2024-2025 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 1: (7) Orlando Magic at (2) Boston Celtics - 3:30pm ET

[Duke4life831]

Haven’t watched you guys this year (haven’t watched any NBA). But watched today’s game.

1. The clear positives are Paolo and Franz are legit. I don’t know what happened to Franz shot. And I do think a more structured offense could really benefit him. Paolo is the freak level talent that can excel no matter what.

2. I know you have a lot of injuries. But the problems seem to be identical to the problems last year. No structure to the offense, a lack of shooters which creates zero spacing, and no one who can create offense outside of Paolo/Franz.

I do think it probably is time for a significant shake up though with the roster. Something just really needs to change with this offense and the firepower outside of Paolo/Franz.

But the positive is, y’all seem to have the hardest part down. You got the freak talent. You got a good #2 and Suggs is a really good player. Just got to do something now to help them out.

[basketballRob]

Haven’t watched you guys this year (haven’t watched any NBA). But watched today’s game.

1. The clear positives are Paolo and Franz are legit. I don’t know what happened to Franz shot. And I do think a more structured offense could really benefit him. Paolo is the freak level talent that can excel no matter what.

2. I know you have a lot of injuries. But the problems seem to be identical to the problems last year. No structure to the offense, a lack of shooters which creates zero spacing, and no one who can create offense outside of Paolo/Franz.

I do think it probably is time for a significant shake up though with the roster. Something just really needs to change with this offense and the firepower outside of Paolo/Franz.

But the positive is, y’all seem to have the hardest part down. You got the freak talent. You got a good #2 and Suggs is a really good player. Just got to do something now to help them out.

We're a Kon Kneuppel away.

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[Duke4life831]

Haven’t watched you guys this year (haven’t watched any NBA). But watched today’s game.

1. The clear positives are Paolo and Franz are legit. I don’t know what happened to Franz shot. And I do think a more structured offense could really benefit him. Paolo is the freak level talent that can excel no matter what.

2. I know you have a lot of injuries. But the problems seem to be identical to the problems last year. No structure to the offense, a lack of shooters which creates zero spacing, and no one who can create offense outside of Paolo/Franz.

I do think it probably is time for a significant shake up though with the roster. Something just really needs to change with this offense and the firepower outside of Paolo/Franz.

But the positive is, y’all seem to have the hardest part down. You got the freak talent. You got a good #2 and Suggs is a really good player. Just got to do something now to help them out.

We're a Kon Kneuppel away.

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Haha for your guys sake, I hope not

[CZ Eddie]

Did anyone notice if Larger Lawyer was there tonight?
I looked but didn't notice him. Not even behind the baskets.

[fendilim]

Went back to sleep after the first 3 minutes of the third quarter.

This team needs the second gear as most championship teams do have.

We go all out to start the game, while experienced teams like Boston are just pacing themselves.

The Celtics are just too experienced for us.

[RichCollab]

Felt similar to Cavs game 1 last year.

Suggs and Moe combined for 23 points. Suggs would have made it more difficult on White for sure.

I feel ok after tonight’s game.

[AR86]

We reach a limit with Moseley. It is entirely possible that the poor performance of everyone except Paolo and Franz in offence is the result of a poor coaching philosophy, rather than the fact that they are very weak players. Team's offensive talent is so underused with him.

[KillMonger]

Honestly I don't feel too bad about this game because I feel like we can clean up some things that will have the game closer.... Limit the turnovers, eliminating the fast break 3s they were getting..... Run Derrick white and Pritchard off the line every time treat them like curry..... Everything else was fine except what we got out of our players offensively but Franz did great on Tatum and jaylen brown obviously does not look like himself..... He was struggling to get off the ground if he didn't have a runway... Just make a good account of ourselves, don't just lay over and die

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[cedric76]

Add sexton, suggs and Moe to this team and we have a game

[SloNick Russia]

We lost Suggs and Moe who happend to score 30 ppg for us as clear 3rd and 4th options on offense. Boston is just too seasoned to allow Paolo and Franz beat them on their own. I go through the boxscore and just can't figure where points could come from. WCJ and KCP 10 each? Maybe. JI and AB for combined 25? Unlikely.
Its hard to play Cole in this series as Boston goes after him on defense.
Sad story.
If you take away Tatum, Brown and KP 3 point attempts Celtics went 15-25 from three. Crazy. Role players just made every shot for them.

