2023-2024 Regular Season Game 54: Oklahoma City Thunder (36-17) at Orlando Magic (29-24) - 7:30pm

[ORLMagicGirl15]

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With the way he played yesterday, he deserved it. He understood that this was a national media game and he was great.

But one game does not cast out Paolo.

[pepe1991]

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I've said few days ago, Williams and Franz are two of most underrated young players in nba, by far.

[JBSouthpaw]

What sucks about the loss is that all the Magic alumni were there to see it. Gotta leave a bitter taste in Mosley's mouth.

I don't think it's that big of a deal. They have another game to prepare for tomorrow, ya know?

You’re kidding if you don’t think this was deflating with the circumstances.

They were playing the team with the 3rd best record in the NBA, it wasn't like they were playing a team below .500, THAT would have been deflating.

[SOUL]

Franz is a wizard driving to the rim, but his issue right now is the consistency of his three point shot.

Jdub right now can pull up from three, mid-range or take it to the rack at good efficiency. Helps SGA is on the team obviously but he was doing it without him too.

Franz has cut the mid-range out of his game, so it's never that smooth, usually done as a last ditch effort sort of thing, so he's overly reliant on getting to the basket if his three isn't hitting either.

[tiderulz]

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With the way he played yesterday, he deserved it. He understood that this was a national media game and he was great.

But one game does not cast out Paolo.

different roles. Williams isnt seeing the better defenders every night, and plays next to Chet and SGA. easier to look very good when you are a good player and the 3rd option.

[Skybox]

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With the way he played yesterday, he deserved it. He understood that this was a national media game and he was great.

But one game does not cast out Paolo.

different roles. Williams isnt seeing the better defenders every night, and plays next to Chet and SGA. easier to look very good when you are a good player and the 3rd option.

exactly...Paolo and Franz are great, even in handcuffs.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

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With the way he played yesterday, he deserved it. He understood that this was a national media game and he was great.

But one game does not cast out Paolo.

different roles. Williams isnt seeing the better defenders every night, and plays next to Chet and SGA. easier to look very good when you are a good player and the 3rd option.

I absolutely agree. I don’t care what anybody says, Jalen Williams cannot do what Paolo has done for us so far. Maybe he’ll do it in the future but put him on this team his rookie and sophomore year with no spacing and getting double and triple teamed, No way his numbers stay the same.

[JoshuaPotter]

Awe chums. OKC is just such a great team and an example of perfect team building. How did they manage to build out of the draft 2x is just so very very impressive to me.

The question is, will this team be able to avoid the drama of the OG OKC gang? Or will they also not be able to afford their really really deep talent roster? Time will tell. They are almost, too good.

I really loved seeing us in the game as long as we are. Paolo going 20/10 isn't a "check your glasses" moment. I think that is the future. Team just has to make shots around him.

[Bergmaniac]

OKC are just a much better team, as simple as that. We can hang around with them if they have an unusually poor shooting night, like the game in OKC this season, but on a normal night for them we don't have much of a shot. We crushed them on the glass (10 more offensive boards) but they still won comfortably because they shot so much better. SGA and Jdub are fantastic and Chet's shotblocking makes a big difference, especially against a team as reliant on attackign the rim as we are.

they've got splits of 54/46/100....

We just didn't come to play tonight

I mean no disrespect, but I just dislike this this kind of "analysis" so much.

Effort was not the issue whatsoever tonight. The Magic played hard.

The issue tonight is that that Oklahoma City is REALLY FREAKING GOOD and a lot more talented than Orlando.

They have played an A+ game on both ends.

Yeah, our effort was fine. We killed them on the glass, we hustled on D, but they are just much more talented and have so many more options on offense. They also play much more smarter than most yong teams, they knew our weaknessess on both ends and stuck to the plan to expose them.

OKC expolited non existing offense of Isaac and Fultz



It's getting ridicilous at this point. It's worst than Ben Simmons. Guy is spending time, at 6'3- on dunker's spot or in corner leaving team to play 4 on 5.

Isaac was served with same . He was flat out ignored in corner, as Holmgren kept defending paint instad of him.


In general this is what good teams do to onedimensional players. They take them out of game or leveradge their limitations to their own adventage.

And what happened later on this play was very telling too, I made a note of it while watching the game. Instead of staying in the corner and taking a wide open corner 3, a shot which for pretty much every other PG in the league is a desirable high percentage one, Fultz cut to the basket and Franz had to attempt an extremely hard alley-oop pass, which was nowhere close, Fultz still got the ball, but behind the basket so he had to kick it out and the possession had to start all over again with most of the shot clock wasted. And then Paolo had a turnover while trying to decide how to attack the packed paint. Our offensive struggles in a nut shell.

