Preseason Game 1: Orlando Magic (0-0) at San Antonio Spurs (0-0)

[drsd]

Magic Win! It's only preseason but some really solid performances from several players. It was not just Markelle Fultz and Mo Bamba but several other players too. This team is SO Deep.

Orlando has a rebuild that has always modelled after the 2004 Pistons title run: extreme depth.

In the modern NBA, I still think a star-less team can win a title. Having a bench unit of near-starters is the point.


..

[drsd]

fultz +30

Aminu +30, Bamba +27, Ross +30.

This is only a preseason game, but what was clear was that Orlando's bench depth could be unparalleled in its excellence this season.


p.s. Iwundu +13 and Carter-Williams +17 = even the third-stringers looked awesome !!!!

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[drsd]

Bamba was the team leader in points and rebounds. And-1! the the big fellow.

And Carter-Williams stat line is equally awesome.
13 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals.


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Final thought line: Orlando was 13-36 (36.1%) with the three-ball and 52.6% overall in shooting. Wow and double wow.


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[drsd]

Humphries in three minutes had 3 PFs and an assist. nulls-beyond that.
Odd stat line !


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[drsd]

Orlando was suffocating defeinsely. Coach Clifford slept well last night!

38.8% FG percentage for the Spurs. That is the one stat line he cares most about !

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[basketballRob]

My toughts after a game ( and after skipping 4th quater )
- It's typical preseason game ,with heavy legs and lot of stupid errors, nothing suprising, teams are working on conditioning witch involves lot of running
- Magic played all players they will be playing in regular season and regular rotation
- Spurs were experimenting from start, that's why game was no -competition and 36 points blowout
- Nothing seems to change from last year in terms of offensive scheme.
- Gordon looked good, had really favorable matchup against 6'5 guard ( Walker) and took adventage of it
- Ross is still human torch and will still be integral part of Magic offense and player that team needs to finish games
- Aminu is type of player i always respected, he'll never be your star, but he brings stability and accountability
- Bamba looked like trash in first 5 min but got himself going after it ,again, nothing unexpected, it will take time to see how much he actually improved
- Iwundu made 2 threes, that's something
- Frazier.... .... ....
- MCW looked great, now i have seen him enough ( entering 7th year) to know he won't look like this 99% of a time, but he is good third string PG to have


As for Fultz... i'm hesitant to make any point strong points because it's just 1 game and there will be posters here that will copy past it somwhere and try to rub it in my face 2 years later no matter what i type ( ) but it's not hard to type on youtube his highlights from college and see that complete change in mechanic of his jumpshot that took place over 3 years.
Did he somehow develop a yips , like it was first reported, did he always have tics and twitches but nobody filmed him or cared about it past to notice it, or he has TOS , well i'm no doctor so i have no clue, but something happend and it's probably there to say with him.

How was Vucevic? I'm hoping he can build on what he did last year but you never know how a player will be after receiving a big contract.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

[fendilim]

Bamba looked like our best or 2nd best player last preseason too. We know how this turned out. But still happy he looked good,

For sure.

I don't think this is the year Bamba replaces Vuc at all.

There's no way he suddenly outplays an allstar Vuc, unless Vuc regresses mightily.

[basketballRob]

Bamba looked like our best or 2nd best player last preseason too. We know how this turned out. But still happy he looked good,

For sure.

I don't think this is the year Bamba replaces Vuc at all.

There's no way he suddenly outplays an allstar Vuc, unless Vuc regresses mightily.

After the first preseason game it looks like the bench is better than the starters.

Hopefully Vuc gets his mojo back and has some big games. I know it's only 15 minutes in the first preseason but he did have an underwhelming FIBA performance.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

[Xatticus]

Fultz had a decent showing, really like what I see from him. But I am worried about his TOS, really.

Watch on YouTube

Just look at his jumper.

Regardless, he will be wonderful for our offense.

That shot was a rushed one at the end of the clock, not the best example and a **** video tbh.

