2024-2025 Regular Season Game 76: Los Angeles Clippers (42-32) at Orlando Magic (36-39) - 7pm

[Knightro]

I probably did predict 50+ wins. I saw a reasonable range of between 42 and 56 wins and chose to error on the side of optimism. I didn’t anticipate Paolo and Franz missing significant time.

THEY ARE EIGHT GAMES UNDER .500 WHEN PAOLO PLAYS.

I'm sick of this "oh well you can't predict Paolo and Franz would be hurt" stuff when they've been worse with those guys than without.

[eyriq]

Better than repeatedly lying to ourselves, no?

One of us is lying to ourselves and it ain’t me, brother. You are in the fire Mosley and Weltman camp when our top three highest paid players are JI, KCP, and Cole, and during a season when our three best players have played a total of 6 games together.

This is the cap sheet of a player development team and you are holding them to the standard of a contending team. Pause and appreciate how good our young core and coach must be to have fooled you into thinking they are contenders.

Consistently delusional optimism.

Poor deflection. Those are all facts.

[eyriq]

I probably did predict 50+ wins. I saw a reasonable range of between 42 and 56 wins and chose to error on the side of optimism. I didn’t anticipate Paolo and Franz missing significant time.

THEY ARE EIGHT GAMES UNDER .500 WHEN PAOLO PLAYS.

I'm sick of this "oh well you can't predict Paolo and Franz would be hurt" stuff when they've been worse with those guys than without.

He himself said that he wasn’t 100%. We’ve also been without our third option and bench scorer. He’s been playing much better recently and so has the team.

[Knightro]

29-27 when Franz plays
17-25 when Paolo plays
15-20 when Paolo and Franz both play

Stop blaming this season on injuries. They've played to a 35 win pace with their two main guys on the floor this year.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

I don't believe that either Paolo or Franz is remotely selfish. I think if we had NBA-level offensive talent around them and anything resembling an NBA-level offensive framework, it wouldn't even be a conversation.

They take 50% of shots, it really isn't normal shot distribution.
Not a single other duo does that.

They will make right plays and pass, but both look to score first. It was like that with Kawhi and George.
At the end of a day you need PG to take ball away from both, to give the ball to others and keep defense honest if nothing else

That just happened this year. The past two years they were so much better at passing. This year the distribution just seems so off.

[shadrock]

AB's consistency is just... sigh... I know he'll be alright eventually but I still don't know what his ceiling is... and that's not a good thing.

Hes Elfrid Payton 2.0. Nights where he looks like a star, but overall just another guy who will be out of the league before the end of his second contract.

[BlueBalls]

As opposed to what? Dooming after every loss?

Better than repeatedly lying to ourselves, no?

One of us is lying to ourselves and it ain’t me, brother. You are in the fire Mosley and Weltman camp when our top three highest paid players are JI, KCP, and Cole, and during a season when our three best players have played a total of 6 games together.

This is the cap sheet of a player development team and you are holding them to the standard of a contending team. Pause and appreciate how good our young core and coach must be to have fooled you into thinking they are contenders.

This is up there with the craziest shít I’ve read here.

[VFX]

A few people on this board need absolutely everyone in the starting lineup healthy to start, and play 82 full games, before drawing conclusions on how things like the offense, player tendencies, or rotations are run. These people either have smooth brains or are merely homers that refuse to accept the inevitable.

[eyriq]

Imagine trying to ignore the most obvious and clear factor driving our poor record? Injuries are all we will think about when we look back at this season. Ignoring it now is just begging to get clowned with poor takes.

[VFX]

Imagine trying to ignore the most obvious and clear factor driving our poor record? Injuries are all we will think about when we look back at this season. Ignoring it now is just begging to get clowned with poor takes.

This is exactly what Weltman will say this off season in an attempt to not be fired, which he should.

[Knightro]

Imagine trying to ignore the most obvious and clear factor driving our poor record? Injuries are all we will think about when we look back at this season. Ignoring it now is just begging to get clowned with poor takes.

Again... they're 15-20 in the 35 games Paolo and Franz have played together.

[VFX]

Imagine trying to ignore the most obvious and clear factor driving our poor record? Injuries are all we will think about when we look back at this season. Ignoring it now is just begging to get clowned with poor takes.

You must think Suggs is a pretty big factor then huh?

[eyriq]

Zubac absolutely murdered us according to net points. Good lord.

[Knightro]

I'd buy the injuries thing a whole lot more if the record completely crated when Paolo OR Franz OR both were out. But it crated when they were both back basically.

Like the Nets a few years ago were 13-3 when Durant, Harden and Irving all played, but they only played 16 games together because of injuries. THAT is an example of injuries actually killing a team.

The Magic are 12-18 in the 30 games Paolo and Franz have played together since they both returned from the oblique injuries.

[basketballRob]

I think it's still a developmental year.

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[thelead]

Zubac absolutely murdered us according to net points. Good lord.

I've been complaining for years about our lack of size at the 5. It's why I was talking about Edey back when he was a projected late 2nd round pick 3 or 4 years ago.

[CLosP]

I don't believe that either Paolo or Franz is remotely selfish. I think if we had NBA-level offensive talent around them and anything resembling an NBA-level offensive framework, it wouldn't even be a conversation.

They take 50% of shots, it really isn't normal shot distribution.
Not a single other duo does that.

They will make right plays and pass, but both look to score first. It was like that with Kawhi and George.
At the end of a day you need PG to take ball away from both, to give the ball to others and keep defense honest if nothing else

Well Franz is 6th in FGA per game, Paolo would have been 5th if he had qualifying numbers, but then Tatum and Brown and SGA J-Dub combine for almost the same number of FGA and their teams are doing fine...

To be fair the Celtics/Thunder are constructed way better than Orlando lol. Also, Paolo/Franz aren’t on the level of Tatum/SGA & might never be.

[Knightro]

I think it's still a developmental year.

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Pretty silly to say this coming off a 47 win season.

And then you have Jett, who is one of the guys theoretically they should be trying to develop, isn't even playing at all lol.

[shadrock]

I present to you, the Wendell Carter Jr effect!

4:06 Paolo Banchero misses 11-foot pullup jump shot 85 80
4:01 Kawhi Leonard defensive rebound 85 80
3:42 James Harden misses 12-foot step back jumpshot 85 80
3:38 Ivica Zubac offensive rebound 85 80
3:31 Norman Powell misses 28-foot three point jumper 85 80
3:27 Kris Dunn offensive rebound 85 80
3:25 Norman Powell makes 27-foot three point jumper (Kris Dunn assists) 88 80
3:12 Paolo Banchero lost ball turnover (James Harden steals) 88 80
3:04 Kawhi Leonard misses 25-foot three point shot 88 80
3:03 Ivica Zubac offensive rebound 88 80
3:03 Ivica Zubac misses two point shot 88 80
3:03 Ivica Zubac offensive rebound 88 80
3:03 Franz Wagner shooting foul 88 80

Thats FIVE CONSECUTIVE OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS, and the ballgame is over.

Without question the biggest loser ever born. Get this cupcake off my team.

[basketballRob]

I think it's still a developmental year.

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Pretty silly to say this coming off a 47 win season.

And then you have Jett, who is one of the guys theoretically they should be trying to develop, isn't even playing at all lol.

The 4 best players are still on rookie contracts. AB, Suggs, Paolo, and Franz.

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