Looking Back At Game 1...

April 21, 9:34 a.m. It was a "three"party for the Magic in the first quarter. I have never seen a team from the opening tip that hot behind the arc in all my years of covering the NBA. The first quarter was a blur for the Raps. I've witnessed players going off during a game (Carter, Jordan, Marshall) but collectively as a team...wow. The Raps trailed by as many as 24 but to their credit battled back and trimmed the Orlando lead to five 88-83 before the Magic put away the Raps. The play of Jameer Nelson and Keyon Dooling stepped up as they won the matchup of T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon. Nelson with a 24 point, seven assist game. Dooling tossed in 10 points off the bench. Ford and Calderon combined for 14 points ( 4-20 FG) and 14 assist. The Raps won the last three quarters 77-71 and can build on that for Game 2. Jason Kapono was solid off the bench pouring in four three balls and finished with a career playoff high 18 points. Anthony Parker was steady throughout with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Rasho Nesterovic playing in his 60th NBA playoff game tossed in 16 points grabbed eight rebounds and dished out two assists. Rashard Lewis did a very good job containing Chris Bosh. Bosh earned every one of his 21 points. He went 13-13 from the line but went 4-11 from the floor. Dwight Howard..."The Man" - was a monster on the boards with 22 to go along with a game high 25. He is incredible The Raps must decide when to double and with whom. The Raps elected to go with Andrea Bargnani ahead of Jamario Moon. Bargnani played well in the final three playoff games a year ago averaging seventeen per game . Will Bargnani get the call to start Game 2? Stay tuned. I still believe the Raps have a shot at game two. No way Orlando can get off to a similar start. No chance. But the Raps need to defend better and make a decision when to double Howard in the post. Game 2 set for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. on The Score. A reported 3,000 tickets remain for Tuesday's game. Amway Arena holds 17, 500. The noise level was aided by hand clappers - I can flat out guarantee come Thursday night at Air Canada Centre the building will be rocking. You won't need any artificial means to generate excitement. Make sure and wear red to the game. Plenty of ball over the weekend. Give it up to the 76ers winning in Detroit. Were the Pistons overconfident? Probably. Rasheed Wallace was crazy good - 24 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks. The Lakers are thanking Memphis every morning, every afternoon and every evening. Pau Gasol with 36 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists game as Los Angeles scored 128 points on the Nuggets. The Nuggets lost their cool on Sunday. They had no self control but that's not shocking considering they led the NBA in techs this season with 54. Boston by 23 over the Hawks. Enough said. After Saturday's practice I caught the Spurs-Suns game. What a ballgame. Love it. I hope the series goes seven! Another reason why I'm delighted the Raps didn't draw the Cavs in the opening round...LeBron James took over game one against the Wizards including a spectacular dunk. Simply SPECTACULAR! The buzz making the rounds...it's a matter of when NOT if Mark Jackson is the next head coach of the Knicks. The NY Post reports Scott Skiles and the Bucks are a match. I like what Milwaukee has done this past week with John Hammond named as new GM. He brought in Jeff Weltman and the pending announcement of Skiles. No problem with the Jays releasing Frank Thomas. None. It sends a great message throughout the clubhouse. Addition through subtraction. Chris Osgood is still around after all these years and it was good to see him play well Sunday. If you're not diggin' the Boston-Montreal series or Calgary-San Jose matchup something's wrong. Need some new songs in my I-Pod. Any suggestions? Questions/comments about the Raps-NBA? E-mail me at cswirsky@torontoraptors.com or call me at 416-815-6189. My mailbox is open 24-7 for the fans . Always a pleasure.