2024-2025 Regular Season Game 8: Orlando Magic (3-4) at Oklahoma City Thunder (6-0) - 9:15pm ET

[ibraheim718]

We played well with Franz. I dont fully understand the critique. He wont be volume scorer becouse he doesnt shoot mid range shots. Its actually a good thing as a second option. I agree he should try more 3 pointers, but its not that he is not able to do that.
Tristan looks good as a rookie. He is also not a toast on defense.
Our contracts suggest we will try to be good in 2-3 years. We dont have Mitchell or SGA or Doncic in their primes. We have to accept it.

Regarding last night specifically he just forced things a little too much instead of letting the game come to him a little more.

(fk SGA)

The whole team still needs a few more games to adjust.. they had some really good minutes in last nights game. They just have to put it all together.

[ibraheim718]

Even though Franz wasnt horrible this game, I think its pretty clear that he should have never gotten a max contract. Thats the contract you give to someone who can be a top 2 player on a championship team, and I really believe hes a #3.

Brother you're insane. He still has so much room to improve and that's what Orlando is banking on... that he plays into his contract. He's still only 23. The Magic are still the 5th youngest team in the NBA.. all these guys are going to get better. Just relax.

[ibraheim718]

We got to get our defense tightened up, that doesn't need to be affected by the loss of banchero.... We get our defense back to our standard and maybe we can work out the offense.... Hopefully more practice time will help a lot.... KCP need to hit shots, I think I saw something that said most of his shots have been rated wide open or open and he's been missing.... The silver lining could be there is no way we're THIS bad shooting

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Almost every 3 they took last night was rushed. Another pass or two and you get a more relaxed 3.

[ibraheim718]

The NBA created max contracts to help teams retain their top talent by offering them more money than other teams. The value of max contracts is tied to a percentage of the salary cap, which is based on how much money is coming into the league.

The NBA's salary cap is a limit on how much a team can spend on player salaries. The cap is calculated based on the expected income from basketball-related activities for the upcoming season. The NBA has a "soft cap," which means teams can go over the cap by using exceptions outlined in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). However, owners are required to spend at least 90% of the salary cap each season.

The supermax is a type of max contract that allows a team to re-sign a player with eight or nine years of service for up to five years. The maximum amount a team can pay a player under a supermax contract is 35% of the salary cap, plus an 8% annual increase. To be eligible for a supermax contract, a player must meet certain criteria, including being named to the All-NBA first, second, or third team, or winning Defensive Player of the Year or NBA MVP.

As the NBA has grown, more money has been invested into the league, which has led to larger contracts for players. The Celtics' five-year, $314 million contract with Jayson Tatum is the largest contract in NBA history.

[eyriq]

The NBA created max contracts to help teams retain their top talent by offering them more money than other teams. The value of max contracts is tied to a percentage of the salary cap, which is based on how much money is coming into the league.

The NBA's salary cap is a limit on how much a team can spend on player salaries. The cap is calculated based on the expected income from basketball-related activities for the upcoming season. The NBA has a "soft cap," which means teams can go over the cap by using exceptions outlined in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). However, owners are required to spend at least 90% of the salary cap each season.

The supermax is a type of max contract that allows a team to re-sign a player with eight or nine years of service for up to five years. The maximum amount a team can pay a player under a supermax contract is 35% of the salary cap, plus an 8% annual increase. To be eligible for a supermax contract, a player must meet certain criteria, including being named to the All-NBA first, second, or third team, or winning Defensive Player of the Year or NBA MVP.

As the NBA has grown, more money has been invested into the league, which has led to larger contracts for players. The Celtics' five-year, $314 million contract with Jayson Tatum is the largest contract in NBA history.

Funny how that works

[ibraheim718]

The NBA created max contracts to help teams retain their top talent by offering them more money than other teams. The value of max contracts is tied to a percentage of the salary cap, which is based on how much money is coming into the league.