Kind of the equivalent of showing any airball/terrible shot from any of our starters the last few years .. without the excuse of TOS

He stumbled a bit before the step back and it didn't look to me like he got his feet squared up properly. I don't see anything wrong with the form though. The biggest difference to me is that he is way up on his toes when he shoots now. This is how Gordon shoots. I suspect that the purpose of this is to minimize lower body movement for a quick, compact, and consistent shot. He won't get much elevation this way, but that won't matter much with how easily he creates space.

[fendilim]

Fultz had a decent showing, really like what I see from him. But I am worried about his TOS, really.

Watch on YouTube

Just look at his jumper.

Regardless, he will be wonderful for our offense.

That shot was a rushed one at the end of the clock, not the best example and a **** video tbh.

Kind of the equivalent of showing any airball/terrible shot from any of our starters the last few years .. without the excuse of TOS

He stumbled a bit before the step back and it didn't look to me like he got his feet squared up properly. I don't see anything wrong with the form though. The biggest difference to me is that he is way up on his toes when he shoots now. This is how Gordon shoots. I suspect that the purpose of this is to minimize lower body movement for a quick, compact, and consistent shot. He won't get much elevation this way, but that won't matter much with how easily he creates space.

Yes. To me, it don't really matter as long as he makes the shots, tbh. I'm just worried as to how consistent it will be. Although I really like what he brings on the court. Pushing the pace, driving to the basket, its a tremendous addition to the team, perhaps the best addition we have for this year's team, as long as he can do this consistently.

[PrimeThyme]

Bamba looked like our best or 2nd best player last preseason too. We know how this turned out. But still happy he looked good,

I would agree that he looked very good offensively around this time last year. But even in the preseason, there was no hiding his defensive struggles. He was still showing a lack of awareness, getting taken to the rim at will by smaller guards, and getting bullied on the block.

Thats what jumped off the screen to me last night. I didn't even care what he did offensively, I was strictly watching him on defense and I saw a noticeable improvement. His awareness was far better and I thought he really played good individual and team defense last night. There was one time in particular where Aldridge isolated him on the block and started backing him down trying to bully him and Bamba more than held his own and forced a turnover. He just flat out couldn't do that last year.

I was somewhat shocked tbh, with how much better defensively he looked. I'm not trying to overreact to the game and we will still have to see but that was encouraging. His defense is what will keep him on the floor this year.

[pepe1991]

My toughts after a game ( and after skipping 4th quater )
- It's typical preseason game ,with heavy legs and lot of stupid errors, nothing suprising, teams are working on conditioning witch involves lot of running
- Magic played all players they will be playing in regular season and regular rotation
- Spurs were experimenting from start, that's why game was no -competition and 36 points blowout
- Nothing seems to change from last year in terms of offensive scheme.
- Gordon looked good, had really favorable matchup against 6'5 guard ( Walker) and took adventage of it
- Ross is still human torch and will still be integral part of Magic offense and player that team needs to finish games
- Aminu is type of player i always respected, he'll never be your star, but he brings stability and accountability
- Bamba looked like trash in first 5 min but got himself going after it ,again, nothing unexpected, it will take time to see how much he actually improved
- Iwundu made 2 threes, that's something
- Frazier.... .... ....
- MCW looked great, now i have seen him enough ( entering 7th year) to know he won't look like this 99% of a time, but he is good third string PG to have


As for Fultz... i'm hesitant to make any point strong points because it's just 1 game and there will be posters here that will copy past it somwhere and try to rub it in my face 2 years later no matter what i type ( ) but it's not hard to type on youtube his highlights from college and see that complete change in mechanic of his jumpshot that took place over 3 years.
Did he somehow develop a yips , like it was first reported, did he always have tics and twitches but nobody filmed him or cared about it past to notice it, or he has TOS , well i'm no doctor so i have no clue, but something happend and it's probably there to say with him.

How was Vucevic? I'm hoping he can build on what he did last year but you never know how a player will be after receiving a big contract.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

Played 15 min, nothing spectacular, got one shot swept by Derrick White from a side.
Game was won when backups took over, Aminu in 20 min had +/- of +30.
Nobody from starters played more than 20 min.

