2023-2024 Regular Season Game 38: Orlando Magic (21-16) at Miami Heat (21-16) - 8pm

[MartinsIzAfraud]

I watched the first half of this game and went back to work instead…

Felt like a waste of my time with these injured squads. My biggest takeaway is how inept we are at point guard. Paolo lost the ball on 4 possessions in a row trying to handle it in the half court. Cole and Fultz don’t alleviate that.

Moves need to be made whether we are healthy at 100% or not.

one of the biggest issues I have, this FO makes it seem like injuries are random and we're unlucky etc etc. It's been like this for what 3 years now? It's time to call a spade a spade and we're full of them.

We have 1 player who will be out 80% of the year, 2 who will be out 40% of the year, and 2 more who will be out 15% of the year. That's EVERY YEAR almost like clockwork.

[VFX]

I watched the first half of this game and went back to work instead…

Felt like a waste of my time with these injured squads. My biggest takeaway is how inept we are at point guard. Paolo lost the ball on 4 possessions in a row trying to handle it in the half court. Cole and Fultz don’t alleviate that.

Moves need to be made whether we are healthy at 100% or not.

one of the biggest issues I have, this FO makes it seem like injuries are random and we're unlucky etc etc. It's been like this for what 3 years now? It's time to call a spade a spade and we're full of them.

We have 1 player who will be out 80% of the year, 2 who will be out 40% of the year, and 2 more who will be out 15% of the year. That's EVERY YEAR almost like clockwork.

I dont believe it’s an accident. Like Pepe said, they built the bulk of this roster (and cap space) on guys that are perpetually injured or washed. It’s also an out for them to say “well we were really injured last season” for EVERY season when things don’t work out.

Casuals repeat this too after bad losses “if only xxx wasn’t injured we’d have a chance”. Like.. no. At some point availability becomes part of a contract in the first place. It’s a metric people forget because it isn’t shooting or defense, but it’s equally or even more important.

I don’t buy the idea that Weltman is playing some 5-D chess and that these contracts will magically turn into allstar players because cap space doesn’t always work that way. It’s a cope response to inept roster construction.

[bigdogdylan5]

I watched the first half of this game and went back to work instead…

Felt like a waste of my time with these injured squads. My biggest takeaway is how inept we are at point guard. Paolo lost the ball on 4 possessions in a row trying to handle it in the half court. Cole and Fultz don’t alleviate that.

Moves need to be made whether we are healthy at 100% or not.

one of the biggest issues I have, this FO makes it seem like injuries are random and we're unlucky etc etc. It's been like this for what 3 years now? It's time to call a spade a spade and we're full of them.

We have 1 player who will be out 80% of the year, 2 who will be out 40% of the year, and 2 more who will be out 15% of the year. That's EVERY YEAR almost like clockwork.

lol how does the front office make it seem that way? We don’t really ever know because they don’t talk and when they do they don’t give us much. Honestly making of the draft picks shows you what their thought process is. It’s just not happening on everyone fan timeline…

They saw this Fultz thing coming that is why they picked Black in hindsight and they didn’t extend him. Great moves now. They brought Harris back because while he is an injury mess I don’t think they had a better option and he can shoot when out there. Picking Jett was a hedge against Harris. As for Isaac I think that one is really hard for them to let go on because when he is out there god damn his defense is elite. I think what you do with him is waive him and try and get him on a way lower number. At a lower number you can really just baby him through the season and unleash him on a playoff push or in the playoffs. But right now he is making too much money for that.

I think we all need to be patient with WCJ. Just look at the flood of leaks of teams trying to get the Magic to trade him. The guy broke his hand way fluky then his normal plaguing soft tissue stuff. I would be really reluctant to trade him with smart organizations like GS and OKC sniffing around him.

Everyone wants to go full melt down mode which I predicted the moment I saw the schedule and the injuries have made this brutal schedule stretch just even worse. This team still ok our 3 best players are 22 or younger. We just need to fight and try to be at or just under 500 through February. Just bring your expectations back down to earth. Also I am pretty sure all these injury guys you hate will mostly be gone next year. I get it you probably wanted it sooner. Hell I bet the front office wanted it sooner too. But have to work in reality.

[bigdogdylan5]

Next step in Paolo’s development is clear. He needs to really get in the gym this off season and work on his touch around the rim. Not worried too much about it because I think it can be worked on. He is definitely putting on muscle and getting bigger which I think might be a reason his touch is off on free throws and around the rim. Need to keep that in mind. Do we want him to continue to get bigger or just find a place to settle so he can get that touch figured out. Maybe also he doesn’t need to be so big in the upper body and he needs to get more springy. It will depend on how his body develops.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

I watched the first half of this game and went back to work instead…

Felt like a waste of my time with these injured squads. My biggest takeaway is how inept we are at point guard. Paolo lost the ball on 4 possessions in a row trying to handle it in the half court. Cole and Fultz don’t alleviate that.

