season, which marked the first time he played in his hometown since his father's unexpected death, Jameer played only 7 minutes. He was probably rattled a bit. Let's see if he's recovered enough. Luckily, we have Keyon Dooling available to back him up. He's en fuego lately and clearly our best bench player.

The tip is at 7:00. Go Magic.

UPDATE: Happy 24th birthday, James Augustine!

UPDATE 2: The Philadelphia Daily News reports that Samuel Dalembert may be unable to play for the 76ers tonight due to some nagging injuries. Calvin Booth may start in his place. Don't laugh, though; Booth did a commendable job guarding Dwight the other night, and he's a veteran type who can draw offensive fouls. (HT: Hardwood Paroxysm.)

	vs.
34-22		24-31
Amway Arena
7:00 PM
Sun Sports HD
Probable starters:
Jameer Nelson	PG	Andre Miller
Maurice Evans	SG	Willie Green
Hedo Turkoglu	SF	Andre Iguodala
Rashard Lewis	PF	Thaddeus Young
Dwight Howard	C	Samuel Dalembert

The Magic will try to capitalize on the beginning a favorable late-November schedule which includes no games versus teams with records above .500, including two games against Philadelphia. The 76ers gave the Magic quite a bit of trouble the last time they played, with reserve point guard Louis Williams (20 points, 7-of-12 FGs) doing most of the damage. Fortunately, the Magic won, thanks to Hedo Turkoglu's free throws in the final seconds. But given Williams' strong play, and the Magic's inability to contain Toronto's Jose Calderon, it's going to be a long night for Jameer Nelson and Keyon Dooling. Maybe we'll have a Carlos Arroyo sighting? For better or for worse, he's here for the rest of the season. Might as well use him.

Interesting thing for which to watch: will Pat Garrity be active? He had been for the past several games leading up to the trade deadline. Now that the deadline's passed, it doesn't make sense to activate him over James Augustine, who had been in street-clothes to facilitate showcasing Garrity.

Check out Sixers4Guidos for the view of Philadelphia from Italy (!). Ricky, who runs the site, is running a campaign for the 76ers to bring back their classic uniforms, which I fully endorse.

I'll be away from the computer for most of the day, which means I won't get a chance to respond to the comments in the Otis-bashing trade deadline thread until later. Leave love.

Or vitriol.

Um, go Magic!!!1

It really wasn't that great of a game last night. I mean, I suppose it was great from the standpoint that it was close throughout, and probably entertaining for liberated fans on League Pass who had no allegiance to either team. But for us... there's no reason for this Magic team to have to eke-out a win against the 76ers. We're just supposed to be better than that. Here's a highlight reel, and here's the boxscore.

Andre Miller killed us with 23 points and 10 assists. Reggie Evans, a 46% foul shooter, hit 5-of-6 from the line and scored 9 points, almost double his season average. Louis Williams came off the bench and scored 20, and we had no answer for him. Think about that. We're supposedly a contending team, but we had no answer for Louis freakin' Williams?! Absurd.

Thank God for Hedo Turkoglu. He lead us in scoring for the seventh straight game and, for the third time this season, scored the winning points of the game. With the game tied at 106, Turk drove into the lane past Andre Iguodala, the 76ers' best player, who raked him across the arm. If you watch the highlights above, you'll see Turk exaggerate the foul by thwoing his arms up wildly, but his acting paid-off; maybe he learned after that loss against New Jersey last month, when he got hacked twice on late-game drives and didn't get the benefit of the whistle either time. As expected, Turkoglu nailed the ensuing two free throws. After two Philadelphia timeouts -- one to set-up the final play and another to prevent a five-second violation -- Dwight Howard stole Andre Miller's inbounds pass, and time expired.

Ricky at Sixers 4 guidos isn't too upset, though, calling it (emphasis his) "the best game of the season." He wants the 76ers to tank the rest of the season. More losses = more ping-pong balls in the draft lottery. It's nice that he's happy. Actually, he might be happier with his team losing than we are with our team winning, because damn, that was ugly. To wit:

• With James Augustine at home battling the flu, Pat Garrity was active for the Magic. He played 4 minutes and contributed 3 fouls. He also failed to dunk on Samuel Dalembert. Meanwhile, J.J. Redick was the only Magic player to receive a DNP-CD. Whuh?!
• Jameer Nelson: 7 minutes, 4 points, 0 assists, 2 turnovers in his first trip to Philadelphia since his father died. Brian Schmitz had a touching article in yesterday's Sentinel about Jameer's rough season.
• Dwight Howard had just 10 shot attempts. Give him the ball.
• All our starters scored in double-figures. Unfortunately, so did all theirs. Where Defense Doesn't Happen.

Yeah, that's a lot of negativity after winning a game to put us 12 games over .500 again, so I'll close by congratulating Carlos Arroyo and Maurice Evans for their solid play: a combined 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Arroyo added 5 assists and just 1 turnover. I'll take that from our starting backcourt any night, no matter who the players are.

The Magic travel to Indianapolis to take on the Pacers tonight. The preview for that one is coming up later today.  EDIT: As promised, here's the preview.

	vs.
18-28		29-18
Wachovia Center
7:00 PM
Sun Sports
Probable starters:
Andre Miller	PG	Carlos Arroyo
Willie Green	SG	Maurice Evans
Andre Iguodala	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Reggie Evans	PF	Rashard Lewis
Samuel Dalembert	C	Dwight Howard

Lots of weird storylines heading into tonight's action. The two teams have combined to play 93 games, yet have not played each other once. The 76ers are 10 games below .500, yet just 1.5 games out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Odder still, they won their last game by 43 points. Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers, post-Allen Iverson, beat a team by 43 points. Next thing you know, Joe Johnson will make an All-Star team.

Oh, wait. Crap.

I'm most interested in seeing how Hedo Turkoglu plays in his first game, post-All-Star-snub. Hopefully, he'll do his best Al Thornton impression. Thornton, who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, was left off the roster for the Rookie Game at All-Star Weekend. He subsequently dropped 33 points on the Hawks in a 95-88 victory. I hope he dunked on Joe Johnson's head. For more notable examples of players going absolutely apeshit nuts after getting snubbed, check out today's post at 20 Second Timeout.

The player who most worries me is Andre Miller. He's great at posting-up smaller guards, much like Chauncey Billups. He's going to give Arroyo and Jameer Nelson fits. Additionally, he throws some unfairly awesome outlet passes, like this alley-oop to Andre Iguodala from about 60 feet away. But don't let that highlight clip fool you into thinking the 76ers are a running team. Despite having young studs like Iguodala, Willie Green, and Louis Williams, they're only 22nd in the league in pace factor.

Anyway, Dwight Howard gets to compete against one of the few players in the league who can legitimately challenge him for rebounds. Reggie Evans, whom the Magic were reportedly interested in acquiring last summer, is 8th in the league in Rebound Rate, ahead of such luminaries as Tim Duncan, Andris Biedrins, and Carlos Boozer. Samuel Dalembert, who will guard Howard, is 20th. I can't mention Dalembert without throwing in the infamous Pat Garrity Dunk Mix. The following video is completely real. Do not adjust your screen.

For your 76ers fix, check out Sixers 4 Guidos.

See you at 7. Go Magic.