Official 2023-2024 Magic General Season Thread

[RichCollab]

Monk / Black - - Queen
Suggs / Cole - - Caleb
Franz / Ingles - - Jett
Paolo / Mo - - Chuma
JI / WCJ - - 1st round pick

It would be great to trade our 1st pick for a future pick and we resign Goga.

[pepe1991]

Very promising…one more weapon just to offer multiple threats (and some relief)…do you know where ORL ranks in overall offense in that period?

14# offense
5th defense

Issue with sample is that 10 out of 15 games were against teams below .500 but also : Cavs without Mitchell, first game vs Knicks where they had 2 starters aveliable.

So it's bit missleading.

That could our season in a nutshell…successful & promising, but a bit misleading.

The FO will have a lot of data to sift through to plot the next step. Lots of good, efficient success, particularly against teams we should beat (credit to Mose) but also maybe tempting to cling to some things (offensively) that we’ve won in spite of and that put a hard ceiling on the team. Will be easy to make decisions about Fultz, for instance. Tougher to see past some of the good stuff our backcourt is pulling off at the moment…that is, let’s be honest, unlikely to continue to elevate or even be sustainable.

Basically, I think this team is playing at its ceiling right now - which is good for now but, potentially, fools gold if we bet on it just getting better by itself.

There are sevaral factors in our record:
bottom of conference being bad (and amount of times you play against Wizards, Pistons, Hornets, Nets, ties in with pretty bad division)
24-6 record vs .500 teams
health of pretty much whole roster
Depth
Banchero, Suggs improvments


Playofffs will be telling.

[SOUL]

Record is what it is man. Nobody else is counting other teams record like this. Not sure why even our own fans are listing reasons as if there isn't reasons for every team lol. Injuries to star players are unfortunate but some teams are more uniquely equipped to handle it than others. And we could only dream of being a team that takes care of bad teams. Pacers wished they didn't struggle with under .500 teams or else they'd easily be ahead of us.

Same with playoffs, always asterisks with injuries or shots being lucky or whatever it is. Gotta take advantage of it.

It literally only matters if front office/fans excuse is pointing at the record as a reason not to improve obvious areas of need (shooting/guard/upgrading depth in general) .. but most people feel pretty much the same in terms of where we can improve and what we expect in the playoffs.. it's funny so many people thought we were barely a playin team and now worried about "not making it out of the first round" like its a failure.

Most back to backs in the league, most rest disadvantaged games in the league, most 3 in 4 nights.. extremely road heavy schedule until now (I think leading with 36). There was a stat a month or two into the season where Orlando was the only team that didn't play another team with their #1 scorer out, that obviously changed after because we were able to dodge quite a few big names, but it was something crazy like some teams getting 7-8 of those and we had 0.

Also we may not have had huge injuries (knock on wood) to our best 3 guys, but still a lot of ticky tack stuff with Ingles out for a time, Gary/Isaac/Fultz out for times and no B2Bs, WCJ early on, Franz for a week or two. No matter what people say about WCJ/Fultz now.. it was VERY unsure and foreboding to have to start a 3rd stringer and rookie and expect them to fill in, and they obviously did great (even though our bench carried us).

We're a weird team currently where depth injuries seem to do more damage than one of Franz/Paolo being out.

Only recently have we had the luxury of the entire team being healthy. Team has done well in the face of adversity and then also benefit from other teams having unfortunate injuries.. but that's part of the game. As long as people aren't delusional from it.

[eyriq]

Record is what it is man. Nobody else is counting other teams record like this. Not sure why even our own fans are listing reasons as if there isn't reasons for every team lol. Injuries to star players are unfortunate but some teams are more uniquely equipped to handle it than others. And we could only dream of being a team that takes care of bad teams. Pacers wished they didn't struggle with under .500 teams or else they'd easily be ahead of us.

Same with playoffs, always asterisks with injuries or shots being lucky or whatever it is. Gotta take advantage of it.

It literally only matters if front office/fans excuse is pointing at the record as a reason not to improve obvious areas of need (shooting/guard/upgrading depth in general) .. but most people feel pretty much the same in terms of where we can improve and what we expect in the playoffs.. it's funny so many people thought we were barely a playin team and now worried about "not making it out of the first round" like its a failure.

Most back to backs in the league, most rest disadvantaged games in the league, most 3 in 4 nights.. extremely road heavy schedule until now (I think leading with 36). There was a stat a month or two into the season where Orlando was the only team that didn't play another team with their #1 scorer out, that obviously changed after because we were able to dodge quite a few big names, but it was something crazy like some teams getting 7-8 of those and we had 0.

Also we may not have had huge injuries (knock on wood) to our best 3 guys, but still a lot of ticky tack stuff with Ingles out for a time, Gary/Isaac/Fultz out for times and no B2Bs, WCJ early on, Franz for a week or two. No matter what people say about WCJ/Fultz now.. it was VERY unsure and foreboding to have to start a 3rd stringer and rookie and expect them to fill in, and they obviously did great (even though our bench carried us).