The NBA's salary cap is a limit on how much a team can spend on player salaries. The cap is calculated based on the expected income from basketball-related activities for the upcoming season. The NBA has a "soft cap," which means teams can go over the cap by using exceptions outlined in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). However, owners are required to spend at least 90% of the salary cap each season.

The supermax is a type of max contract that allows a team to re-sign a player with eight or nine years of service for up to five years. The maximum amount a team can pay a player under a supermax contract is 35% of the salary cap, plus an 8% annual increase. To be eligible for a supermax contract, a player must meet certain criteria, including being named to the All-NBA first, second, or third team, or winning Defensive Player of the Year or NBA MVP.

As the NBA has grown, more money has been invested into the league, which has led to larger contracts for players. The Celtics' five-year, $314 million contract with Jayson Tatum is the largest contract in NBA history.

Funny how that works

I mean what do fans want the Magic front office to do? Let Wagner, Suggs, and Banchero walk?

[ibraheim718]

It's not my money or anyone else's. I don't get why fans get their panties in a bunch over the contracts they don't have to pay. It's not YOUR money so shut up and it HAS to be spent.

[Skybox]

The last 3 games have been against teams who could all be in the top 5 best defenses at the end of the season. Couple that with the complete shift in the way we play.

I think we have a competitive game against the Pacers.

We've had the 7th hardest schedule so far.

https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS

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We're also supposed to be a top 5 defense...and not because of Paolo.

If you're going to so blatantly disregard offense and double down on defense...no excuses for that. C'mon Mose, get these guys locking down, at least. Some nights the shots don't fall, but if you're ALL about defensive identity...

[VFX]

I dont think the argument is NOT to pay these guys.

It's about weighing the dispersement of money, toward the cap, based on the quality of actual production.

Like... you can't pay 6 guys that look like absolute dog **** and think your team will be good with or without the core guys.

KCP, Gary, JI, Moe, Cole, Houstan, Jett, etc. etc. all have looked bad. What are Magic homers gonna tell me? That Weltman is going to make a bunch of trades to make sense of the roster when the guy never makes moves whatsoever? Lol ok sure. Losing Paolo Banchero doesnt automatically make these guys look like they belong in China.

Spare me the Philip Rossman-Reich homer cope please.

[OrlChamps2030]

It's not my money or anyone else's. I don't get why fans get their panties in a bunch over the contracts they don't have to pay. It's not YOUR money so shut up and it HAS to be spent.

Wut

Do you not understand how the salary cap works?

[ibraheim718]

It's not my money or anyone else's. I don't get why fans get their panties in a bunch over the contracts they don't have to pay. It's not YOUR money so shut up and it HAS to be spent.

Wut

Do you not understand how the salary cap works?

Do you know what the NBA salary Cap floor is?

[ibraheim718]

I'll wait for the player or list of players the Magic could've signed that would have been better than signing Franz Wagner or Jalen Suggs to their new contracts. Bearing in mind Wagner's max contract doesn't even start until next year. He's still on his rookie contract and fans are bitching because he's been struggling a tiny bit since Banchero went down.

[IllMagic04]

Stuff sucks right now but I'm still not panicking. Its still early. Paolo or no Paolo we are getting good looks. Just not making him. Im not just talking about our bricklayers either. KCP and Gary Harris have had good looks. We seen alot of shots just go in and out. We are a bad shooting team but we are not going to be consistently THIS bad. 50 wins is out now for sure but I still think we are going to stay afloat.The Mavs and Thunder are probably L's even with Paolo.

[eyriq]

Read on Twitter

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[Audi]

Read on Twitter

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Suggs being only 15lbs lighter than Franz is a major wtf stat

[RookieStar]

Read on Twitter

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Suggs being only 15lbs lighter than Franz is a major wtf stat

Suggs football-like bullsog body vs Franz slim proto-SF body.

Im actually surprised Suggs is only 205. Wpuld jave though he was at least 210

[yoyojw17]

The last 3 games have been against teams who could all be in the top 5 best defenses at the end of the season. Couple that with the complete shift in the way we play.

I think we have a competitive game against the Pacers.

