Tonight, 8 p.m. EST, BDL will be live-blogging both Magic/76ers and (if
we can stay up) Trail Blazers/Rockets; depending on much ice
cream and jellybeans we eat. Swing on by!

Philadelphia at
Orlando

This should be a tough, slow-down game between two teams
with quite a bit to worry about right now.

Both the Sixers and Magic took in quite a bit of preseason
hype from mugs like yours truly, and I still think it deserved. But Dwight
Howard still looks like he plays with one arm roped to his torso, and Elton
Brand seems an afterthought outside of shooting little chippy 12-footers in the
Philly offense.

So something’s gotta give. Both teams are decidedly middle
of the road, stat-wise, on defense and offense, and in records. Records are a
stat, even if you type out the amount of wins and losses (Philly has won twice
and lost three times, Orlando
has won twice and lost twice), they still count as numbers. It’s science.

Here’s one thing I’m looking forward to: Thaddeus Young. At
his best, this season, he’s looked like some awesome hybrid of Hedo Turkoglu
and Rashard Lewis, right down to the bad rebounding (4.4 in 31 minutes? Come
on, man) and white hot outside shooting (10 of 18 from long range? Come on, my
man!). How will he fare in the face of his maker? Only time will tell.

The boards might tell the story. Even with their slowish
start, Philadelphia
is outrebounding opponents by 11.4 per game thus far, and that’s quite a bit.
Meanwhile, Dwight Howard (14.5 per, by his lonesome) is doing his part to make
sure that nobody on the Magic gets to meet their bonus stipulations for
rebounding this year. Come on, Dwight. Let ‘em have a free throw miss or
something. Hedo’s bobblehead start-up company needs a little more capital.

The turnover battle might loom large as well. The Magic are
notorious for coughing it up, even with the late Carlos Arroyo having moved on
to a better place, and Samuel Dalembert has turned the ball over on 26.7
percent of all the possessions he’s used up this season. That’s rather
ridiculous.

Philadelphia 76ers: 2 wins and 3 losses, 93
possessions per game (13^th-fastest team in the NBA), 106.7 points
scored per 100 possessions (13^th), 102 points allowed per 100
possessions (14^th). Knowing Me, Knowing You. A-ha.

Orlando Magic: 2 wins and 2 losses, 91.1
possessions per game (20^th), 106.2 points scored per 100 possessions
(12^th), 105.4 points allowed per 100 possessions (17^th). Take a chance on me.

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An anonymous Ball Don’t Lie reader just sent this pic in, with the following, um, explanation:

"Dances With Wolves, Limited Collector’s Edition Version!!! This Minnesota set comes with two VHS tapes, six high gloss 14" x 11" Kevin Love photos, Dances With Wolves: The Illustrated Story Of The Epic Kevin McHale book, and an organized collectors edition storage case! Plus, Two Socks and Two-Tone Crunch plush toys! Call now!!"

Unfortunately, no number was attached, which is too bad. I was sort of interested.

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A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: The Sporting Blog. LeBron interviewed on the subject of Obama’s win. Great YouTube clip.
PF: Dime. Chris Paul and Weezy F. Baby, one and the same.
SF: Sports By Brooks. I can’t decide: "All-Net Sak" > "The Ball Claw", or is it the other way around?
SG: FirstCuts. Forget the new Pistons jersey, check out this "Lord Iverson" Phillies thread.
PG: We’re Off To See The Wizards. What kind of outdoor hoop best fits The White House?
6th: The Sports Hernia. Apparently, Kenyon Martin is paying homage to Miss Piggy with his latest tat.
7th: TalkHoops.net. The amount of work going into these Daily Dime-like posts is absolutely incredible.
8th: Denver Post. After cutting his trademark ‘rows, ‘Melo is opening up a new barbershop.
9th: The Blowtorch. Goatman intercepts a "call" from Robin Lopez to Brook Lopez. Technology, man.
10th: Supersonicsoul. If the AP is to be believed, less than one week into the OKC NBA experiment, the Thunder didn’t sell out a Sunday night game. As you can imagine, Sonics fans are not impressed.

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Garbage Time All-Stars is by Josh Frankel and Mark Haven Britt: two cartoonists, illustrators and basketball fans.
GTAS post a new NBA comic on Ball Don’t Lie every week, but for more
wit and drawings check out garbagetimeallstars.com. Also, you can buy Britt’s critically-acclaimed graphic novel, Full Color, at Amazon.

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Jordan goes up to the bar and says, "Can I have a large Gin and ……………. Tonic, please?" The bartender replies, "Yeah, sure, but what’s with the big pause?" MJ holds up his hands and says, "I’m a Bobcat!" Spike Lee films it, Ahmad Rashad is in the washroom, and oh, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Adam Silver is the bartender. They’re also at a Knicks game. Huh? What? I don’t know. I’m trippin’ on Ambien. Best caption wins Spike’s Undrcrwn shirt. Good luck.

After the jump, Perk wants a piece.

Winner, quikdrummer:
Perkins: "FOUL??? WHAT FREAKIN FOUL???"
Ref: "I am not going to sit on my ass as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my life. I’m going to take a stand. I’m going to defend it. Right or wrong, I’m going to defend it. And that, that was clearly a foul on you, Kendrick."
T-Mac: "I knew that ref was the skinny dude from Ferris Bueller!"

Runner-up, no se va:
T-Mac: "I told you to VOTE FOR OBAMA, punk! I told you!"
Ref: "Lord, I must heal this child! HEAR ME OH LORD AND LET ME HEAL THIS CHILD! FOR HE HAS SINNED!"

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