Can the Magic Still Win?

Of course they can. The Magic obliterated the Hawks with a group of 3-point sharpshooters. They shot so well from beyond the arc that they destroyed Atlanta without a dominating offensive performance from Dwight Howard. On the defensive end however, Howard was incredibly dominating. His numbers don't even fully show how many Hawks' shots he altered. Now flash to the first two games of this series. Howards' offensive numbers have been much higher, with him scoring 30 in Game 2. On the defensive end he has turned in a much more pedestrian effort. Kendrick Perkins has been doing a better job of entire defense than Howard has. More deadly for the Magic however, has been the sudden loss of their outside shot. Rashard Lewis had an excellent Hawks series, but he has been stone cold versus the Celtics. His impact is two-fold. First, he gives Orlando the obvious benefit of a hot outside shot. Second and more importantly, he pulls KG out of the lane giving Howard much more room to maneuver and out-athletic Perkins. If the Magic can get Lewis to heat up and Howard to get back to his old defensive ways, they definitely can still win this series. One final note: The Magic need Vince Carter to work as a part of their offense like he did in the Hawks series rather than playing one-on-one clear out basketball like he is in this series. Vince is a valuable asset for Orlando as a part of their greater offensive scheme. However, he most certainly can not beat the Celtics by himself. If Vince is playing too great a role in the Orlando offensive, they have no shot at all.