We've had the 7th hardest schedule so far.

https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

We're also supposed to be a top 5 defense...and not because of Paolo.

If you're going to so blatantly disregard offense and double down on defense...no excuses for that. C'mon Mose, get these guys locking down, at least. Some nights the shots don't fall, but if you're ALL about defensive identity...

We're missing 2 starters (wendell partially played a game).... on the road.... against the two remaining undefeated teams and a team who we would trade our star for one of their players (Luka) ... and easily multiple players from our team for their pg (Kyrie)...and you'll just expect us to figure it out on the fly and on the road. Mentally there is a lot that they are dealing with on their own. This is not NBA2K.... and things are not linear. How do you implement schemes when you barely have time to practice. and yup... this all happened along a stretch of tough games... including back to backs. What do you want them to do? Confidence has been shook... and i might take them a little longer than we would want for them to get their footing and bearings.

[Skybox]

The last 3 games have been against teams who could all be in the top 5 best defenses at the end of the season. Couple that with the complete shift in the way we play.

I think we have a competitive game against the Pacers.

We've had the 7th hardest schedule so far.

https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

We're also supposed to be a top 5 defense...and not because of Paolo.

If you're going to so blatantly disregard offense and double down on defense...no excuses for that. C'mon Mose, get these guys locking down, at least. Some nights the shots don't fall, but if you're ALL about defensive identity...

We're missing 2 starters (wendell partially played a game).... on the road.... against the two remaining undefeated teams and a team who we would trade our star for one of their players (Luka) ... and easily multiple players from our team for their pg (Kyrie)...and you'll just expect us to figure it out on the fly and on the road. Mentally there is a lot that they are dealing with on their own. This is not NBA2K.... and things are not linear. How do you implement schemes when you barely have time to practice. and yup... this all happened along a stretch of tough games... including back to backs. What do you want them to do? Confidence has been shook... and i might take them a little longer than we would want for them to get their footing and bearings.

Wow…that’s a lot. Why does our defense suck was the question…why do people get such joy saying “it’s not NBA2K”, like that’s supposed to explain something

[SOUL]

Wow…that’s a lot. Why does our defense suck was the question…why do people get such joy saying “it’s not NBA2K”, like that’s supposed to explain something

Because... it hasn't? It looks bad because we're not scoring but we're holding teams to 15-25 point quarters pretty regularly.

It's top 3 in defensive efficiency currently. In fact, all the teams in the top 6 are either undefeated or have 1 loss and we're still top 3 with 5 losses. If we have any sort of offense it would bode extremely well.

[yoyojw17]

We're also supposed to be a top 5 defense...and not because of Paolo.

If you're going to so blatantly disregard offense and double down on defense...no excuses for that. C'mon Mose, get these guys locking down, at least. Some nights the shots don't fall, but if you're ALL about defensive identity...

We're missing 2 starters (wendell partially played a game).... on the road.... against the two remaining undefeated teams and a team who we would trade our star for one of their players (Luka) ... and easily multiple players from our team for their pg (Kyrie)...and you'll just expect us to figure it out on the fly and on the road. Mentally there is a lot that they are dealing with on their own. This is not NBA2K.... and things are not linear. How do you implement schemes when you barely have time to practice. and yup... this all happened along a stretch of tough games... including back to backs. What do you want them to do? Confidence has been shook... and i might take them a little longer than we would want for them to get their footing and bearings.

Wow…that’s a lot. Why does our defense suck was the question…why do people get such joy saying “it’s not NBA2K”, like that’s supposed to explain something

Everything is not as simple as plug and play.... That's the point to NBA2k. Same as trades. Taking a player from one location and putting them on another team ... Does not guarantee anything. There are so many other factors.... Whether it is... personnel.... ability of the personnel to available to work cohesively that usually dont play with one another as much....offensive frustrations that result in disappointments. And taking out Wendell ... Huge factor when your big is now mo Wagner and to a lesser a degree.... JI returning from injury...and goga out Holding OKC to 102 points.... With goga back is pretty damn good. Holding them below 100 points would have been awesome.