[eyriq]

OKC's offensive rating was 127.6, +7.2 points above their average.

In our house, against our top 5 defense. Fully healthy.

Frankly, we wet the bed.

[Fortune Teller]

OKC expolited non existing offense of Isaac and Fultz



It's getting ridicilous at this point. It's worst than Ben Simmons. Guy is spending time, at 6'3- on dunker's spot or in corner leaving team to play 4 on 5.

Isaac was served with same . He was flat out ignored in corner, as Holmgren kept defending paint instad of him.


In general this is what good teams do to onedimensional players. They take them out of game or leveradge their limitations to their own adventage.

This is an example to think about. Isaac’s defensive impact is otherworldly, so you live with the fact that, so far, he’s offensively inept. Fultz as stated for over a year now, doesn’t have enough “other stuff” to make this picture forgivable

Yeah, this is crazy and unacceptable. No one is even looking in Fultz's direction, much less guarding him. Not even a side-eye to his corner.

This is Fultz's 6th year on the roster, Isaac's 7th. They are the two highest-paid players on the team. Welt extended both of them. Presti would never. Honestly, I don't know of another GM in the league who would still be paying these guys $17 mil+ in Year 6 and Year 7.

[JoshuaPotter]

OKC's offensive rating was 127.6, +7.2 points above their average.

In our house, against our top 5 defense. Fully healthy.

Frankly, we wet the bed.

While this statement is true. We also played a very good team instead of a randomly poor, randomly good offensive team.

These are not the same.

The bigger issue is our lack of offense was exploited.

[VFX]

OKC expolited non existing offense of Isaac and Fultz



It's getting ridicilous at this point. It's worst than Ben Simmons. Guy is spending time, at 6'3- on dunker's spot or in corner leaving team to play 4 on 5.

Isaac was served with same . He was flat out ignored in corner, as Holmgren kept defending paint instad of him.


In general this is what good teams do to onedimensional players. They take them out of game or leveradge their limitations to their own adventage.

This is an example to think about. Isaac’s defensive impact is otherworldly, so you live with the fact that, so far, he’s offensively inept. Fultz as stated for over a year now, doesn’t have enough “other stuff” to make this picture forgivable

Yeah, this is crazy and unacceptable. No one is even looking in Fultz's direction, much less guarding him. Not even a side-eye to his corner.

This is Fultz's 6th year on the roster, Isaac's 7th. They are the two highest-paid players on the team. Welt extended both of them. Presti would never. Honestly, I don't know of another GM in the league who would still be paying these guys $17 mil+ in Year 6 and Year 7.

I’m told we have no other options from fans.

Orlando is forced to pay liabilities for reasons.

[Optimus_Steel]

I don't think it's that big of a deal. They have another game to prepare for tomorrow, ya know?

You’re kidding if you don’t think this was deflating with the circumstances.

They were playing the team with the 3rd best record in the NBA, it wasn't like they were playing a team below .500, THAT would have been deflating.

I know you are trying to put a nice face on this but we got punked in our home court on Shaq retirement ceremony with a full house of Magic alumni, first TNT game in 12 years….This is even acknowledging that OKC is a great team and much better than us. The crowd was super juiced early on and the Magic folded after some pressure.

[eyriq]

OKC's offensive rating was 127.6, +7.2 points above their average.

In our house, against our top 5 defense. Fully healthy.

Frankly, we wet the bed.

While this statement is true. We also played a very good team instead of a randomly poor, randomly good offensive team.

These are not the same.

The bigger issue is our lack of offense was exploited.

Yeah, OKC is good. We just beat the Wolves on the road though, we beat the Celtics by 17 at home, etc. We can beat good teams. With defense. The instant a great offense plays above their norm against us we are cooked. Zero chance to win. Our offense just isn't good enough.

So that's a bad look, right? We let a great offense be even better than normal.

Here's what irks me. Fultz over AB. It has to end, and the ball is clearly in Mosley's court. The organization has zero commitment to Fultz. None. Yet he plays. Not because he's earned it but because... I don't know, have to ask Mosley that one.

Not playing AB isn't the reason we lost, but little decisions like this make an impact at the margins.

[Bergmaniac]

Yeah, this is crazy and unacceptable. No one is even looking in Fultz's direction, much less guarding him. Not even a side-eye to his corner.

This is Fultz's 6th year on the roster, Isaac's 7th. They are the two highest-paid players on the team. Welt extended both of them. Presti would never. Honestly, I don't know of another GM in the league who would still be paying these guys $17 mil+ in Year 6 and Year 7.

