12/3 Game Thread: ORL abracadabras @ UTAH shoobie doo wahs 9PM EST

[OrlandoDream]

Tonite was another testament to what happened in Sota. Not only are we winning, but we are doing it without getting the benefit of the whistle. Our guys getting hacked and barely touching other opponents, and we get screwed over multiple times every game and still manage to pull 5 in a row. That to me shows the growth of this team. Guys are just playing through the bs and closing out games despite the constant controversy. These kids....are becoming men.

[drsd]

..

Six in a row???:

Chris Paul was a late scratch from the Los Angeles Clippers' starting lineup against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night and is expected to miss more than one game, according to coach Doc Rivers.

AND

Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick also suffered a sprained right ankle on the first possession of Wednesday night's game and did not return.

//

[drsd]

Orlando is now 1 game out of the 4-seed, 1 1/2 game out of the 2-seed, and only 2 1/2 games behind the division leader.
(and 11 1/2 games over the Sixers ).

GO MAGIC!


..

[zuppafly]

Such good times to be a Magic fan.
We're playing so good right now. The team, as a whole, is doing a fantastic job.

[Bensational]

Just watched the game, and damn that was enjoyable to watch!

Our defense is looking remarkable lately. Guys are really getting a strong sense for where they need to help, and where the help is going to be. I'm wondering if Skiles will have an answer for all the open 3's we give up as we progress though? I can't help but feel like a team like GSW will tear us apart with all the open looks we give up.

Stand out things for me:

- Vuc running point for a couple plays at the end of the 2nd half! What was that? I loved it! Looked like something the Spurs would do. Or Joakim Noah.

- Nicholson did a great job as a scorer tonight. Loved his work, and I'm loving his performances lately. Near back to back 3's when we really needed them - boom!

- Oladipo's defense was simply inspiring to watch. That was some of the best defense I've seen in a long time. He was everywhere, always hustling, chasing EVERYTHING, and wreaking havoc as a result.

- Tobias' defense was also impressive. The guy is our best big for being able to guard the paint and still get out to cover open shooters (other than Gordon).

- Oladipo's offense looks so much better these days. Sure, he's still missing shots, but I feel like he's creating much better looks for himself.

- Payton looks great again. So aggressive, so stealthy. He looks like he's using some of that craftiness he usually brings to his passing but for finding scoring opportunities now.

- Tobias and Fournier were just solid and reliable. They're great for that.

[tooler]

More choice quotes in the Josh Robbins article about the players' half-time discussions among themselves.

[magicman112]

January 2012 was the last time they had a 5 game streak. I was working at a different job that's how long ago that was lol.

[seeingstars]

Dude, these guys are probably bottom 5 in terms of NBA a-holes.

Indeed. They all seem like such a nice bunch -- except that dude Ingles. I'm pretty confident he is actually just masquerading as an NBA player and, in actuality, is every dude I have ever played at the YMCA over the last 20 years

Lolololol

[adamy35]

In the last few years our team was like this:

Play a bad game: Lose by 10-20 points.
Play a good game: Have a chance to win.

This year our team is like this:

Play a bad game: Have a chance to win.
Play a good game: Win by 10-20.

I attribute most of this to Skiles teaching these guys how to play and his system. Also, almost every player on the roster is making incremental improvements after last year. Henny needs to keep these guys together and let them grow year by year. I could definitely see a Spurs kind of program happening here. We would have less star power but a solid system and more overall even talent level.

[JBSouthpaw]

More choice quotes in the Josh Robbins article about the players' half-time discussions among themselves.

thanks for the link, yeah that is pretty interesting.

Also, Magic were 100% from the FT line. 15-15.

[Blue_and_Whte]

That was really cool to see Scott hugging the guys like that and appreciating their effort tonight. Extremely good win. You could not script this road trip any better than this. I hope we beat the **** out of the Clippers on Saturday.

Magic hit a last second shot to win that game. quote me.

I knew we'd beat these A HOLES. Sit down. Next.

[Just Plain Mark]

More choice quotes in the Josh Robbins article about the players' half-time discussions among themselves.

As if we needed it, more damning evidence from the players that Vaughn didn't know what he was doing -

“Everyone didn’t know what their jobs were [last year],” Frye said. “They didn’t know what their roles were.

[Blue_and_Whte]

Dude, these guys are probably bottom 5 in terms of NBA a-holes.

Indeed. They all seem like such a nice bunch -- except that dude Ingles. I'm pretty confident he is actually just masquerading as an NBA player and, in actuality, is every dude I have ever played at the YMCA over the last 20 years

Lolololol

Why does everyone want to be all nice to the opposing fan bases? Errmergerrd... You fellas have such a good young team, oh and I LOOOOVE the color combination of your uniforms, best of luck to ya!.
****. that.

[JBSouthpaw]

I really liked how the team looked to get AN & Vuc the ball in the 4th Q.
Uncle Drew is becoming a better passer, and much less of a black hole, I love that he can post or hang at the 3pt line. Hard for a team to put a specific defender on him.

I do wish AG would have gotten some minutes late to stay in front of Gordon. Oh well, he'll be rested to match up with Blake tomorrow.

[p0peye]

I didn't catch the game. How was our minutes?

[tooler]

Watching this on DVR. I'm at the part near the end of the 3rd where Hayward pushes off to create separation and Skiles screams at the refs twice inside a dead quiet arena: "he's pushing off every time, how do you think he's open?"

I've never heard a coach embarrass the refs so clearly like that. Awkward and awesome.

Let 'em know they ain't ****, Scott.

[tooler]

Also funny to hear him calling out 3 second calls all the time. Favors would park himself in the lane for 6 or 7 seconds at a time just before they'd hit a 3.

Hearing Skiles every game is going to make me hate the NBA.