2020-2021 Regular Season Game 48: Orlando Magic (16-31) at New Orleans Pelicans (21-25)

Post #461 » by **Knightro** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:35 am

On a lighter note.

Cole is pretty clearly the team chemist. He's always hyping up his guys at every opportunity, both on the bench and on social media.

PrimeThyme · Post #462 » by **PrimeThyme** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:40 am

Ducklett wrote:These boards: Haha the kings suck because they mismanage assets
Also these boards: Lets get 10th pick in a rebuilding year!

The majority isn't saying that. I just don't think it's worth losing your mind after every win when you consider our circumstances. We have a coach who will squeeze everything out of a roster, && a roster that has a combination of vets and quality young players who will be conducive to winning these sorts of games.

It is what it is. We are going to need some luck regardless. Hopefully we find it this year.

Gawn2TMac · Post #463 » by **Gawn2TMac** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:43 am

The draft is a lottery, we can lose games and end up with pick 7, can win games and get pick 1.

The young guys look good, Carter, Okeke, Bamba and Hampton contributing to a win.

We don’t win this game though if Williamson, Ingram and Ball play, still expecting to lose majority of games for the rest of the season.

Skin · Post #464 » by **Skin** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:43 am

Optimus_Steel wrote:To the people bitching, we've made a combined 10 3s last two games. That's not winning basketball in the modern NBA. We have a scrappy team but offensive talent is lacking and we are inexperienced. There will be not so good moments, take the few good ones we will have.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using RealGM mobile app

That's the exact damn reason why these are fake wins. Where does it get us long term? WE NEED MORE ELITE TALENT.

Post #465 » by **SOUL** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:44 am

Ducklett wrote:These boards: Haha the kings suck because they mismanage assets
Also these boards: Lets get 10th pick in a rebuilding year!

Nobody is saying that though, or very few are.

What do you want Clifford to feasibly do? Playing every young guy 48 minutes is not a realistic option.

Maybe the front office had to try to move a few more guys at the deadline? But that is also a bit unrealistic with leaving a complete bare cupboard for a coach.

Tanking is about getting lucky in the lottery AND making the right choice. Players will never tank on purpose, and we are playing young guys as well as vets who are pretty sucky.

We could've had Booker and SGA with the picks we took Hezonja and Bamba with, and that's without having a top 4 pick, so I don't want to hear how we don't get lucky or give ourselves the best chances. I think there's a difference between a team trying their best to win some meaningless game during the last week of games versus a team in the middle of the season that just made a trade of their three "best" players playing gimped teams that are injured, but also expecting our guys not to play hard and without a chip on their shoulder. That sort of stuff is only in the hands of the players, but scouting correctly and making the right pick is something that is much harder to do regardless of where we pick. We need to get that player even if it isn't in the top 5 because they will still be there.

thelead · Post #466 » by **thelead** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:47 am

Gawn2TMac wrote:The draft is a lottery, we can lose games and end up with pick 7, can win games and get pick 1.

The young guys look good, Carter, Okeke, Bamba and Hampton contributing to a win.

We don’t win this game though if Williamson, Ingram and Ball play, still expecting to lose majority of games for the rest of the season.

To a point. Finishing with the worst record means you'll absolutely be guaranteed a top 5 pick. Finishing with the 5th worst record means you could fall all the way to 9th. That's not likely but you could easily fall to 6th or 7th. In this draft, there will be a big difference between 5 and 7.

thelead · Post #467 » by **thelead** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:48 am

Those complaining about the win, calm down. I'm not happy about the win but we just beat a trash team. We just have to hope other teams don't rest their stars.

KillMonger · Post #468 » by **KillMonger** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:50 am

Skin wrote:
Optimus_Steel wrote:To the people bitching, we've made a combined 10 3s last two games. That's not winning basketball in the modern NBA. We have a scrappy team but offensive talent is lacking and we are inexperienced. There will be not so good moments, take the few good ones we will have.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using RealGM mobile app

That's the exact damn reason why these are fake wins. Where does it get us long term? WE NEED MORE ELITE TALENT.

