2023-2024 Regular Season Game 64: Orlando Magic (37-26) at New York Knicks (36-26) - 7:30pm

[p0peye]

watching other teams on league pass its really obvious man.....why is it everyone can shoot but us? naz reid hit 7 threes man...dejounte 6....it's a broken record but we really need to address this in the offseason....certain guys needs to be replaced....certain guys may need to be demoted....certain guys need to focus on themselves and improve in the summer...however it needs to be done, it needs to be done.....

Classic ballboy mistake, man. You should know better than doing that and bringing those thoughts here.

[fateis007]

This is a quote from you:

made up quote

I never said I didn't like him. I actually like him a lot. Overall he is a good coach and has us playing top 5 defense (and the team loves to play hard for him), but I just think that is his weakness and likely we will get abused when playoff level defense starts being played. His offense struggles and everyone wants to immediately shift the blame to personnel any time he is questioned, and it's odd, when we have a bottom 5 offense ever since his tenure and the guy is calling all the plays. It's literally his job.

I would like to hope that it's only just a matter of putting in more peices and this isn't anything to do with his coaching schemes and he is simply being held back, trust me. So let's hope we land a pointguard, and suddenly become a top 10 offense.

Not sure why you think my views are so extreme. You could argue he is average at best, and is that really that great?

So you could call it a bias, but I don't. I want him to suceed, as I like him as a person. But just because I think his offense is going to be exploited in the playoffs and that I don't agree he is being held back as much as others, doesn't make be bias.

[Skybox]

Now, add OG and Randle.

We could have done better last night…but so could they. This is what the playoffs will likely look like and I guess that’s part of the process. We simply need one more big talent…they must be able to score 20+ on any given night as second or third option, they should be able to shoot 3’s, they should be offensive creators, would be great if they are a solid on-ball combo guard who can run point, would be great if they are long and can lock down on D.

Dejounte Murray was very much available. I don’t think Monk is good enough to focus on. Grayson would be a nice add…a nice Harris upgrade, but not a transformative addition. We need to aim higher this summer if the team is to advance next season. Lots of good happening but 5th seed is not really who they are yet (even if they land there).

Still ahead of schedule- which is no excuse to get comfy. Any additional waste of Paolo’s talent & maturity is negligent.

[RookieStar]

Fultz has some legit thing going on which is why you see him spasm and jolt around and stuff in interviews. Not sure how feasible it is to continue a career with that lingering.

Think the best thing for him is to take a year off or 2 and get himself treated for chance at a comeback.

If not, im sure he made more than 50m already and that should be enough to live off if he doesnt splurge

a year or 2 off? he played 26 games in 2 years from 2020-2022.

Im talking about total non-basketball/sports influence. Like if its surgery thats needed or rehab or whatever, then do it and dont pressure yourself to get back to the league asap

[eyriq]

Can't always use losses to trash players, executives, and coaches. There is a difference between losing and underachieving.

Edit: unless it's Fultz or WCJ, of course. Or Cole, Ingles, Harris, or Okeke, of course.

[eyriq]

Read on Twitter

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[j_n]

Maybe I'm excusing the team here because we did have an off night offensively regardless but this was the worst officiated first half I have ever seen, including the fixed Donahgy game against Phoenix.

At a certain point it seemed intentional, we were being hacked on every drive, the refs missed at least 30 calls in the first half, mostly against us.
I didn't watch most of the second half but to me that was the real story of the game, these refs should be suspended and investigated.

[Skybox]

Maybe I'm excusing the team here because we did have an off night offensively regardless but this was the worst officiated first half I have ever seen, including the fixed Donahgy game against Phoenix.

At a certain point it seemed intentional, we were being hacked on every drive, the refs missed at least 30 calls in the first half, mostly against us.
I didn't watch most of the second half but to me that was the real story of the game, these refs should be suspended and investigated.

ORL is among the most physical defending teams in the league...Every great defender, specifically Suggs, is in danger of fouling out every night...that's just the reality of competitive NBA games.

I know you're not excusing the rest, but...

2pts, 1 assist, 3 rebs, in a combined 47 mins from our starting backcourt. Luckily, the next 3 guards off the bench chipped in 7 points in their combined 41 mins.

That is horrifying. They're all nice guys, I'm sure. But Geez. This is an old story. We need to stop excusing the lack of real talent. When Caleb comes in and hits 4 threes once a month, that doesn't make him good. Just good that night. Our best guard was out...but what was he going to chip in? He averages 12ppg. Enough with the rationalizing.

Offense does kind of matter....NY was without their best defender. Arguably their two best.

[byeganyo]

Read on Twitter

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"Have combined for 5 points on 20% shooting" is a very nice wording for Harris has scored 5 points on 40% shooting and Black 0 pts on 0% shooting, LOL
0 pts and 0 asts for Black in 23 minutes is well not good enough.
5 pts from Harris is obviously poor input too, but oddly enough he was the guard that contributed the most yesterday.

