2023-2024 Regular Season Game 20: Orlando Magic (14-5) at Brooklyn Nets (9-9) - 7pm

[mattyBoi]

Off topic, but Lively on the Mavs is going to be a good player for a long time. Would’ve been great for us.

[eyriq]

Off topic, but Lively on the Mavs is going to be a good player for a long time. Would’ve been great for us.

Interesting option at 11 for sure.

[IllMagic04]

Nets played well. It just wasn't our night.

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[basketballRob]

Now the Magic are #5 on defense and #14 on offense.

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[DiplomaticMagic]

This was a tough game from the start. Really sucks.

I thought the refs were **** awful though. If Bridges leaned, he got a foul. But plenty of calls where we got mugged and nothing. And a bunch of questionable calls in between on us.

I cant stand Bridges and Dinshittie. I hope the next game we put them in their place.

[eyriq]

These are the games where playing 3v5 on offense also hurt, I mean I know we love the streak but let's be a bit realistic with importing 3rd stringers into the starting lineup... our bench has been amazing and our starting lineup has been good but nothing to write home about.

Fultz and WCJ aren't necessarily the answers or the future, but acting like they hurt us just because of the streak is a weird take to me.

Any word on when Fultz and WCJ will be back?

[DiplomaticMagic]

WTF was that foul on Moe Wagner when they just ran into him?? Refs should be suspended

[DiplomaticMagic]

If Gary Harris hit those 2 3pters in the 3rd qtr, i think this game goes to the wire. Those misses were deflating.

[RookieStar]

So who here gave tankathon the old spin after watching this game?

[JD930]

WTF was that foul on Moe Wagner when they just ran into him?? Refs should be suspended

They were bad all game long, but it was that call right there where I said “they’re not gonna let us play or win”. League is controlled. They can’t have the Magic continuing to make headlines because it’s a small market and takes away from bigger stories they want.

[fendilim]

Nets played well. It just wasn't our night.

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Yup. We were flat to start the game. They deserve the win.

[Bensational]

These are the games where playing 3v5 on offense also hurt, I mean I know we love the streak but let's be a bit realistic with importing 3rd stringers into the starting lineup... our bench has been amazing and our starting lineup has been good but nothing to write home about.

Fultz and WCJ aren't necessarily the answers or the future, but acting like they hurt us just because of the streak is a weird take to me.

I wouldn’t say they hurt us, but they haven’t helped us the way Goga and Black have in the way they’ve been playing.

I’m not a fan of the take that we’re playing 3 on 5 with Goga and Black just because they’re not shot hungry. No team is going to be 5 scoring playmakers deep, role players exist for a reason. We’ve got 2 studs, Suggs seems to be growing with each game as a bigger offensive presence than imagined. We just need at least one of them to step up and shoulder the load on any given night, and sustained high level play from the bench.

I mean, Cole could be starting for us right now instead of Black but I think Mosley recognises he needs to break up the ball dominant guys where he can.

[SOUL]

These are the games where playing 3v5 on offense also hurt, I mean I know we love the streak but let's be a bit realistic with importing 3rd stringers into the starting lineup... our bench has been amazing and our starting lineup has been good but nothing to write home about.

Fultz and WCJ aren't necessarily the answers or the future, but acting like they hurt us just because of the streak is a weird take to me.

I wouldn’t say they hurt us, but they haven’t helped us the way Goga and Black have in the way they’ve been playing.

I’m not a fan of the take that we’re playing 3 on 5 with Goga and Black just because they’re not shot hungry. No team is going to be 5 scoring playmakers deep, role players exist for a reason. We’ve got 2 studs, Suggs seems to be growing with each game as a bigger offensive presence than imagined. We just need at least one of them to step up and shoulder the load on any given night, and sustained high level play from the bench.

I mean, Cole could be starting for us right now instead of Black but I think Mosley recognises he needs to break up the ball dominant guys where he can.

He's doing it because it gets the bench in a rhythm and they've practiced with specific units. When WCJ/Fultz come back, they're probably going to slot right back in with the starters. I don't think it has a lot to do with getting their usage up.