This is kinda where i'm coming from...i have a brain i can muti-task i can do both....i can both be happy that players are playing well but also be concerned with the long term effects....Maybe it's because i'm just a bit different in terms of expectations, like for me personally if you don't make at least the conference finals the seasons a failure....so yeah i'm happy that chuma and the young guys are bonding and playing well but the wins do nothing for me....i can get enjoyment out of a failure season but....at least in the long terms i'd rather be successful....the longer we spend on the treadmill we only see other teams passing us by....all it takes is one star player or potential to get ahead of the timeline for a championship

fendilim · Post #469 » by **fendilim** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:51 am

Damn. These reactions are like watching bitcoin price go up and down lol

fendilim · Post #470 » by **fendilim** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:53 am

Anyone else feel bad for Mo? New guy comes in, and already gets more minutes. Has to be a wake up call for him right? If only he plays as much effort as WCJ..

Post #471 » by **Knightro** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:54 am

The Hawks gave up 8, 17 and 35 to move up to 4 just two years ago. Just saying.

If Cunningham goes 1 and Mobley goes 2, which is what most people seem to expect, it's not at all out of the question for the Magic to move up to 3 or 4 to get Suggs or Green if they don't get lotto luck.

I'm really not stressing this lottery. Either the Magic get the ping pong balls and we don't have to worry about it, or they don't get the ping pong balls and they have plenty of extra assets to move up and get the guy they want.

Hopefully in the meantime WCJ, Bamba, Okeke, Hampton and Anthony can all establish themselves as guys that can play key roles next season.

PrimeThyme · Post #472 » by **PrimeThyme** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:55 am

SOUL wrote:Nobody is saying that though, or very few are.

What do you want Clifford to feasibly do? Playing every young guy 48 minutes is not a realistic option.

Maybe the front office had to try to move a few more guys at the deadline? But that is also a bit unrealistic with leaving a complete bare cupboard for a coach.

Tanking is about getting lucky in the lottery AND making the right choice. Players will never tank on purpose, and we are playing young guys as well as vets who are pretty sucky.

We could've had Booker and SGA with the picks we took Hezonja and Bamba with, and that's without having a top 4 pick, so I don't want to hear how we don't get lucky or give ourselves the best chances. I think there's a difference between a team trying their best to win some meaningless game during the last week of games versus a team in the middle of the season that just made a trade of their three "best" players playing gimped teams that are injured, but also expecting our guys not to play hard and without a chip on their shoulder. That sort of stuff is only in the hands of the players, but scouting correctly and making the right pick is something that is much harder to do regardless of where we pick. We need to get that player even if it isn't in the top 5 because they will still be there.

Couldn't have said it better.

It's hard to complain much after we traded Vuc for a 21-year-old and two picks, Fournier for 2-second rounders, && AG for a 1st, a 20-year-old, && an injured player. MCW/Birch should be phased out of this rotation, but outside of that, it's hard to say that players such a Bacon/Porter shouldn't even touch the floor for us as long as the young guys are getting sufficient run.

We just have to hope for luck this time around. Odds have changed somewhat significantly since those Hezonja/SGA drafts anyway so it's even more impossible to predict where we will land. It really does all come down to making the right pick regardless.

PrimeThyme · Post #473 » by **PrimeThyme** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:58 am

fendilim wrote:Anyone else feel bad for Mo? New guy comes in, and already gets more minutes. Has to be a wake up call for him right? If only he plays as much effort as WCJ..

No, not really. This is a pretty good role for him right now && I'm intrigued to see if he can develop into a rotational big who can handle a bigger one. 17-20 mpg is the sweet spot atm.

KillMonger · Post #474 » by **KillMonger** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:58 am

Knightro wrote:The Hawks gave up 8, 17 and 35 to move up to 4 just two years ago. Just saying.

If Cunningham goes 1 and Mobley goes 2, which is what most people seem to expect, it's not at all out of the question for the Magic to move up to 3 or 4 to get Suggs or Green if they don't get lotto luck.

I'm really not stressing this lottery. Either the Magic get the ping pong balls and we don't have to worry about it, or they don't get the ping pong balls and they have plenty of extra assets to move up and get the guy they want.

