RotoWire – JEFF EDGERTON

Magic Gaming and Pistons GT are both seeing their playoff prospects dwindle, and the upcoming Ticket tournament might be their only way in. The sole implications for the game would involve seeding for the Turn tournament, as the only way into the playoffs for either of these teams will be the Ticket tournament at season’s end. While this game is hardly GOTW material, the element of pride was at stake on Friday as these two squads squared off. Magic Gaming was considered to be the favorite, but instead, it was the Pistons who converted a sweep, garnering their third win of the season.

Magic Gaming jumped out to an early lead thanks to some early mistakes from the Pistons, who couldn’t hang on to the ball early. The Magic then got snakebit by the same curse, and it allowed the Pistons to string together a nice run that eventually evened up the score at 14 at the end of the first quarter. Although Reizey was performing well for the Magic, it was Ramo showing up big for the Pistons in that comeback with some put-backs and key rebounds.

Charger x 704 stole a ball and sunk a basket in transition to give the Pistons a five-point lead early in the second quarter. Joseph converted a carbon copy of that first play, and just like that, the underdogs were up nine points. The Magic hit a huge scoring drought, and the Pistons took advantage during a decisive 20-2 run. The turnovers kept coming for the Magic and they ended up only scoring four points in the second, giving the Pistons a huge 34-18 lead at the half. Reizey has the dubious distinction of ranking fourth in the league with 5.5 turnovers per game, and he was on the road to pacing that average.

Reizey helped the Magic out with a basket to start the quarter, and they quickly equaled their second-quarter total in a matter of seconds. This still left them down by 14, and the Magic defense wasn’t finding an answer for Ramo inside. The Magic resorted to mid-range shots due to their lack of penetration, but very few of them found the net, and the Pistons continued to press. Reizey and company were able to stem the tide of turnovers, but they couldn’t sink any baskets, allowing the Pistons to stay well ahead. LYKaPRO was the man with the hot hand in the third quarter, so Demon JT and the Pistons afforded him every opportunity to shoot. He greened yet another long three to put an exclamation mark on his excellent frame, and it resulted in a 17-point lead for the Pistons and a likely Game 1 win. Demon JT popped a big basket to begin the fourth, and with a 19-point deficit, the Magic seemed to give up on the game. Reizey appeared to be experimenting with some different sets just to see how they could exploit the Pistons’ defensive scheme in Game 2, but they still weren’t having much success. The shell-shocked Magic folded like a house of cards in the final stanza, losing by 29, 81-52. Turnovers proved to be the Achilles heel for the Magic, as they committed 15 turnovers, and Reizey led the crew with eight of them. LYKaPRO went off in Game 1 to lead the Pistons with 28 points. He also drained eight of his nine 3-point attempts. Ramo also stuffed a nice stat line, flirting with a double with a slash of 10/13/8 with three blocked shots.

Game 2 did not start off well for the Magic, as they Pistons drained a three and laid in a contested ball in the paint to take a 5-0 lead. The Magic missed key opportunities to score in the first quarter. A good example is a nearly-completed pick and roll where Reizey failed to complete to a wide-open Ray in the paint, and there were other moments where the ball wasn’t where it needed to be. Even simple layups were difficult to sink, but the Magic managed to stay within striking distance. In a quarter where the Pistons outplayed the Magic, the two teams were deadlocked at 13 heading into the second frame. DT and Joseph were unlikely stars for the two squads in the first six minutes. The two teams battled back and forth in the second quarter, but Ramo’s Glass Cleaner was activated and gave the Pistons a bit of a boost Reizey and company were moving the ball around with much more precision in this quarter and resulted in some easy baskets. Demon JT’s cold ring in the closing minutes of the half saddled the Pistons’ offensive output somewhat, which allowed the Magic to get almost even. The Pistons held a slim 33-32 lead to end the half.

The Magic played some of their best ball of the series in the third quarter, as they kept pace with the Pistons and even wrestled the lead from them a few times. They still had some trouble gaining an advantage in the post as Ramo wasn’t giving anyone a free pass, but Reizey was able to find playmakers elsewhere. The hotly-contested quarter left things exactly where they were at halftime, with the Pistons nursing a one-point lead, 49-48.

The Pistons tried to close the deal early with a quick 6-2 run, but the Magic refused to back down. They took a quick time out, regrouped, and promptly nailed a corner three to keep things close. Although Ray was making plays all over the court, his rebounding takeover lit up for the second time in the contest and almost single-handedly kept the Magic within a few possessions, but time was running out and they were unable to close the gap. A put-back by Ramo in the final 30 seconds was the nail in the coffin. The Pistons completed the sweep with a 67-57 win. Once again, it was coughing up the ball that killed the Magic in this one, as they committed 11 turnovers that were often unforced errors. Conversely, the Pistons gave up only 14 turnovers for the entire series and only five in Game 2. The Pistons enjoyed a nice, balanced attack in Game 2, but Ramo was the headliner with a 13/17 double-double. Demon JT swapped with LYKaPRO as the main go-getter in the backcourt with 22 points.

Pistons GT (3-9) will take on Warriors Gaming squad next Tuesday. Magic Gaming (4-9) squares off against Heat Check Gaming next Wednesday.