Sixers Eliminated 114-89

The No. 6 seed 76ers were just eliminated by the No. 3 seed Orlando Magic at the Wachovia Center in a game that much of the Philly faithful viewed as a freebie.

With Dwight Howard banned from the game after giving an elbow to the head of Sammy Dalembert Tuesday night in Orlando and Courtney Lee knocked out of the series with a sinus fracture, the Sixers rode into the game on a high note with the Magic missing two of their best weapons. But they couldn’t find a way to capitalize and moped through the game after being outscored 30-19 in the first quarter.

The Sixers strayed from their game plan the previous four contests where they largely left Howard alone in the paint in order to cover the perimeter and prevent 3-pointers. Without Superman tonight, the Sixers decided to keep their defense in the paint, thus allowing Orlando to hit 3-pointer after 3-pointer until DiLeo’s group was buried 22 points down in the fourth quarter.

“It went by too fast,” said a visibly shell shocked Andre Miller after the game. “It felt like a blur of them just hitting shots left and right. I don’t even feel like we played a game. They hit threes, we watched them, and the game was over.”

The Sixers stumbled into the playoffs with a 41-41 record, having lost eight of their last 12. They pulled off a 100-98 win in Game One in Orlando, but the momentum was shattered by Orlando’s 96-87 rebuttal in Game Two at the Amway Arena last Wednesday night. The Sixers managed a nice 96-94 victory in Game Three, but lost the next two meetings and forced an elimination game tonight at home.

“They beat us in every category,” said head coach Tony DiLeo during the post-game conference. “We never really had a chance in this game.”

No chance, despite the absence of Dwight Howard and Courtney Lee.

“They just did a better job than us in every aspect of the game,” said Andre Iguodala. “They just showed that they were a mentally tougher team.”

Aside from team chemistry and desire, the Sixers face several question marks in the offseason. Current head coach Tony DiLeo is likely to be replaced by a person outside of the organization and guard Andre Miller will reach unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career.

But on a happier note, at least Sammy D sent the Magic on their way to the next round with love. In the third quarter of tonight’s game, Dalembert planted a kiss on the forehead of a heated Hedo Turkoglu who confronted Dalembert after receiving what looked to be an unintentional smack to the face during an Orlando offensive drive. Turkoglu fought off Sammy’s advances and was called for a technical foul, then subsequently ejected from the game.

The Prospect Pasture - April 30

The Phillies depth of pitching prospects has been making the organization proud of late as many players wasted no time getting on the right track.

Right-handed pitcher Vance Worley, the Phillies’ third round pick in the 2008 draft, made the jump from Low-A Lakewood to AA Reading this year and threw seven scoreless innings for Reading last night, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out seven. The 21-year-old out of Long Beach State College has a flashy 0.945 WHIP to go along with a 7.8 K/9 through his first four starts.

Add Worley to the list of under-the-radar pitching prospects that have performed brilliantly in the early season, along with Mike Stutes (AA Reading), Yohan Flande (A+ Clearwater), and Carlos Monasterios (A+ Clearwater).

Top overall prospect Dominic Brown hit his second home run of the season in Clearwater yesterday en route to a 4-3 win over the Dundein Blue Jays. The outfield prospect currently leads the Threshers in triples (2), stolen bases (5), slugging (.478), and RBI (13).

Sixth-overall prospect Michael Taylor had a big night in Reading, banging out a double and two singles in a 2-0 victory over the Altoona Curve. The 23-year-old outfielder leads the team in just about every offensive category.

Photos courtesy MiLB.com.