Moves need to be made whether we are healthy at 100% or not.

one of the biggest issues I have, this FO makes it seem like injuries are random and we're unlucky etc etc. It's been like this for what 3 years now? It's time to call a spade a spade and we're full of them.

We have 1 player who will be out 80% of the year, 2 who will be out 40% of the year, and 2 more who will be out 15% of the year. That's EVERY YEAR almost like clockwork.

lol how does the front office make it seem that way? We don’t really ever know because they don’t talk and when they do they don’t give us much. Honestly making of the draft picks shows you what their thought process is. It’s just not happening on everyone fan timeline…

They saw this Fultz thing coming that is why they picked Black in hindsight and they didn’t extend him. Great moves now. They brought Harris back because while he is an injury mess I don’t think they had a better option and he can shoot when out there. Picking Jett was a hedge against Harris. As for Isaac I think that one is really hard for them to let go on because when he is out there god damn his defense is elite. I think what you do with him is waive him and try and get him on a way lower number. At a lower number you can really just baby him through the season and unleash him on a playoff push or in the playoffs. But right now he is making too much money for that.

I think we all need to be patient with WCJ. Just look at the flood of leaks of teams trying to get the Magic to trade him. The guy broke his hand way fluky then his normal plaguing soft tissue stuff. I would be really reluctant to trade him with smart organizations like GS and OKC sniffing around him.

Everyone wants to go full melt down mode which I predicted the moment I saw the schedule and the injuries have made this brutal schedule stretch just even worse. This team still ok our 3 best players are 22 or younger. We just need to fight and try to be at or just under 500 through February. Just bring your expectations back down to earth. Also I am pretty sure all these injury guys you hate will mostly be gone next year. I get it you probably wanted it sooner. Hell I bet the front office wanted it sooner too. But have to work in reality.

Just pick a direction come deadline/FA 24 that's all I'm asking.

[VFX]

I watched the first half of this game and went back to work instead…

Felt like a waste of my time with these injured squads. My biggest takeaway is how inept we are at point guard. Paolo lost the ball on 4 possessions in a row trying to handle it in the half court. Cole and Fultz don’t alleviate that.

Moves need to be made whether we are healthy at 100% or not.

one of the biggest issues I have, this FO makes it seem like injuries are random and we're unlucky etc etc. It's been like this for what 3 years now? It's time to call a spade a spade and we're full of them.

We have 1 player who will be out 80% of the year, 2 who will be out 40% of the year, and 2 more who will be out 15% of the year. That's EVERY YEAR almost like clockwork.

Everyone wants to go full melt down mode which I predicted the moment I saw the schedule and the injuries have made this brutal schedule stretch just even worse. This team still ok our 3 best players are 22 or younger. We just need to fight and try to be at or just under 500 through February. Just bring your expectations back down to earth. Also I am pretty sure all these injury guys you hate will mostly be gone next year. I get it you probably wanted it sooner. Hell I bet the front office wanted it sooner too. But have to work in reality.

Its not really full meltdown or at all.

It's more like watching a train wreck in slow motion since the past two seasons/ off-seasons.

You and I specifically had conversations just this offseason about the front office forgoing to not making a decision with Fultz. There were only two outcomes. He either plays mediocre and earns another overpriced deal, or he gets injured (again) and the let him expire, which I didn't think he would allow considering hes in a contract year OOPS. Like I said.... they chose to not make a decision seasons ago and here we are. He's now expiring money which does nothing really for the roster this season at all. Isaac, same thing. He's just a dead money and dead asset. Cool.

The point is that they had ample time to move these guys in previous seasons when they had value. At some point waiting around forever either devalues the asset to the point of no return (Fournier, Ross, Bamba, Bol) while they provide absolutely nothing in the development process of your highly valued assets in terms of WINS or mentorship.

If your starting lineup is a bunch of dudes on rookie deals, you will need to fill out the roster with players that have actually closed out games before. Ingles was the only move that has really made sense in a few seasons while they sat on their hands. He's also my age (aka not going to be playing in a season or two).

Your next post is about Paolo's development. The best thing for Paolo is developing good habits in the league while learning how to win. Having him carry the offense alone, resulting in losses, because you built a roster of injured and old dudes does him no favors.

Thats the point of what we are talking about here.