[PrimeThyme]

Read on Twitter

Sick sequence by Isaac. His handles look noticeably tighter. I want to see some of this from him next year. Especially when AG is off the floor and he is getting run with this unit.

[Instincts]

We talk about Fultz as the X factor and ignore the little things like the potential impact of things like Iwundu becoming a quality shooter/starter material or MCW becoming an actual serviceable/reliable backup guard or probably the most ignored like Bamba showing why he was picked so high in the lottery.

All of these could be X factors for us propelling to a top 4 record in the east, completely ignoring the natural development of our core players.

Yep, Iwundu’s continued improvement is what jumped off the screen. His shooting form has been adjusted from last year and now looks textbook. Shooting was really his only big question mark, he already plays hard on both ends with good instincts.

There has been talk of Iwundu getting squeezed out of the rotation. That is not going to happen. He is simply to good of a player. If anything Iwundu will squeeze Fournier and Ross minutes as the season progresses. What a 2nd round pick he may prove to be, I’m trying not to get carried away with how good he can be, but I see very little holding him back after he has now flashed textbook shooting form. He has the receipe of size, athleticism, instincts, hard work, and character. Watch out.

Gordon of course looked ready to take the reins, but we knew that was coming.

Fultz looked healthy. I hope for his sake and the Magic’s sake that the health concerns do not reoccur. His personality fits well with this team. The play will come if the shoulder can hold up to the grind of an nba schedule.

The front office should be commended for the roster construction. The depth and especially the moves noted above have been outstanding. Of course add Isaac to the list of outstanding decisions and the front office has primed this team for a long ascent.

[tiderulz]

My toughts after a game ( and after skipping 4th quater )
- It's typical preseason game ,with heavy legs and lot of stupid errors, nothing suprising, teams are working on conditioning witch involves lot of running
- Magic played all players they will be playing in regular season and regular rotation
- Spurs were experimenting from start, that's why game was no -competition and 36 points blowout
- Nothing seems to change from last year in terms of offensive scheme.

You make it sound like Orlando played it as if it was a regular season game and SA didnt. Orlando barely played their starters and played the entire team (15 bench players) just as SA experimented. I dont hear anyone saying from this that Orlando is going to win the title, but it seems like you are going out of your way to criticize the Magic.

And maybe because its game 1 of pre-season, the offensive scheme is vanilla and looks unchanged. And to be honest, who care, because that offensive scheme had the team make the playoffs last year.

[tiderulz]

Magic Win! It's only preseason but some really solid performances from several players. It was not just Markelle Fultz and Mo Bamba but several other players too. This team is SO Deep.

Orlando has a rebuild that has always modelled after the 2004 Pistons title run: extreme depth.

In the modern NBA, I still think a star-less team can win a title. Having a bench unit of near-starters is the point.


..

i think people point to Detroit a little too much. Wallace was a defensive monster and all-star and defensive player of the year. Rasheed Wallace was a matchup nightmare and 2x all-star by 2004. Billups further developed into a top-5 PG. Rip was top-10 SG.

And i think there is a reason you havent seen a similar Superstar-less team win a title.

[tiderulz]

Bamba looked like our best or 2nd best player last preseason too. We know how this turned out. But still happy he looked good,

For sure.

I don't think this is the year Bamba replaces Vuc at all.

There's no way he suddenly outplays an allstar Vuc, unless Vuc regresses mightily.

After the first preseason game it looks like the bench is better than the starters.

Hopefully Vuc gets his mojo back and has some big games. I know it's only 15 minutes in the first preseason but he did have an underwhelming FIBA performance.

Sent from my SM-G965U using RealGM mobile app

i think what it really looks like is our bench is better than the Spurs bench.

[pepe1991]

My toughts after a game ( and after skipping 4th quater )
- It's typical preseason game ,with heavy legs and lot of stupid errors, nothing suprising, teams are working on conditioning witch involves lot of running
- Magic played all players they will be playing in regular season and regular rotation
- Spurs were experimenting from start, that's why game was no -competition and 36 points blowout
- Nothing seems to change from last year in terms of offensive scheme.