We're a weird team currently where depth injuries seem to do more damage than one of Franz/Paolo being out.

Only recently have we had the luxury of the entire team being healthy. Team has done well in the face of adversity and then also benefit from other teams having unfortunate injuries.. but that's part of the game. As long as people aren't delusional from it.

Best record against the spread as well. Hard to predict this level of success and definitely can't explain it away to luck or noise. It's legit.

The best explanations are that:
1. Mosley is a high high quality coach
2. Paolo is generational
3. Franz is a two way star in the making
4. Suggs is revitalized and is an All NBA defender
5. JI is a limited minutes DPOY

[basketballRob]

We have to find a way to separate Fultz and Cole. Both are below average defenders, neither can hit a 3 right now, and both dribble a lot.

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[Residual-Heat]

Had to post these stats in this thread.

Last 15 games the Magic are 8th in 3pt%.
11th in the league at 37.3% in since Jan 1st (35 games). Vs. Worst in the league at 33.2% before Jan 1st (32 games).

Opponents are shooting 35.2% since Jan 1st. 2nd best opponent 3pt percentage in the league during that period.

Very promising…one more weapon just to offer multiple threats (and some relief)…do you know where ORL ranks in overall offense in that period?

14# offense
5th defense

Issue with sample is that 10 out of 15 games were against teams below .500 but also : Cavs without Mitchell, first game vs Knicks where they had 2 starters aveliable.

So it's bit missleading.

It still shouldnt matter this much in regards to 3pt shooting. Cavs and Knicks are still a good defensive team. Neither Randle nor Mitchell would make much of a difference in terms of defending the 3pt line. Its still an impressive improvement, and IMO shows that we're not as bad of a shooting team as most think. I could see a scenario where the Magic are much closer to top 15 in the league next season if we can just replace Fultz with a PG that can shoot and if Franz finds hit shot again and gives up 35+ 3pt%. The offense will be much better if we can do that and cut down the turnovers next season.

[basketballRob]

https://youtu.be/mRX2fqdquwQ?feature=shared

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[pepe1991]

Very promising…one more weapon just to offer multiple threats (and some relief)…do you know where ORL ranks in overall offense in that period?

14# offense
5th defense

Issue with sample is that 10 out of 15 games were against teams below .500 but also : Cavs without Mitchell, first game vs Knicks where they had 2 starters aveliable.

So it's bit missleading.

It still shouldnt matter this much in regards to 3pt shooting. Cavs and Knicks are still a good defensive team. Neither Randle nor Mitchell would make much of a difference in terms of defending the 3pt line. Its still an impressive improvement, and IMO shows that we're not as bad of a shooting team as most think. I could see a scenario where the Magic are much closer to top 15 in the league next season if we can just replace Fultz with a PG that can shoot and if Franz finds hit shot again and gives up 35+ 3pt%. The offense will be much better if we can do that and cut down the turnovers next season.

Knicks without Hertenstein, OG, Randle, Bogdanovic, Divinicenzo and Mitchell Robinson.


Cavs are 27-9 with Mitchell, 9-9 without him. He is massive swing for them.

[Knightro]

It literally only matters if front office/fans excuse is pointing at the record as a reason not to improve obvious areas of need (shooting/guard/upgrading depth in general)

As long as people aren't delusional from it.

You got it figured out

[Residual-Heat]

14# offense
5th defense

Issue with sample is that 10 out of 15 games were against teams below .500 but also : Cavs without Mitchell, first game vs Knicks where they had 2 starters aveliable.

So it's bit missleading.

It still shouldnt matter this much in regards to 3pt shooting. Cavs and Knicks are still a good defensive team. Neither Randle nor Mitchell would make much of a difference in terms of defending the 3pt line. Its still an impressive improvement, and IMO shows that we're not as bad of a shooting team as most think. I could see a scenario where the Magic are much closer to top 15 in the league next season if we can just replace Fultz with a PG that can shoot and if Franz finds hit shot again and gives up 35+ 3pt%. The offense will be much better if we can do that and cut down the turnovers next season.

Knicks without Hertenstein, OG, Randle, Bogdanovic, Divinicenzo and Mitchell Robinson.


Cavs are 27-9 with Mitchell, 9-9 without him. He is massive swing for them.

Like i said, im talking specifically about our 3pt shooting. Mitchell isnt going to make a difference in that regard. Robinson been out almost all year and Hartenstein is almost just as good and he only missed one game vs the Magic. Bogdanovic, Divincenzo and Randle arent exactly great defenders.

Regardless, the Magic's 3pt shooting has been solid over the last 35 games.

[Knightro]

Best record against the spread as well. Hard could predict this level of success and definitely can't explain it away to luck or noise. It's legit.

