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First Round Snapshots: Denver’s Home-Cookin’; Wade’s Dynamism; Magic Rookie’s Spark

Apr 23, 2009, 1:45 PM UTC

Sweet Home Colorado: Chauncey Billups really, really relishes playing in front of his hometown Denver crowd. The city’s favorite son, and basketball savior, was once again the architect of roof-raising win over the Hornets. Billups didn’t set any records in this one, but he did manage 31 points as the Nuggets won handily, 108-93. Going over 30 for the second game in a row, the Denver guard could’ve easily been mistaken for Allen Iverson. Except no one could accuse him of not taking the smartest shots on the floor, seeing as the smaller Chris Paul (or forward Rasual Butler) can match up with the physical Billups.â†µâ†µSpeaking of Paul, he and fellow All-Star David West were off for much of the night. Hopefully, the Hornets can at least put up a fight when they head home. This was supposed to be one of the more interesting round one match-ups, and instead, it’s served up some of the more lopsided margins. â†µ

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â†µOne-Man Gang: The proposition in Heat/Hawks is a simple one: Can human super-nova Dwyane Wade, with a little bit of help from the rickety Jermaine O'Neal, some rookies, and some spare parts, topple an Atlanta team that's either newly legit or not quite there yet? Based on the first game, heck no. After Thursday night, the answer's not so clear.â†µ

â†µâ†µWade, working mostly on the perimeter, put up 33 points and spent the rest of the game keeping the Hawks on their heels, en route to a 108-93 Miami victory. Though it was close at times, in the end, a balanced Atlanta attack was no match for the momentum created by Wade (and the space left for others in his wake). For the Hawks to get back into this series, they need one of their own to match Wade’s dynamism, as Josh Smith did in their blowout game one victory. â†µ

â†µâ†µDeja Vu, Almost:: That’s right, once again, the Orlando Magic very nearly coughed up a comfortable lead in the fourth. Once again, they had to make due without Dwight Howard, after the Defensive Player of the Year fouled out in the fourth. But luckily, rookie Courtney Lee was there, stepping in to score a career high 24 points.â†µ

â†µâ†µOh, and for those keeping an eye out on the Magic’s overall game plan, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu managed to score more, although they shot poorly and hit only two three-pointers between them (the Magic finished 6-for-23 from beyond the arc). Except this time, the Sixers didn’t have their long-range game going, and there would be no majestic game-winner from Andre Iguodala to seal the deal.â†µ

â†µâ†µThere’s no question that, if the Magic get it together, they should be able to get this series under wraps, even on the road. The question everyone’s asking, though, is why they’re having so much trouble doing so. â†µ

â†µâ†µ(Image via)â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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