2024-2025 Regular Season Game 24: Orlando Magic (15-8) at Philadelphia 76ers (5-14) - 7:30pm

[Howard Mass]

Nice way to bounce back.

[KillMonger]

Suggs was pissing me off with his playmaking and his decisions..... Some basic passing mistakes and shot selection at times just infuriating for someone who I know is better than this....

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[Knightro]

Single game plus/minus is a bit tricky.

I thought Jalen was generally more good than bad tonight even though the +/- didn't reflect.

[basketballRob]

We'll look like the globetrotters in a couple of weeks when we're rested and at home.

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[SOUL]

Read on Twitter

[Knightro]

Sounds like Isaac is fine too. Both he and Mosley in the postgame said it was just a minor cramp thing.

[SOUL]

Single game plus/minus is a bit tricky.

I thought Jalen was generally more good than bad tonight even though the +/- didn't reflect.

Yep, TDS was +15 and he (and Moe) were killing us with their switching late game.

[SOUL]

5th best record in the league with Paolo out a majority of them and other random annoying injuries.

[RichCollab]

JI got a cramp playing 15 minutes tonight and 13 minutes last night?

[JBSouthpaw]

AB with a good bounce back game 10/7/5, a bit better w the ball

[KillMonger]

Carter Jr...... 31 minutes/ 2 pts/ 2 assist/ 6 rebounds......6 fouls

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[basketballRob]

We have one of the easiest schedules left , with most of the games at home and fewer b2bs than any other team in the league. Don't bet against us winning 50+ games.

https://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

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[Knightro]

Carter Jr...... 31 minutes/ 2 pts/ 2 assist/ 6 rebounds......6 fouls

Outside of like one late blow by from Maxey, I thought Carter was generally good defensively tonight.

The play he fouled out on appeared very clearly to actually be a foul on Black and I was a bit surprised the Magic didn't challenge since it was Carter's 6th.

[Knightro]

We have one of the easiest schedules left , with most of the games at home and fewer b2bs than any other team in the league. Don't bet against us winning 50+ games.

https://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

In a stupid twist, the Magic play the Knicks twice over the next month on the 2nd night of a back to back

[Shaqdaz]

On the surface, this is going to look like a negative post. Its really just things I've noticed recently, and some changes I would like to see. I really want to emphasis how happy I am that Orlando has been able to win games without Paulo, and beat the teams we should be beating. This is one of the marks of a well coached and poised team - the ability to not play down to the opposition. Any win on the road is a good win in the NBA.

In saying that though, I'm not completely sold on Mosley's offense. A great coach excels at calling plays on the fly and drawing up situational plays. Often, these plays appear to be our normal motion offense, with little change. This wont cut it come playoff time. Its not all on Mosley - Orlando's youth shows in their lack of organization and reads sometimes too. For example, a play that has stuck with me was against the Lakers; Orlando kept running a staggered down screen, which is supposed to switch a less mobile big on to the player receiving the stagger, and for them to then come up and set an on-ball screen for Franz. This resulted in Davis switching onto the smaller guard, which brought him to Franz for the high screen. Instead of realizing AD had switched to the designated screener, and making someone else come to the ball instead, they kept bringing Davis to the ball. One player who is normally really good at making reads on the fly is Mo - his intelligence is really underrated, and he constantly organizes the offense on broken plays. You'll often see him on such plays lift from the elbow and push the guard on the strong side through for a back door cut and dribble hand-off, or create for himself. This kind of offensive awareness isn't something you typically see from a 5, and something I think Orlando acquiring a more traditional point guard can make a big difference with. I'm also not sold on the offensive principles against a zone. The offense is predicated on Orlando getting the ball to someone (usually Franz) at the foul line/extended. If Orlando doesn't catch the ball there, the offense becomes self-creation. I'd like to see the wings play a lot higher and create a three-man front instead of trying to create space for the foul line catch. This would be better for guards like Suggs and Black, who are quick and athletic enough to create off the catch for straight line drives, where their lack of on-ball creativity won't hinder the offense.

I'd also like to see simple flex cuts used more, especially when Paolo returns. This would get Franz closer to the block with a possible mismatch, instead of the current strategy of passing to the wing and walking his man down to the post. Flex cuts will also get Franz on the move, and if he's not open, you'll have Paolo coming up off the pin-down either on the move where he can turn the corner, or with a catch on the elbow.

Orlando has issues when their opposition plays up and in to the player initiating the offense. It often results in Franz with the ball in his hands with 8 seconds on the clock and no movement. Another guard who can get Orlando into their offense faster would be really beneficial. Further development for Black would be huge to help counter this. He does generally do well however protecting the ball to initiate the offense with the second unit. I didn't like his role on the team last year as just a connector. I know it's tough for a rookie to play a meaningful role on a team with playoff aspirations, but more on-ball reps would have helped extensively in his development this year in these situations.

I don't know why Orlando was so willing to switch WCJ and Goga onto Sixers guards at the end of the game; they went over every screen with the big in drop for the majority of the game, and for the majority of the game, played it right. You often see WCJ switched to the guard, who moves his feet OK, but Goga struggles in these situations.

Overall though, a fantastic win. I'm excited to see how the offense looks once Paulo returns.