[eyriq]

Read on Twitter

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"Have combined for 5 points on 20% shooting" is a very nice wording for Harris has scored 5 points on 40% shooting and Black 0 pts on 0% shooting, LOL
0 pts and 0 asts for Black in 23 minutes is well not good enough.
5 pts from Harris is obviously poor input too, but oddly enough he was the guard that contributed the most yesterday.

I've been enjoying BPM from B-R.

Top:
JI +22.8
P5 +10.5

Bottom:
AB -21.5

Probably AB's worst game.

[T-Cat]

Read on Twitter

?t=XDj_J95dtNL8BqRqCY9p2w&s=19

"Have combined for 5 points on 20% shooting" is a very nice wording for Harris has scored 5 points on 40% shooting and Black 0 pts on 0% shooting, LOL
0 pts and 0 asts for Black in 23 minutes is well not good enough.
5 pts from Harris is obviously poor input too, but oddly enough he was the guard that contributed the most yesterday.

I've been enjoying BPM from B-R.

Top:
JI +22.8
P5 +10.5

Bottom:
AB -21.5

Probably AB's worst game.

I feel like Jonathan Isaac game compliments Paolo game better than Franz.

I would consider trading around draft time Franz for Shaedon Sharpe and their 2024 lotto pick.

[Bergmaniac]

This game is exactly what I am afraid may happen in some games the playoffs when the refs start allowing more physical play, especially for the home teams. We rely so much on scoring inside and getting to the line that when this is taken away by refs and good gameplanning of the opponent we often struggle. And against tough defenses and physical play you really need better playmaking than we have. Black is not ready, Fultz is done and Cole is an undersized shooting guard. Ingles being absurdly passive didn't help either, why is he even playing if he is not running plays on offense and even refusing to shoot, at one point he had a wide open look 3 after a steal but passed to Paolo in the corner who wasn't even that open.

We will usually shoot better than this from outside, of course, and second half's D was impressive, but the lack of playmaking remains a concern, and so are Franz's struggles from 3. Our offense badly needs him to be a viable threat from outside, if he is another guy the opponents can freely help off in the playoffs this would cripple our offense.

[pepe1991]

I will repeat what I said in the thread on 4th place: we are not as good as our standing implies.

Because standings are very awkward this year and it's hard to find season comparable to this one.

You have 5 very bad teams, but 3 are historically bad, so every solid team can bank almost +15 wins by just facing them

We have 22-6 record against teams below .500 and 15-21 against team above .500.
But there are even worst "offenders" like Knicks.

By just crushing bad teams they will probably end up with nice 48-ish wins.

But by just looking at Ws they collected and will collect it makes you ask yourelf how those, current standings actually stack against some standings in past.

2 Ws vs Atlanta
2 Ws vs Nets ( play them again twice)
4 Ws vs Hornets
2 Ws vs Pistons ( play them again)
2 Ws vs Memphis
1 W vs Philly ( no Embiid) play them twice for remaining of a season
1 W vs Blazers ( play them again)
3 Ws vs Raptors (play them again)
1 W vs Spurs- ( Play them again)
3 W vs Wizards

So by just crushing bad or injuried teams ( I didn't even count all) they won 20 games, and will be favorites in remaining 7.

And you look at them amazed " that's a Knicks taem that won 50 games" than you figure... they pretty much can't beat anybody good, but doesn't matter , they padded enough Ws against teams who are bad that they ended up with 50 Ws ( and fans will be shocked once they get bounced in first round )

[SOUL]

I actually think there are less tanking teams than in the past 10 years, which is why there was such much anti-tanking uproar at some point. The bottom is truly awful now but there used to be like 6-8 tanking teams in each conference that all had 20-32 wins or something. In that first covid year with 73 games, Nets got 7th seed being under .500 and there were like 7 truly awful teams in the east so teams always beat up on bad teams.

[bigdogdylan5]

Curse of sky rocketing expectations. Too many people treating this team like a legit contender. Yes of course the guard thing needs to be fixed. We all know this. Offensively this team can get really bogged down because of it. This team’s offense is not where it needs to be. No one wants to talk about how Franz and Paolo are looking a lot more like Murray and Trae than two stars that fit together. It’s way too much your turn my turn. They both need to get better and more confident in shooting and spacing the floor for each other. Paolo’s complete lack of faith in taking spot up jumpers and hesitating just to pound the ball and take a worse shot is a problem. That being said I am not panicking this team is so young expecting them to be perfect is not reality . Because of injuries we have a chance to get a much higher seed them reality. Let’s compete and try to get playoff experience. Then turn to this summer where changes need to be made. You can make all the changes in the world but Paolo and Franz need to improve too. The stars have to carry us

[Fortune Teller]

Black with 0 points and 0 assists in 23 minutes as the starting PG. Jett Howard can't get out of the G League. The 2023 Draft was completely pointless in so many ways.