Hopefully in the meantime WCJ, Bamba, Okeke, Hampton and Anthony can all establish themselves as guys that can play key roles next season.

i'd be shocked if anyone trades out of this top 5 it's very strong, with that kind of talent i just don't see it....

Ducklett · Post #475 » by **Ducklett** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 3:58 am

SOUL wrote:
Ducklett wrote:These boards: Haha the kings suck because they mismanage assets
Also these boards: Lets get 10th pick in a rebuilding year!

Nobody is saying that though, or very few are.

What do you want Clifford to feasibly do? Playing every young guy 48 minutes is not a realistic option.

Maybe the front office had to try to move a few more guys at the deadline? But that is also a bit unrealistic with leaving a complete bare cupboard for a coach.

Tanking is about getting lucky in the lottery AND making the right choice. Players will never tank on purpose, and we are playing young guys as well as vets who are pretty sucky.

We could've had Booker and SGA with the picks we took Hezonja and Bamba with, and that's without having a top 4 pick, so I don't want to hear how we don't get lucky or give ourselves the best chances. I think there's a difference between a team trying their best to win some meaningless game during the last week of games versus a team in the middle of the season that just made a trade of their three "best" players playing gimped teams that are injured, but also expecting our guys not to play hard and without a chip on their shoulder. That sort of stuff is only in the hands of the players, but scouting correctly and making the right pick is something that is much harder to do regardless of where we pick. We need to get that player even if it isn't in the top 5 because they will still be there.

For every Booker and SGA picked in that range, there is 60+ years of players who aren't. The truth is the higher the pick, the better your chance of getting a top tier talent.

No GM in their right mind is trading out of the top 5 unless you suggest we trade a Harden-like package for it.

Post #476 » by **Knightro** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 4:01 am

PrimeThyme wrote:Couldn't have said it better.

It's hard to complain much after we traded Vuc for a 21-year-old and two picks, Fournier for 2-second rounders, && AG for a 1st, a 20-year-old, && an injured player. MCW/Birch should be phased out of this rotation, but outside of that, it's hard to say that players such a Bacon/Porter shouldn't even touch the floor for us as long as the young guys are getting sufficient run.

We just have to hope for luck this time around. Odds have changed somewhat significantly since those Hezonja/SGA drafts anyway so it's even more impossible to predict where we will land. It really does all come down to making the right pick regardless.

On top of this, the Magic still have a bunch of injuries! Four guys are currently out with long-term injuries and two more were sick tonight.

You take six available bodies off any team and that team is going end up playing a few guys they'd rather not play.

Post #477 » by **SOUL** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 4:02 am

Ducklett wrote:For every Booker and SGA picked in that range, there is 60+ years of players who aren't. The truth is the higher the pick, the better your chance of getting a top tier talent.

You're preaching to the choir, I understand that. I still posed a question on how we will assure ourselves of getting the worst record when we already have a lot of average to bad vets + a chucker in Ross + young players that are already getting minutes, all while knowing our coach is Clifford?

Post #478 » by **Knightro** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 4:06 am

Ducklett wrote:No GM in their right mind is trading out of the top 5 unless you suggest we trade a Harden-like package for it.

I don't agree with this.

You don't think a team would trade 4 for something like 7, 11 and a future 1st? I definitely do.

I think the Magic will absolutely be able to move up if they are so inclined.

MagicStarwipe · Post #479 » by **MagicStarwipe** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 4:09 am

One thing to beware of... they said on the broadcast that Harris will be available to play once they get back to Orlando.

RookieStar · Post #480 » by **RookieStar** » Fri Apr 2, 2021 4:09 am

Lets just sit Randlr when Cole comes back. Im already confused on what we are supposed to do. We already played our young guys a lot of.minutes amd they are the ones responsible for the win. Without okekes crunch timw steal and dunk, wcj clutch shot, excellent defense and rebounds we downt he stretvh we would have lost.

Also, Ross took an off balance running 2pt junpshot with 3 defenders on him.. he made that lucky shot. That is a very low percentage shot.