Paolo and Franz were able to get theirs last year while having the same team around them, so it shouldn't be any different when WCJ and Fultz are back. Like I said, I don't think it's an ideal pairing, but if/when your stars don't have it going or if the bench starts playing average again instead of above average, having 2 starters that you cannot rely on at all for offense is not a good thing.

[Bensational]

These are the games where playing 3v5 on offense also hurt, I mean I know we love the streak but let's be a bit realistic with importing 3rd stringers into the starting lineup... our bench has been amazing and our starting lineup has been good but nothing to write home about.

Fultz and WCJ aren't necessarily the answers or the future, but acting like they hurt us just because of the streak is a weird take to me.

I wouldn’t say they hurt us, but they haven’t helped us the way Goga and Black have in the way they’ve been playing.

I’m not a fan of the take that we’re playing 3 on 5 with Goga and Black just because they’re not shot hungry. No team is going to be 5 scoring playmakers deep, role players exist for a reason. We’ve got 2 studs, Suggs seems to be growing with each game as a bigger offensive presence than imagined. We just need at least one of them to step up and shoulder the load on any given night, and sustained high level play from the bench.

I mean, Cole could be starting for us right now instead of Black but I think Mosley recognises he needs to break up the ball dominant guys where he can.

He's doing it because it gets the bench in a rhythm and they've practiced with specific units. When WCJ/Fultz come back, they're probably going to slot right back in with the starters. I don't think it has a lot to do with getting their usage up.

Paolo and Franz were able to get theirs last year while having the same team around them, so it shouldn't be any different when WCJ and Fultz are back. Like I said, I don't think it's an ideal pairing, but if/when your stars don't have it going or if the bench starts playing average again instead of above average, having 2 starters that you cannot rely on at all for offense is not a good thing.

You can’t rely on Goga and Black to go get you a bucket but you can rely on them to move, set good screens and take and make open looks at close range. If I had to swap Black for someone it would be Harris or Houstan instead of Fultz, because we’ve already got 3 playmakers in that lineup who can get into the paint but we can always use more shooting.

That said, Mosley has had Goga and Black both on pretty low minutes even as starters so they seem destined to go back to 3rd string Green Goblins when WCJ and Fultz are healthy.

[pepe1991]

Like that old commercial "NBA, where amazing happens" this was your typical " NBA- where stinkers happen".

From start to finish it simply wasn't our night.

[jezzerinho]

Only saw the highlights but Orl looked totally flat early on, Nets had evertything falling for them and the writing was on the wall from early.

Decent fightback in the third, but you cant come from behind like that without getting somewhat hot from 3 and Orl were lukewarm, in vol. and accuracy.

[drsd]

GIVE GARY HARRIS THE DUNCE

Toss-up between Gary and Cole IMO

Anthony "Elite Defender" Black got smoked in this game, AND was horrible offensively.

When is Fultz returning???

[cedric76]

Man what I saw in the first quarter even to my eyes, who only played ball at a high school level.... Was a team that didn't know how to attack a zone..... Soon as they went to it we broke down, we started holding the ball at the top of the key.... Passing aimlessly around the key without purpose..... All I could think of was coaching, every coach should have a package for zone offense.... It made me question if we do

Sent from the phone in my hands

We be been destroying Zones each time we faced them this season

We were just tired and took us time to get into that game

Schedule loss

[drsd]

Box score thoughts:

Orlando lost the FG% battle and lost the game. The other reason the Magic lost is that they got hammered on the boards, finishing on minus-21 rebounds

F-Wagner's 30 ppg run is halted at three games (he did go 20 in this one though)
Another huge scoring night for the bench 50% in total

Strong FT night and weak 3-pt FG% night

Orlando kept their TOs low

[drsd]

Decent fightback in the third, .

I know it wouldn't have mattered, but I am put off by how poor the scrubs were to close out the 4th quarter. These are the so-called rested players. yuck.