The best explanations are that:
1. Mosley is a high high quality coach
2. Paolo is generational
3. Franz is a two way star in the making
4. Suggs is revitalized and is an All NBA defender
5. JI is a limited minutes DPOY

Best record against the spread has nothing to do with anything basketball related though.

Just that betting markets have undervalued the Magic all season.

[basketballRob]

14# offense
5th defense

Issue with sample is that 10 out of 15 games were against teams below .500 but also : Cavs without Mitchell, first game vs Knicks where they had 2 starters aveliable.

So it's bit missleading.

It still shouldnt matter this much in regards to 3pt shooting. Cavs and Knicks are still a good defensive team. Neither Randle nor Mitchell would make much of a difference in terms of defending the 3pt line. Its still an impressive improvement, and IMO shows that we're not as bad of a shooting team as most think. I could see a scenario where the Magic are much closer to top 15 in the league next season if we can just replace Fultz with a PG that can shoot and if Franz finds hit shot again and gives up 35+ 3pt%. The offense will be much better if we can do that and cut down the turnovers next season.

Knicks without Hertenstein, OG, Randle, Bogdanovic, Divinicenzo and Mitchell Robinson.


Cavs are 27-9 with Mitchell, 9-9 without him. He is massive swing for them.

That's why anything can happen in the playoffs. You never know who's going to be injured. Also, we don't know how we'll look with a 9-man rotation.

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[Knightro]

That's why anything can happen in the playoffs. You never know who's going to be injured. Also, we don't know how we'll look with a 9-man rotation.

I get that they're trying to be as cautious as they possibly can be, but I agree with you that they need to go to a 9-man rotation before the playoffs start so the players can have a chance to get used to it.

Suggs/Harris/Franz/Paolo/WCJ

Cole/Ingles/Isaac/Moritz

Use the Suggs/Franz/Paolo/Isaac/WCJ lineup more.

[VFX]

It literally only matters if front office/fans excuse is pointing at the record as a reason not to improve obvious areas of need (shooting/guard/upgrading depth in general)

As long as people aren't delusional from it.

You got it figured out

Sadly this is the logic every season since they took over.

Here’s the formula -

We don’t meet expectations :
“We weren’t healthy last season. We need to see how good we are with consistency. We want to grow organically.”

We meet expectations:
“We need to evaluate these guys to know what we have first. We had a great stretch of games that showed this team is capable on its own without making sweeping changes.”

We exceed expectations:
“We made the playoffs with this team. We don’t want to mess with the chemistry right now. We want to grow organically and not take short cuts.”

TLDR: Don’t ever make changes and take risks for fear of losing your job. Fans will back whatever they choose to do and select the logic that follows regardless of if it makes sense on paper or statistically.

[cedric76]

Monk / Black - - Queen
Suggs / Cole - - Caleb
Franz / Ingles - - Jett
Paolo / Mo - - Chuma
JI / WCJ - - 1st round pick

It would be great to trade our 1st pick for a future pick and we resign Goga.

Suggs, AB, Cole
Monk, Jett , Cole
Franz, Ingles, Caleb
Paolo, JI, Moe, SRP
Wcj, JI, Moe , FRP

[RichCollab]

Monk / Black - - Queen
Suggs / Cole - - Caleb
Franz / Ingles - - Jett
Paolo / Mo - - Chuma
JI / WCJ - - 1st round pick

It would be great to trade our 1st pick for a future pick and we resign Goga.

Suggs, AB, Cole
Monk, Jett , Cole
Franz, Ingles, Caleb
Paolo, JI, Moe, SRP
Wcj, JI, Moe , FRP

Jett has to earn his way into the rotation next season. I don’t see the SRP making the 15 man roster. Monk is averaging 5.3 assists per game and is more of a playmaker than Suggs. I would prefer Suggs play off the ball more and keep his energy for defense.

You only have 14 players. Who is your 15th man?

[eyriq]

Best record against the spread as well. Hard to predict this level of success and definitely can't explain it away to luck or noise. It's legit.

The best explanations are that:
1. Mosley is a high high quality coach
2. Paolo is generational
3. Franz is a two way star in the making
4. Suggs is revitalized and is an All NBA defender
5. JI is a limited minutes DPOY

Best record against the spread has nothing to do with anything basketball related though.

Just that betting markets have undervalued the Magic all season.

The spread is basketball related. It's probably the best evaluation of basketball related factors available. Being the best against the spread implies our intrinsic basketball related factors are stronger than known or accepted. So I listed some basketball related factors that are likely driving this.

[eyriq]

Read on Twitter

?t=Dat6CueE06ps_ohju1hrkw&s=19

[Bensational]

Pretty gross we’ve got guys trying to talk down the success of the team just to try to protect their opinions on how the team should be handled.

[eyriq]

Pretty gross we’ve got guys trying to talk down the success of the team just to try to protect their opinions on how the team should be handled.

You notice that too, eh?