[Furinkazan]

I fell asleep last night, how did Fultz look like?

Tentative as **** then had a few good plays. Overall it’s a C grade. He is who he is and that’s all. He can come in 2nd unit and run in transition that’s it. If we get in 1/2 court he’s/we are extremely challenged.

He looks like Phila Fultz all over again

Jesus he looked decent last year wtf happend again? Its gotta be mental at this point.

If he is hurt he shodunt be playing ...if its mental he shouldnt be plaing either....
He is just a dribble/pass guy
He lost his shot.Last year he was decent mid range jumper and decent FT shooter..Its gone he is only driving to the basket duniking or layup guy now.and his FT looks like monstars stole his talent all over again.PHILA FULTZ.
He shoudnt be playing imo.
Hes done.

[bigdogdylan5]

one of the biggest issues I have, this FO makes it seem like injuries are random and we're unlucky etc etc. It's been like this for what 3 years now? It's time to call a spade a spade and we're full of them.

We have 1 player who will be out 80% of the year, 2 who will be out 40% of the year, and 2 more who will be out 15% of the year. That's EVERY YEAR almost like clockwork.

Everyone wants to go full melt down mode which I predicted the moment I saw the schedule and the injuries have made this brutal schedule stretch just even worse. This team still ok our 3 best players are 22 or younger. We just need to fight and try to be at or just under 500 through February. Just bring your expectations back down to earth. Also I am pretty sure all these injury guys you hate will mostly be gone next year. I get it you probably wanted it sooner. Hell I bet the front office wanted it sooner too. But have to work in reality.

Its not really full meltdown or at all.

It's more like watching a train wreck in slow motion since the past two seasons/ off-seasons.

You and I specifically had conversations just this offseason about the front office forgoing to not making a decision with Fultz. There were only two outcomes. He either plays mediocre and earns another overpriced deal, or he gets injured (again) and the let him expire, which I didn't think he would allow considering hes in a contract year OOPS. Like I said.... they chose to not make a decision seasons ago and here we are. He's now expiring money which does nothing really for the roster this season at all. Isaac, same thing. He's just a dead money and dead asset. Cool.

The point is that they had ample time to move these guys in previous seasons when they had value. At some point waiting around forever either devalues the asset to the point of no return (Fournier, Ross, Bamba, Bol) while they provide absolutely nothing in the development process of your highly valued assets in terms of WINS or mentorship.

If your starting lineup is a bunch of dudes on rookie deals, you will need to fill out the roster with players that have actually closed out games before. Ingles was the only move that has really made sense in a few seasons while they sat on their hands. He's also my age (aka not going to be playing in a season or two).

Your next post is about Paolo's development. The best thing for Paolo is developing good habits in the league while learning how to win. Having him carry the offense alone, resulting in losses, because you built a roster of injured and old dudes does him no favors.

Thats the point of what we are talking about here.

Ok give me examples all these assets when and who would you have traded for? You’re just throwing stones never offering what exactly should have been done. So you say trade Fultz and Isaac before they expire? For what second rounders and more expiring you were never going to get anything of real value for them. You can’t say they suck but we should trade them for a haul. If you have a problem with Harris who would you have signed or traded (realistically) for instead?

[VFX]

Everyone wants to go full melt down mode which I predicted the moment I saw the schedule and the injuries have made this brutal schedule stretch just even worse. This team still ok our 3 best players are 22 or younger. We just need to fight and try to be at or just under 500 through February. Just bring your expectations back down to earth. Also I am pretty sure all these injury guys you hate will mostly be gone next year. I get it you probably wanted it sooner. Hell I bet the front office wanted it sooner too. But have to work in reality.

Its not really full meltdown or at all.

It's more like watching a train wreck in slow motion since the past two seasons/ off-seasons.

You and I specifically had conversations just this offseason about the front office forgoing to not making a decision with Fultz. There were only two outcomes. He either plays mediocre and earns another overpriced deal, or he gets injured (again) and the let him expire, which I didn't think he would allow considering hes in a contract year OOPS. Like I said.... they chose to not make a decision seasons ago and here we are. He's now expiring money which does nothing really for the roster this season at all. Isaac, same thing. He's just a dead money and dead asset. Cool.

The point is that they had ample time to move these guys in previous seasons when they had value. At some point waiting around forever either devalues the asset to the point of no return (Fournier, Ross, Bamba, Bol) while they provide absolutely nothing in the development process of your highly valued assets in terms of WINS or mentorship.

If your starting lineup is a bunch of dudes on rookie deals, you will need to fill out the roster with players that have actually closed out games before. Ingles was the only move that has really made sense in a few seasons while they sat on their hands. He's also my age (aka not going to be playing in a season or two).

