2024-2025 Regular Season Game 9: Orlando Magic (3-5) at Indiana Pacers (3-4) - 7pm

[pepe1991]

... BUT this year it seems like East is so damn bad. Each and every roster ( even including Cavs, despite fact they play excellent ) looks so awkward and unbalanced.

... and therefore your thoughts on those same Cavs?

I am never sold on a two-PG set.

Cleveland is a bad rebounding team that might emerge as a terrible one once the stats smooth out. Big teams will out-muscle them game in and game out. The need to be a very high FG% team to win.

In conclusion: I could easily see Cleveland as one of those 60-win teams that loses in round-1 of the playoffs.

Atkinson is excellent coach when it comes to squeezing lot of juice from average players and putting peaces in good situations to succeed.
Under him Allen was allstar, he got 42 wins out of roster where Russell was 1# option (and Dinwiddie second). Levert played his best basketball under him. Now he got them back on same team. And Ty Jerome is low key massive addition.

Cavs without a doubt have roster that can hold top 5 defense, and it seems like Atkinson fixed offense ( literally 1# offense in nba) by staggering rotation, it gives them lot of flexibility and safe net in games.
Every min of competitive basketball you have Mobley or Allen rim protection, every single min of basketball game you have do deal with one of Mitchell / Garland pressuring your offense.

They can still flip Okoro and Strus into SF ( $25M ) and get even better, given Strus is yet to play.

Cleveland is a bad rebounding team that might emerge as a terrible one once the stats smooth out.

They are best offensive rebounding team in nba. Some of it just illusion. Nobody has as many blowout wins as Cavs this year. They are 26th in min played by starters ( simply don't have to ) and off bench nobody really is excellent at rebounding.
Also who is center who would bully them ? Embiid or bust?!


To me, Cavs seems to be early (and lone) favorites for 2# team on East in both standing and strength. It's not like there are many teams that are going to challenge them, given how inept everybody looks right now.

[pepe1991]

You spelled Cole Anthony wrong but I know what you meant.

Cole is filler to match salaries. Jett still has upside and would be a player that a team like Utah or Portland might be interested in.

I think I'd throw in Wendell also for a player like McCollum. I think it's 50/50 that Wendell will be healthy come playoff time. He was healthy last season in the playoffs, so he'll probably miss this season.

I'm not sure if we could trade Wendell yet or not because of his extension, but I would trade him asap.

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No. Carter can't be traded until off season of 2025.

[Knightro]

You spelled Cole Anthony wrong but I know what you meant.

Cole is filler to match salaries. Jett still has upside and would be a player that a team like Utah or Portland might be interested in.

I think I'd throw in Wendell also for a player like McCollum. I think it's 50/50 that Wendell will be healthy come playoff time. He was healthy last season in the playoffs, so he'll probably miss this season.

I'm not sure if we could trade Wendell yet or not because of his extension, but I would trade him asap.

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Wendell cannot be traded this season.

[Skybox]

Posters saying the defense is fine.... Its not, watch the games instead of just looking at a Stat sheet.... Our defense has not been up to standard.... I do not remember giving up multiple 30 point quarters last season

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This. But also, our shots arent falling so how to have set defense?

The offense is tank-worthy but I also see what KMonger is saying…the defensive lapses seem to be when it really matters and games are blown open

[eyriq]

TDS with the stinker, JI with our best all-around game.

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[magik9113]

their bench only missed 2 shots out of 20 if I remember correctly. It was nice seeing us at least be competitive again.
I do wish Franz had a better 4th quarter

[KillMonger]

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[JoshuaPotter]

We are starting to show signs of life. This is great! Yeah, we still lost, but you got to love a competitive game.

[eyriq]

Unlocking AB is going to provide a huge long-term boost.

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[JoshuaPotter]

Unlocking AB is going to provide a huge long-term boost.

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Fellow AB fan on Magic.

This belongs in AB development thread.

The kid has come a long way. Got off to a slow first half start and rose to the occasion with the ball in his hands. He has some interesting upside for sure. No idea how far it could go.

[ibraheim718]

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It was a great wrinkle.. it helped them stay close to the shooters and keep their ball handlers from penetrating.

[ibraheim718]

Unlocking AB is going to provide a huge long-term boost.

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We would tell people he was really good in the PNR they just didn't want to hear it.

[Optimus_Steel]

Their bench went 18 of 20 on field goals. That was the game. Defense on their starters were fine, defense on bench was atrocious.