[JF5]

WCJ needed 10 extra minutes of play to match what Goga did in 20, but WCJ cost us a 7 point lead in the process. Why aren’t you talking about THAT?

The heck? I like how he was in the lineup that brought it up to 8 points. Nobody says anything when hes guarding perimeter players well/blocking shots during that stretch.

Yet, he was also the cause of its downfall when the TEAM couldn't convert down the stretch (as he barely touches the ball) and blew assignments in coverage. Granted he did make mistakes but to put that ALL on him when he initially helped the lead is absolutely asinine.

Who’s putting it ALL on him? He’s not good enough to warrant significant blame in the first place.

Then why are complaining about his performance? He was decent to good outside of the last 2-3 minutes of his game time before fouling out. He defended the paint and for the most part he was able to stay in front of perimeter players not named Maxey.

I just get annoyed where players like Wendell have a decent to good game still get crapped on but guys like Goga and Black when they have bad games you hear absolutely nothing about their poor performances. Black up until today was horrible for 5-7 straight games but people get quiet are not critical of his game until he has a good game like he did tonight and they'll say "he's a budding star in the making".

People are biased... but it has to be more fair (IMO)

[Knightro]

Read on Twitter

If you can't tell why the players adore this guy...

[SOUL]

We have one of the easiest schedules left , with most of the games at home and fewer b2bs than any other team in the league. Don't bet against us winning 50+ games.

https://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

Time for my annual strength of schedule PSA:

SOS is not static. And it is volatile earlier on in the season. You could play Washington three times in a week and your schedule can turn into the hardest the rest of the season.

We do have a bunch of harder games coming up in the next two weeks, so it actually is kinda true for us, but if we had a bunch of easier ones, it would be the opposite.

[thelead]

On the surface, this is going to look like a negative post. Its really just things I've noticed recently, and some changes I would like to see. I really want to emphasis how happy I am that Orlando has been able to win games without Paulo, and beat the teams we should be beating. This is one of the marks of a well coached and poised team - the ability to not play down to the opposition. Any win on the road is a good win in the NBA.

In saying that though, I'm not completely sold on Mosley's offense. A great coach excels at calling plays on the fly and drawing up situational plays. Often, these plays appear to be our normal motion offense, with little change. This wont cut it come playoff time. Its not all on Mosley - Orlando's youth shows in their lack of organization and reads sometimes too. For example, a play that has stuck with me was against the Lakers; Orlando kept running a staggered down screen, which is supposed to switch a less mobile big on to the player receiving the stagger, and for them to then come up and set an on-ball screen for Franz. This resulted in Davis switching onto the smaller guard, which brought him to Franz for the high screen. Instead of realizing AD had switched to the designated screener, and making someone else come to the ball instead, they kept bringing Davis to the ball. One player who is normally really good at making reads on the fly is Mo - his intelligence is really underrated, and he constantly organizes the offense on broken plays. You'll often see him on such plays lift from the elbow and push the guard on the strong side through for a back door cut and dribble hand-off, or create for himself. This kind of offensive awareness isn't something you typically see from a 5, and something I think Orlando acquiring a more traditional point guard can make a big difference with. I'm also not sold on the offensive principles against a zone. The offense is predicated on Orlando getting the ball to someone (usually Franz) at the foul line/extended. If Orlando doesn't catch the ball there, the offense becomes self-creation. I'd like to see the wings play a lot higher and create a three-man front instead of trying to create space for the foul line catch. This would be better for guards like Suggs and Black, who are quick and athletic enough to create off the catch for straight line drives, where their lack of on-ball creativity won't hinder the offense.

I'd also like to see simple flex cuts used more, especially when Paolo returns. This would get Franz closer to the block with a possible mismatch, instead of the current strategy of passing to the wing and walking his man down to the post. Flex cuts will also get Franz on the move, and if he's not open, you'll have Paolo coming up off the pin-down either on the move where he can turn the corner, or with a catch on the elbow.

Orlando has issues when their opposition plays up and in to the player initiating the offense. It often results in Franz with the ball in his hands with 8 seconds on the clock and no movement. Another guard who can get Orlando into their offense faster would be really beneficial. Further development for Black would be huge to help counter this. He does generally do well however protecting the ball to initiate the offense with the second unit. I didn't like his role on the team last year as just a connector. I know it's tough for a rookie to play a meaningful role on a team with playoff aspirations, but more on-ball reps would have helped extensively in his development this year in these situations.

I don't know why Orlando was so willing to switch WCJ and Goga onto Sixers guards at the end of the game; they went over every screen with the big in drop for the majority of the game, and for the majority of the game, played it right. You often see WCJ switched to the guard, who moves his feet OK, but Goga struggles in these situations.

Overall though, a fantastic win. I'm excited to see how the offense looks once Paulo returns.

excellent post!

[RookieStar]

Carter Jr...... 31 minutes/ 2 pts/ 2 assist/ 6 rebounds......6 fouls

Outside of like one late blow by from Maxey, I thought Carter was generally good defensively tonight.

The play he fouled out on appeared very clearly to actually be a foul on Black and I was a bit surprised the Magic didn't challenge since it was Carter's 6th.

Didnt we use/lose oir challenge already?