Orlando center Dwight Howard will miss tonight's Game 6 against the Sixers due to a suspension, the league announced Wednesday afternoon.

Howard elbowed Sixers center Samuel Dalembert in the head with 9:15 left in the first period of Tuesday night's game.

Howard has averaged 24 points, 15.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots through the first five games of the series.

But Dalembert wasn't Howard's only victim. He caught teammate Courtney Lee in the face causing a fractured sinus. Lee is out for Wednesday night's game.

In the NBA playoffs many coaches shorten their bench.

For the Sixers, this has meant less time for rookie Marreese Speights, who averaged just 7.5 minutes in the first two games and hasn’t played at all since.

The problem, according to coach Tony DiLeo, is Orlando’s power forward, Rashard Lewis.

“We like him a lot,” DiLeo said of Speights. “We want to get him in there. The only problem we have is they play Rashard Lewis at the 4 spot a lot and that’s a tough guard for Speights, who’s used to playing an inside player and all of an sudden go out and guard an outside player. We’re going to try to find some way to get him in the game, especially if we’re struggling offensively.”

In 79 regular season games, Speights averaged 7.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 16 minutes a game.

Nominally, Samuel Dalembert is the Sixers’ starting lineup.
Reality, however, says something else. In the first two games against Orlando it is veteran Theo Ratliff who is taking the bulk of the minutes at center, and with good reason. Despite his 36 years, Ratliff is playing tough against young superstar Dwight Howard.
“I used to be a smaller guy, but I’m not that small anymore so when people bang against me I enjoy that,” Ratliff said. “He’s a great athlete, a great player and he’s doing nothing but getting better. It’s a good time to be playing against Dwight.”
In Game 1, Ratliff played 24 minutes to Dalembert’s 17. In Game 2 he played 22 minutes while Dalembert played just nine.
Coach Tony DiLeo said fouls enter into the equation, but Ratliff finished with five fouls Wednesday night while Dalembert was on the bench with just four.
Ratliff isn’t complaining. After playing sparingly in the regular season he’s glad to be back in the thick of it.
“You go through a full season and nothing really changes about the routine you go through,” he said. “I’ve felt good all year. I’ve always felt I should have been out there, but it’s up to the coaches and their decision. But I welcome this challenge. I welcome being able to be out there on the floor and play against a guy of his standing. I’m just trying to help the team win.”

Tickets for 76ers first round playoff games go on sale Wednesday, April 8 at 10 a.m.

Prices start at $15 and are available at the Wachovia Center box office, at sixers.com or by calling 1-800-298-4200.

The Sixers are also holding an open house on Thursday, April 9 at the Wachovia Center to give fans an opportunity to preview full season ticket availability for the 2009-10 season. It will run from 6-8 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The first 100 fans to purchase a new full season ticket package Thursday will receive tickets to Fan Appreciation Night against the Boston Celtics on April 14, plus tickets to the Sixers first game in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Sixers forward Thaddeus Young had an MRI Wednesday and after reading them he was diagnosed with a sprain and a bone bruise.
What that means for Young is an air cast and crutches. What it means for the Sixers is they'll be without his services for two to three weeks.
Effectively, that's the rest of the regular season, which ends on April 16. Depending on how quickly Young heals, he could also miss some playoff games.