Yea that was the game. I think had we done a better job defensively on their bench we would have started the 4th with a lead and hanged on.

[DiplomaticMagic]

Wendell hasn't played bad but everytime Goga plays, I want him to play more lol. Love how he plays.

I dont like him shooting 3s though, Id tell him to work more on finishing at the rim. He can be a little clumsy.

[eyriq]

Unlocking AB is going to provide a huge long-term boost.

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We would tell people he was really good in the PNR they just didn't want to hear it.

People live in the moment a bit too much

[pepe1991]

Unlocking AB is going to provide a huge long-term boost.

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We would tell people he was really good in the PNR they just didn't want to hear it.

People live in the moment a bit too much

I agree. This overreaction about single play is best example of living in moment.

Context for everything matters.

Why such plays weren't possible vs OKC; Dallas, even Bulls? Because even average defensive teams know to not go over screens against people who can't shoot off the dribble.
But Pacers would have to improve leaps and bounds to become even average. They are inept on defense.
Actually Magic helped Pacers improve their defensive rating, raising them up from bottom 5. To 7th worst.


Anthony Black over 8 games took 8 dribble pullups and shot 3-10 off them. He is also 0-4 from 3 in dribble pullups.
Only braindead idiot, rookie, or just flat out horrendus team/player would fight to go over a screen against such player 30 feet from rim.
But again, Pacers are inept defense, so for damn sure they did just that several times ( not just against Black).
So ofc, overreaction led to massive gap in space that allowed both Mortiz whole bunch of space and Black enough separation to put defender on his hip.
Even positioning of guy who defends Mortiz gets more laughable with more rewatching.
In second play it's actually even worst, their zero communication leads to player leaning into wrong side. This doesn't even happen in highschool that often.

This isn't only play where Pacers players on defense were brainded. Their whole team, aside from Siakam makes just horrendus decisions on defense. They were 7th worst defense last year, and that should come as no suprise.

I would LOVE notion that Black is good pick&roll player. but he isn't. 30th percentile, above average turnover frequency and 0,79 PPP. Maybe one day. Not today.

Pacers are team vast majority of healthy teams pray to get in playoffs in first round. Plays like this one are exactly why.
Their whole gimmick is pace and space and shooting. This year they can't even shoot. I'll be shocked if they win more than 44 games or somehow suprise somebody in playoffs. especially since Haliburton forgot how to play.

[Def Swami]

Some positives to glean from this game. We're going to need that level of aggressiveness out of Franz in order to stay afloat. Goga provides a much needed rim protection and presence in the paint. I believe our defense can maintain, but we need the scoring to compete. Glad to see KCP have a pulse on offense. Black is going to have to continue to take advantage of these reps. We need players that can get downhill and put pressure on the rim with Banchero gone. We're also going to have to live with some of the mistakes and turnovers from Black. That kind of effort nightly until Banchero gets back will allow us to maintain.

[ibraheim718]

You can't have a conversation with a guy who thinks young players don't improve or need time to adjust to the NBA game specifically pace and space. I'm sorry.

Likes to play in the pick and roll game, and was especially good at finding shooters and cutters when some of Arkansas’ main contributors were healthy earlier in the season …

He was expert in the pick and roll game and had a good feel for dicing up the defense with his ability to read the play as it was happening. He also was great at hitting the open man on skip or swing passes as well as back door cuts.

Go to the 1 minute mark..

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He’s a good finisher at the rim and an above-average athlete, but operating as a playmaker in the pick-and-roll is where he’s most comfortable.

Same guy used Suggs' rookie and sophomore shooting metrics to boast he was never going to be a good shooter. We now know how woefully wrong that prediction/analysis was. The guy can't be trusted or taken seriously when it comes to projecting young players, period.

[eyriq]

Moe is worthless

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[Bensational]

We would tell people he was really good in the PNR they just didn't want to hear it.

People live in the moment a bit too much

I agree. This overreaction about single play is best example of living in moment.

Context for everything matters.

Why such plays weren't possible vs OKC; Dallas, even Bulls? Because even average defensive teams know to not go over screens against people who can't shoot off the dribble.

I had been disappointed that AB wasn’t trying to get into the paint and put pressure on the rim since Paolo went down. I’ll take it as a big win in his progression to see AB doing that not only when we needed points but to also give us the lead on one of those plays.

Every defense won’t play like Indy but hopefully AB is able to gain confidence from these moments and start doing these things more consistently. The kid is still such a work in progress, but this is how we can appreciate his progress when he makes it rather than measuring him to the standards of finished prospects.