[byeganyo]

I will repeat what I said in the thread on 4th place: we are not as good as our standing implies.

Because standings are very awkward this year and it's hard to find season comparable to this one.

You have 5 very bad teams, but 3 are historically bad, so every solid team can bank almost +15 wins by just facing them

We have 22-6 record against teams below .500 and 15-21 against team above .500.
But there are even worst "offenders" like Knicks.

By just crushing bad teams they will probably end up with nice 48-ish wins.

But by just looking at Ws they collected and will collect it makes you ask yourelf how those, current standings actually stack against some standings in past.

2 Ws vs Atlanta
2 Ws vs Nets ( play them again twice)
4 Ws vs Hornets
2 Ws vs Pistons ( play them again)
2 Ws vs Memphis
1 W vs Philly ( no Embiid) play them twice for remaining of a season
1 W vs Blazers ( play them again)
3 Ws vs Raptors (play them again)
1 W vs Spurs- ( Play them again)
3 W vs Wizards

So by just crushing bad or injuried teams ( I didn't even count all) they won 20 games, and will be favorites in remaining 7.

And you look at them amazed " that's a Knicks taem that won 50 games" than you figure... they pretty much can't beat anybody good, but doesn't matter , they padded enough Ws against teams who are bad that they ended up with 50 Ws ( and fans will be shocked once they get bounced in first round )

Truth be told they have been very unlucky with injuries - 3 starters with long term injuries and still are fighting for home court in play offs.
In 14 games OG Anuoby played for them they were 12-2 and beat 76ers (with Embiid), Denver and Miami.
A fully healthy Knicks are a good team

[pepe1991]

I will repeat what I said in the thread on 4th place: we are not as good as our standing implies.

Because standings are very awkward this year and it's hard to find season comparable to this one.

You have 5 very bad teams, but 3 are historically bad, so every solid team can bank almost +15 wins by just facing them

We have 22-6 record against teams below .500 and 15-21 against team above .500.
But there are even worst "offenders" like Knicks.

By just crushing bad teams they will probably end up with nice 48-ish wins.

But by just looking at Ws they collected and will collect it makes you ask yourelf how those, current standings actually stack against some standings in past.

2 Ws vs Atlanta
2 Ws vs Nets ( play them again twice)
4 Ws vs Hornets
2 Ws vs Pistons ( play them again)
2 Ws vs Memphis
1 W vs Philly ( no Embiid) play them twice for remaining of a season
1 W vs Blazers ( play them again)
3 Ws vs Raptors (play them again)
1 W vs Spurs- ( Play them again)
3 W vs Wizards

So by just crushing bad or injuried teams ( I didn't even count all) they won 20 games, and will be favorites in remaining 7.

And you look at them amazed " that's a Knicks taem that won 50 games" than you figure... they pretty much can't beat anybody good, but doesn't matter , they padded enough Ws against teams who are bad that they ended up with 50 Ws ( and fans will be shocked once they get bounced in first round )

Truth be told they have been very unlucky with injuries - 3 starters with long term injuries and still are fighting for home court in play offs.
In 14 games OG Anuoby played for them they were 12-2 and beat 76ers (with Embiid), Denver and Miami.
A fully healthy Knicks are a good team

They were most obvious example of team with solid record who can't really beat other good teams, i could also take Warriors for example.

Knicks injury situation is horrid . At one point they were without 4 starters.

[CocoaFan]

Fultz has some legit thing going on which is why you see him spasm and jolt around and stuff in interviews. Not sure how feasible it is to continue a career with that lingering.

Think the best thing for him is to take a year off or 2 and get himself treated for chance at a comeback.

If not, im sure he made more than 50m already and that should be enough to live off if he doesnt splurge

$86M he'll be ok. I love Markelle. It's a shame his career is turning out this way. You can tell he really loves playing.

[CocoaFan]

Maybe Franz is just tired? The guys has no time off even when the NBA season is over.

I mean, he played SL then i think some fiba/euro/whatever then last summer world cup again.

He never got enough rest and proper training again right?

He wasn't tired when he dropped 30 plus points the other night?

Everyone but Paolo had a full All Star break to rest up!

Franz just isn't that guy we have that does the little things like Suggs and Isaac when his offense isn't working due to his lack of physical play.

I'm telling people, once the playoffs come he will be exposed!

He's still young!

Aren't you the guy that wanted to trade him after a bad game, then he scored 28 the next game? These are young guys. They're going to have their ups and downs. Remember Paolo last year went through a horrible 3 point shooting slump and now he's much improved. Franz shoots 85% FT you know he's going to get better at 3's. He and the Magic may struggle in the playoffs and Franz does need to get better at 3's and develop a mid range game. But to slam 22 year olds and want to trade everyone that isn't an immediate all NBA player is really short sited. They may win 50 games this year. What were you expecting an NBA championship?