You make it sound like Orlando played it as if it was a regular season game and SA didnt. Orlando barely played their starters and played the entire team (15 bench players) just as SA experimented. I dont hear anyone saying from this that Orlando is going to win the title, but it seems like you are going out of your way to criticize the Magic.

And maybe because its game 1 of pre-season, the offensive scheme is vanilla and looks unchanged. And to be honest, who care, because that offensive scheme had the team make the playoffs last year.

First quater first subs:
Magic Bamba, Fultz, Aminu , Ross- that's Magic second unit that will play on opening night.

Spurs: Daulton Hommes ( undrafted) , Chimezie Metu ( 49th pick of last year), first sub in second quater - Deric Lawson (undrafted) and Drew Eubanks ( undrafted)

They had no intention to do anything but to try out guys they called for camp.
That's not taking anything from Magic ,rather putting contexst into a win. Min before game Spurs decided that they won't play Derozan and Mills just to give this guys more PT. They didn't even want to play their 2019 highest pick Samanic all that much, matter of fact guy played least min ( 8).

For vast majority of a game Magic rotation players playeed Spurs camp players that won't be on their roster.

[tiderulz]

My toughts after a game ( and after skipping 4th quater )
- It's typical preseason game ,with heavy legs and lot of stupid errors, nothing suprising, teams are working on conditioning witch involves lot of running
- Magic played all players they will be playing in regular season and regular rotation
- Spurs were experimenting from start, that's why game was no -competition and 36 points blowout
- Nothing seems to change from last year in terms of offensive scheme.

You make it sound like Orlando played it as if it was a regular season game and SA didnt. Orlando barely played their starters and played the entire team (15 bench players) just as SA experimented. I dont hear anyone saying from this that Orlando is going to win the title, but it seems like you are going out of your way to criticize the Magic.

And maybe because its game 1 of pre-season, the offensive scheme is vanilla and looks unchanged. And to be honest, who care, because that offensive scheme had the team make the playoffs last year.

First quater first subs:
Magic Bamba, Fultz, Aminu , Ross- that's Magic second unit that will play on opening night.

Spurs: Daulton Hommes ( undrafted) , Chimezie Metu ( 49th pick of last year), first sub in second quater - Deric Lawson (undrafted) and Drew Eubanks ( undrafted)

They had no intention to do anything but to try out guys they called for camp.
That's not taking anything from Magic ,rather putting contexst into a win. Min before game Spurs decided that they won't play Derozan and Mills just to give this guys more PT. They didn't even want to play their 2019 highest pick Samanic all that much, matter of fact guy played least min ( 8).

For vast majority of a game Magic rotation players playeed Spurs camp players that won't be on their roster.

So Orlando played the 1st quarter and subs as normal, and thats about where it ended. you make it sound like Orlando treated the entire game as a regular season game and SA didnt, trying to downplay anything. Im not saying ORlando will be world beaters, but you seem to go out of your way to criticize Orlando in this 1st game.

and Orlando played 15 bench players, many who wont be on the roster.

[drsd]

Magic Win! It's only preseason but some really solid performances from several players. It was not just Markelle Fultz and Mo Bamba but several other players too. This team is SO Deep.

Orlando has a rebuild that has always modelled after the 2004 Pistons title run: extreme depth.

In the modern NBA, I still think a star-less team can win a title. Having a bench unit of near-starters is the point.


..

i think people point to Detroit a little too much. Wallace was a defensive monster and all-star and defensive player of the year. Rasheed Wallace was a matchup nightmare and 2x all-star by 2004. Billups further developed into a top-5 PG. Rip was top-10 SG.

And i think there is a reason you havent seen a similar Superstar-less team win a title.

Respectfully your point to the narrative at hand.

Be the best defensive team , and score "some" points. And have a deep bench. Is that really differing from the projected path of this current Magic team?



..