Presti extended the contract of Andre Roberson who was a worse offensive player than Isaac and the current Fultz.

I think the decision to extend Isaac's contract back in 2020, with the third year only half-guaranteed and the fourth fully non-guaranteed was not a bad one at the time and I could see Presti making it too. We knew Isaac was injury prone and was recovering from an ACL at the time, but nobody expected him to miss two full seasons in a row and then play only 11 games in the next season. Most people on this board at the time thought it was a fair deal.

[zaymon]

Frustrating game, but we made decision we want to remain mediocre at the deadline while keeping assets. It will benefit us in the long run i am certain of it, but right now it sucks.
Extra motivation for Franz and Paolo. Be ready when cavalry comes.
Ps. I hope its a start to end this backcourt bs. Even Mosley cant pretend forever. GHarris for all the hate he is getting is our second best guard on the roster and by a wide margin.

[Knightro]

Awe chums. OKC is just such a great team and an example of perfect team building. How did they manage to build out of the draft 2x is just so very very impressive to me.

The question is, will this team be able to avoid the drama of the OG OKC gang? Or will they also not be able to afford their really really deep talent roster? Time will tell. They are almost, too good.

I really loved seeing us in the game as long as we are. Paolo going 20/10 isn't a "check your glasses" moment. I think that is the future. Team just has to make shots around him.

I mean I laid it out already lol.

OKC could have absolutely kept the Westbrook/Schroder/George/Grant/Adams core together and added to it in the summer of 2019 and probably won 50+ games in 2019-2020.

But they opted to go in a completely different direction and were armed with two all-stars (eventually 3 as they acquired and then flipped Chris Paul as well) and several high end role players that they were able to trade away to kickstart their rebuild.

That's a whole lot more than most teams have when they decide to play tank ball.

[JoshuaPotter]

OKC's offensive rating was 127.6, +7.2 points above their average.

In our house, against our top 5 defense. Fully healthy.

Frankly, we wet the bed.

While this statement is true. We also played a very good team instead of a randomly poor, randomly good offensive team.

These are not the same.

The bigger issue is our lack of offense was exploited.

Yeah, OKC is good. We just beat the Wolves on the road though, we beat the Celtics by 17 at home, etc. We can beat good teams. With defense. The instant a great offense plays above their norm against us we are cooked. Zero chance to win. Our offense just isn't good enough.

So that's a bad look, right? We let a great offense be even better than normal.

Here's what irks me. Fultz over AB. It has to end, and the ball is clearly in Mosley's court. The organization has zero commitment to Fultz. None. Yet he plays. Not because he's earned it but because... I don't know, have to ask Mosley that one.

Not playing AB isn't the reason we lost, but little decisions like this make an impact at the margins.

+1 you are preaching to the choir. Never have I ever said AB should equal more wins. Just when you see a game like this, you ask "what's the difference?" Of which I have no clue.

This hangs on the coach, management, and so on. I visually do not see anything better about Fultz over Black. I know that Fultz *should* be able to always limit mistakes. That's about where the advantages end.

Positive note, coaches answer should be. "We are all in on making the playoffs." It is, the only rational choice that makes sense.

[Bergmaniac]

Awe chums. OKC is just such a great team and an example of perfect team building. How did they manage to build out of the draft 2x is just so very very impressive to me.

The question is, will this team be able to avoid the drama of the OG OKC gang? Or will they also not be able to afford their really really deep talent roster? Time will tell. They are almost, too good.

I really loved seeing us in the game as long as we are. Paolo going 20/10 isn't a "check your glasses" moment. I think that is the future. Team just has to make shots around him.

I mean I laid it out already lol.

OKC could have absolutely kept the Westbrook/Schroder/George/Grant/Adams core together and added to it in the summer of 2019 and probably won 50+ games in 2019-2020.

But they opted to go in a completely different direction and were armed with two all-stars (eventually 3 as they acquired and then flipped Chris Paul as well) and several high end role players that they were able to trade away to kickstart their rebuild.

That's a whole lot more than most teams have when they decide to play tank ball.

They were to some extent forced into a rebuild by Paul George asking for a trade. Though I think Presti welcomed the opportunity too, with Westbrook clearly declining they weren't looking like a real contender any team soon and the payroll was huge for a first round exit team. Paul George asking out and then Westbrook asking to be traded too the same summer worked out great for OKC. Westbrook convincing Paul George to sign an extention in the summer of 2018 when everyone expected him to leave turned out to be even more beneficial for OKC long term than it looked at the time.