2023-2024 Regular Season Game 68: Toronto Raptors (23-44) at Orlando Magic (39-28) - 6pm

[Bergmaniac]

It wasn't pretty to watch for long periods, but it's quite nice we can get comfortable wins even when we play well below our maximum. The defence was quite good, especially considering Isaac was out. The starters were all solid. The bench was a bit of a mess and needs to improve.

I don't know what needs to happen for Fultz to stop getting minutes, he is such a blatant liability in basically every game. There hasn't been a single game since the All-Star Break in which we have had an offensive efficiency above 111 in his minutes, and overall his offensive rating during this time is 101 which is just dreadful in the modern NBA. His TS% in this period is 46.6 and despite that he has a 24.1 usage rate (third highest on the team, just a shade behind Franz). He also only averages 1.4 assists since ASB.

And Cole has been almost as bad in two thirds of the games.

[JoshuaPotter]

It wasn't pretty to watch for long periods, but it's quite nice we can get comfortable wins even when we play well below our maximum. The defence was quite good, especially considering Isaac was out. The starters were all solid. The bench was a bit of a mess and needs to improve.

I don't know what needs to happen for Fultz to stop getting minutes, he is such a blatant liability in basically every game. There hasn't been a single game since the All-Star Break in which we have had an offensive efficiency above 111 in his minutes, and overall his offensive rating during this time is 101 which is just dreadful in the modern NBA. His TS% in this period is 46.6 and despite that he has a 24.1 usage rate (third highest on the team, just a shade behind Franz). He also only averages 1.4 assists since ASB.

And Cole has been almost as bad in two thirds of the games.

As bad as Fultz has been, I have been worried most about Coles performing. He didn't just start the year strong and fizzle out. He dropped off the planet in terms of production.

Fultz, I think has a long term injury and thats it. It's back. This is likely why he sat for so long any other time in his career. Sad.

That being said, even with Coles performance I do not understand how he doesn't get less minutes in favor of Cole or even in favor of Black who is not a liability on defense and does what Paolo needs most in his development. Helps spread the floor or have a 40% chance to make an opponent pay.

[VFX]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

[JoshuaPotter]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

In before a bunch of people foaming at the mouth say that carter shoots 3s at a decent rate and that is why he coexists with Paolo.

My thought on this topic. Unless you want Paolo legitimately leading us in points, rebounds and assists, while many of people rampantly say his efficiency is in the gutter. I merely ask, that you pick a lane.

I like Goga, I want Claxton. He fits our identity better.

[zaymon]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

Didnt JI just mentioned that Mosley asked him to play more center minutes ? He is kind of perfect fit next to Paolo if you think about rim protection and shooting (in theory)

[Knightro]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

I would have a problem with this if the Magic were a crappy rebounding team, but they aren't.

They're 5th in the NBA in rebounding percentage and 2nd in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage.

The rebound by committee approach is working for them.

All that would happen if Carter grabbed more rebounds is that Paolo and Franz would ultimately grab fewer rebounds and then the complaints would simply shift to those two guys for not doing enough on the glass.

[JoshuaPotter]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

Didnt JI just mentioned that Mosley asked him to play more center minutes ? He is kind of perfect fit next to Paolo if you think about rim protection and shooting (in theory)

Yes, he just isn't available.

[VFX]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

I would have a problem with this if the Magic were a crappy rebounding team, but they aren't.

They're 5th in the NBA in rebounding percentage and 2nd in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage.

The rebound by committee approach is working for them.

All that would happen if Carter grabbed more rebounds is that Paolo and Franz would ultimately grab fewer rebounds and then the complaints would simply shift to those two guys for not doing enough on the glass.

The problem is that Carter isn’t better defensively inside than Goga. He also commits an obscene amount of turnovers on moving screens etc. 3 point shooting shouldn’t be the prime metric to gauge our starting center. I’d rather have a point guard for whatever Carter is worth on the market.

[JoshuaPotter]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

I would have a problem with this if the Magic were a crappy rebounding team, but they aren't.

They're 5th in the NBA in rebounding percentage and 2nd in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage.

The rebound by committee approach is working for them.

All that would happen if Carter grabbed more rebounds is that Paolo and Franz would ultimately grab fewer rebounds and then the complaints would simply shift to those two guys for not doing enough on the glass.

The circular of life argument continues.

I knew someone would bring this up. Hence why I brought up efficiency. If Paolo + Franz are chasing down boards, does that help offensive and defensive productivity?

To be fair, right now the answer would be a resounding no. We are doing great today.

This time next year when Paolo leads us in all 3 categories I mentioned, someone is going to bring up efficiency numbers and TO as his two biggest weaknesses and how we will never be better then a peak Dallas team.

While I am OK with Paolo playing Point Forward and primary PG and developing into that it is still going to takes years for him to figure it out. I also wouldn't mind a more established rebounder.

[Knightro]

The problem is that Carter isn’t better defensively inside than Goga. He also commits an obscene amount of turnovers on moving screens etc. 3 point shooting shouldn’t be the prime metric to gauge our starting center. I’d rather have a point guard for whatever Carter is worth on the market.

