I have a feeling that the problem the Hawks are having with the magic is not tactical but psychology. Dwight Howard dominates 90% of the centers in the league but the Magic does not blowout 90% of the teams in the league on a consistent basis.
The Magic have lost to Detroit, Miami( multiple times),Phoenix,Utah and Oklahoma. All these teams have "small" centers that Dwight can dominate easily so Dwight dominating Horford is not the problem.
The problem is :
1. After multiple blowouts, the Hawks play tight against the magic.
2. When magic makes 3's, you can feel the Hawks players getting deflated.
3. When Dwight blocks a shot, the player do not take it to the basket but settle or adjust their shot to avoid being blocked. The best way to play a shot blocker is to take it to him .
4. The 2 games in Orlando were back to backs after emotional wins over the Celtics.
The Hawks have the same problem with Boston over the last 2 years( the Hawks were swept by the Celtics over the last 2 years in the regular season). The Hawks beat the Magic last year in Orlando so we can do it again. We just need to be more focused and loose.Despite the blowouts, I would prefer to see the Magic in the second round of the playoffs instead of the Cavaliers.


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