During the halftime show of today’s contest, Dwight Howard had a little fun with his Superman persona.  So did Boston.

The Celtics were able to capitalize on Howard’s inefficiency in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, beating the Orlando Magic, 92-88. 

After sparkling performances in the first two rounds of the postseason, Boston has made it crystal clear that Superman has a kryptonite.  And now the question becomes – can Orlando overcome Superman’s kryptonite?

Contrary to his self-assessment – which indicated that Howard’s kryptonite was a tendency to overthink on the court – we were able to witness his obvious weakness.  In Howard’s six-year NBA career, there has been a very limited amount (if any) of improvement in his offensive repertoire.  His back-to-the-basket skills haven’t been refined, and a team like the Celtics will not let him just back them into the paint and dunk the ball.  Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis have more than enough strength to make Howard work, and force him to do something different offensively.  The Magic center was not up to the task.

Howard was only 3-10 from the field.  This was in contrast to his second round series against the Hawks, when he only missed five shots in all four games combined.  He also committed seven turonvers in Game 1, and all around it was a very ineffective performance by Superman. 

The Celtics got good contributions from Ray Allen (25 points, 8-16 FG) and Paul Pierce (22 points on 6-8 FG, 9 rebounds, 5 assists).  Boston also received a lift from reserve forward Rasheed Wallace who scored 13.  The green guys were able to move the ball well, accumulating 21 assists compared to only 10 for Orlando.

After getting themselves into a hole that reached as much as 20 points, the Magic forged a late comeback.  Stan Van Gundy began to adjust his schemes to use some of his more versatile offensive weapons.  Orlando started to uncoil plays for Vince Carter, Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick.  This was an important realization for the Magic – one that they will undoubtedly have to revisit if they wish to have any degree of success against Boston. 

Kendrick Perkins' single-coverage of Dwight Howard stifled the Orlando offense in Game 1.

The fact is that Dwight Howard cannot do the following:

- Use either hand in the post

- Shoot free throws with any degree of consistency

- Diversify his offensive moves based on the defender

- Pass effectively out of any double-teams he is able to generate

Because of this, Orlando is forced to abandon its game plan to utilize the most physically gifted specimen in the NBA.  Unless Howard makes the necessary improvements, the Magic will not be able to have him dominate to the potential that he could.  So, the Orlando perimeter players now have to do the heavy lifting.

Today, they were able to eventually cut the lead down to three points - 90-88 with nine seconds left in the contest.  But Orlando, in foul mode, had to send Ray Allen to the line.  Allen, in typical fashion, calmly tickled the twine on two free throws amid the hostile Magic crowd to provide the final score of 92-88.

It’ll be interesting to see how early in Game 2 the Magic resume the offensive wrinkles that it displayed late in the first game of the series.  Implementing the changes early in the game should allow them to stay competitive throughout the contest.  Boston has had the luxury of playing with decisive leads as they’ve entered the fourth quarter, and they’ve seen those leads dwindle.  Staying close all game long may enable the Magic to put some unusual pressure on the veteran team.

At any rate, adjustments are in order for the Magic. 

And if the Magic wish to counteract the newly detected kryptonite, Superman may have to take a backseat to his other superhero friends.