There are certainly legitimate reasons to want to move on from Wendell Carter as the starting center for this team.

You've laid a few out.

Rebounding isn't one of them.

The team is very good at rebounding and it isn't in spite of him.

[bigdogdylan5]

"Give the fans what the want" Moment

This doesn’t look good…

Read on Twitter

?s=46

[VFX]

The problem is that Carter isn’t better defensively inside than Goga. He also commits an obscene amount of turnovers on moving screens etc. 3 point shooting shouldn’t be the prime metric to gauge our starting center. I’d rather have a point guard for whatever Carter is worth on the market.

There are certainly legitimate reasons to want to move on from Wendell Carter as the starting center for this team.

You've laid a few out.

Rebounding isn't one of them.

The team is very good at rebounding and it isn't in spite of him.

And the nights we get killed on the glass getting offensive rebounds I’ll give a side eye to this conversation wondering “how much better would we be if our starting center wasn’t camped out on the perimeter looking to jack up shots instead of actually doing what Centers do”. But I digress…

[eyriq]

"Give the fans what the want" Moment

This doesn’t look good…

Read on Twitter

?s=46

They fired him for that? Wow our organization is certified ****

[JoshuaPotter]

"Give the fans what the want" Moment

This doesn’t look good…

Read on Twitter

?s=46

They fired him for that? Wow our organization is certified ****

Completely unreasonable if true. I say this as a born again Christian bible thumper. That is their names! We have gone mad!

[Knightro]

And the nights we get killed on the glass getting offensive rebounds I’ll give a side eye to this conversation wondering “how much better would we be if our starting center wasn’t camped out on the perimeter looking to jack up shots instead of actually doing what Centers do”. But I digress…

Would you like the Magic to be more aggressive on the offensive glass (they're 15th in OREB%) in exchange for giving up more in transition defensively?

Because ultimately that's one of the trade offs to crashing the offensive glass hard. Easier fastbreak opportunities the other way when you don't get the offensive rebound.

The Magic are already pretty weak defensively in transition because of how much they turn the ball over. Not sure they would want to potentially exacerbate that even further by altering their OREB strategy too much.

[thelead]

This doesn’t look good…

Read on Twitter

?s=46

They fired him for that? Wow our organization is certified ****

Completely unreasonable if true. I say this as a born again Christian bible thumper. That is their names! We have gone mad!

Gotta be smarter than to post that behind a billion dollar brand's account. You know what you're doing. You know who the owners are... or you should. Would be completely different if he was posting something similar for a company like 'The Boring Company' (owned by Elon). Hopefully it's not true but he should have known better if it is true.

[basketballRob]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

Didnt JI just mentioned that Mosley asked him to play more center minutes ? He is kind of perfect fit next to Paolo if you think about rim protection and shooting (in theory)

We need Isaac and a center that can rebound. If we use Isaac to plug one hole, then another one opens.

Carter is playing like Mo Bamba.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

[JoshuaPotter]

They fired him for that? Wow our organization is certified ****

Completely unreasonable if true. I say this as a born again Christian bible thumper. That is their names! We have gone mad!

Gotta be smarter than to post that behind a billion dollar brand's account. You know what you're doing. You know who the owners are... or you should. Would be completely different if he was posting something similar for a company like 'The Boring Company' (owned by Elon). Hopefully it's not true but he should have known better if it is true.

I understand what you are saying. "We live in a society".

[thelead]

Gotta say. I don’t understand how a starting Center playing 27 minutes gets 3 total rebounds.

I’m ready to move on from Carter. He’s disappointing. I expected more from him and he doesn’t fit will next to Paolo.

Didnt JI just mentioned that Mosley asked him to play more center minutes ? He is kind of perfect fit next to Paolo if you think about rim protection and shooting (in theory)

We need Isaac and a center that can rebound. If we use Isaac to plug one hole, then another one opens.

Carter is playing like Mo Bamba.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

JI
WCJ
Paolo
Franz
Suggs

Goga
Mo
Ingles
Harris
Cole

Mosley has cut AB out of the rotation so this is what we should be seeing more often... and I wouldn't be shocked if we see it in the playoffs.

[VFX]

And the nights we get killed on the glass getting offensive rebounds I’ll give a side eye to this conversation wondering “how much better would we be if our starting center wasn’t camped out on the perimeter looking to jack up shots instead of actually doing what Centers do”. But I digress…

Would you like the Magic to be more aggressive on the offensive glass (they're 15th in OREB%) in exchange for giving up more in transition defensively?

Because ultimately that's one of the trade offs to crashing the offensive glass hard. Easier fastbreak opportunities the other way when you don't get the offensive rebound.

The Magic are already pretty weak defensively in transition because of how much they turn the ball over. Not sure they would want to potentially exacerbate that even further by altering their OREB strategy too much.

Yes?

I mean.. yeah there is context to everything, but in a half court offense Carter is lacking. Thats going to be the larger case when we are in the playoffs. Paolo isnt a great rebounder or defender inside. We need someone to offset that instead of this "everything is by committee therefore dont look too deeply into the obvious on a per position basis."