Your next post is about Paolo's development. The best thing for Paolo is developing good habits in the league while learning how to win. Having him carry the offense alone, resulting in losses, because you built a roster of injured and old dudes does him no favors.

Thats the point of what we are talking about here.

Ok give me examples all these assets when and who would you have traded for? You’re just throwing stones never offering what exactly should have been done. So you say trade Fultz and Isaac before they expire? For what second rounders and more expiring you were never going to get anything of real value for them. You can’t say they suck but we should trade them for a haul. If you have a problem with Harris who would you have signed or traded (realistically) for instead?

Im not talking about just this past offseason when I'm talking about this. Im talking about years prior.

I DID give you examples of guys in my reply, that weren't moved, and resulted in nothing under this FO . You just chose to not respond to that list. Also, I don't have to give you hypothetical examples on alternatives to Gary Harris. There isn't really an argument to be made that paying Gary Harris his contract is a better use of money compared to any number of substantially better players for that amount.

The main point is that Fultz and Isaac aren't contributing to Paolo's development. Why then have the been on the roster for 2+ seasons collecting checks? Are you implying that their money couldn't be used elsewhere? Are you saying those roster spots couldn't be used currently during these development years?

Here I'll help your argument. The response I hear from people with this is that the expiring money will land us a costly free agent. WHO is that player? How do we know they even want to play in Orlando? Other teams have cap space. Also, its beside the point. Why? Because these development years NOW are important outside of just wins that MIGHT happen 2 seasons from now.

[JoshuaPotter]

Its not really full meltdown or at all.

It's more like watching a train wreck in slow motion since the past two seasons/ off-seasons.

You and I specifically had conversations just this offseason about the front office forgoing to not making a decision with Fultz. There were only two outcomes. He either plays mediocre and earns another overpriced deal, or he gets injured (again) and the let him expire, which I didn't think he would allow considering hes in a contract year OOPS. Like I said.... they chose to not make a decision seasons ago and here we are. He's now expiring money which does nothing really for the roster this season at all. Isaac, same thing. He's just a dead money and dead asset. Cool.

The point is that they had ample time to move these guys in previous seasons when they had value. At some point waiting around forever either devalues the asset to the point of no return (Fournier, Ross, Bamba, Bol) while they provide absolutely nothing in the development process of your highly valued assets in terms of WINS or mentorship.

If your starting lineup is a bunch of dudes on rookie deals, you will need to fill out the roster with players that have actually closed out games before. Ingles was the only move that has really made sense in a few seasons while they sat on their hands. He's also my age (aka not going to be playing in a season or two).

Your next post is about Paolo's development. The best thing for Paolo is developing good habits in the league while learning how to win. Having him carry the offense alone, resulting in losses, because you built a roster of injured and old dudes does him no favors.

Thats the point of what we are talking about here.

Ok give me examples all these assets when and who would you have traded for? You’re just throwing stones never offering what exactly should have been done. So you say trade Fultz and Isaac before they expire? For what second rounders and more expiring you were never going to get anything of real value for them. You can’t say they suck but we should trade them for a haul. If you have a problem with Harris who would you have signed or traded (realistically) for instead?

Im not talking about just this past offseason when I'm talking about this. Im talking about years prior.

I DID give you examples of guys in my reply, that weren't moved, and resulted in nothing under this FO . You just chose to not respond to that list. Also, I don't have to give you hypothetical examples on alternatives to Gary Harris. There isn't really an argument to be made that paying Gary Harris his contract is a better use of money compared to any number of substantially better players for that amount.

The main point is that Fultz and Isaac aren't contributing to Paolo's development. Why then have the been on the roster for 2+ seasons collecting checks? Are you implying that their money couldn't be used elsewhere? Are you saying those roster spots couldn't be used currently during these development years?

Here I'll help your argument. The response I hear from people with this is that the expiring money will land us a costly free agent. WHO is that player? How do we know they even want to play in Orlando? Other teams have cap space. Also, its beside the point. Why? Because these development years NOW are important outside of just wins that MIGHT happen 2 seasons from now.

My answer to seeing Paolo upset.

Is that its time to move up our competitive development. I am not sure if that means we toss Black in as filler. Depends on the deal. I think Black is showing flashes of being a great PG. Could also be that we are so blinded by our lack of PG play that a rookie who tries gives us a better impression then a young veteran who doesn't play at all.

Although injured. Ingles for example has proven 100% that a FVV type on a couple year deal + Fultz + filler would have been a great trade idea. Just seeing Ingles touch the floor you could tell the game changed.