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[Ducklett]

Man oh man did general NBA fans turn on FVV. They are trashing him wildly after tonight's game.

[KillMonger]

it's crazy that Pritchard outscored our bench by himself......maybe it's not so crazy

[Knightro]

something tells me the difference in our situation and the 2016 cavs or the mavs isn't the stars......hint(it's the others)

Oh gosh I wholeheartedly disagree.

LeBron/Kyrie and Luka/Kyrie were both significantly better than Paolo/Franz are currently.

that much is obvious as lebron/kyrie was in his 12th and 4th year respectively, Kyrie/Luka 12th and 5th......not apples and oranges....and look at the rosters they had.....and the coaching.....come on man i expect better out of you, you're high level

You’re missing my point.

I’m not saying the organization expects to be the 2016 Cavs or 2024 Mavericks *right now* by any means.

I’m saying the style those two teams rode to great success - where they each had two guys who were spectacular in isolation as their primary offensive system - is the style they’re attempting to replicate over the long term.

But my pushback to that would be that it’s extremely unlikely Paolo and Franz are ever going to be as good as LeBron and Luka and Kyrie.

So you’re trying to replicate a style that has only really worked with super mega elite talent without the same overall caliber of player. And that’s not to say Paolo and Franz are bad! They’re not.

But 2016 LeBron and 2024 Luka were both top 3 NBA players overall. 2016/2024 Kyrie was a top 15 player.

I’m hard-pressed to envision a scenario where Banchero or Wagner ends up THAT good.

[KillMonger]

Oh gosh I wholeheartedly disagree.

LeBron/Kyrie and Luka/Kyrie were both significantly better than Paolo/Franz are currently.

that much is obvious as lebron/kyrie was in his 12th and 4th year respectively, Kyrie/Luka 12th and 5th......not apples and oranges....and look at the rosters they had.....and the coaching.....come on man i expect better out of you, you're high level

You’re missing my point.

I’m not saying the organization expects to be the 2016 Cavs or 2024 Mavericks *right now* by any means.

I’m saying the style those two teams rode to great success - where they each had two guys who were spectacular in isolation - is the style they’re attempting to replicate over the long term.

But my pushback to that would be Paul and Franz are not ever going to be as good as LeBron and Luka and Kyrie.

i think it's a bit more nuanced than you're making it seem.....as good how? like in terms of skill? success? all of the above? quite frankly if we do what we're supposed to do and win a chip does it matter how good? if lebron/kyrie and luka/kyrie had the same roster and coach we have? i don't care how good they are they wouldn't have won ANYTHING not with this roster and coaching...the fact that those guys had the spacing required to be great in isolation isn't something you can just gloss over, it matters.....these are the numbers paolo and franz are putting up with some the WORST spacing in the league....i can't imagine if they had wide open spaces and one on one coverage every game.....i mean the last 30 games of the regular season paolo was at like 28/8/5.....i mean how much better does he need to be to be considered as good? those numbers are comparable to lebron and luka's career numbers and better than kyrie's career numbers......it's not like i don't get the gist of where you're getting at, i guess time will tell....personally i don't like saying NEVER to anything because it's unknown information

[pepe1991]

Man oh man did general NBA fans turn on FVV. They are trashing him wildly after tonight's game.

Warriors are 60 wins team that was assembled too late to win 60 games.
But playoff Butler and looks to be in his prime Curry is as good as it gets. Clear contender.

I picked Houston to lose in 6

[Knightro]

i think it's a bit more nuanced than you're making it seem.....as good how? like in terms of skill? success? all of the above? quite frankly if we do what we're supposed to do and win a chip does it matter how good? if lebron/kyrie and luka/kyrie had the same roster and coach we have? i don't care how good they are they wouldn't have won ANYTHING not with this roster and coaching...the fact that those guys had the spacing required to be great in isolation isn't something you can just gloss over, it matters.....these are the numbers paolo and franz are putting up with some the WORST spacing in the league....i can't imagine if they had wide open spaces and one on one coverage every game.....i mean the last 30 games of the regular season paolo was at like 28/8/5.....i mean how much better does he need to be to be considered as good?

In my opinion, it’s actually *less* nuanced than you’re suggesting.

The Magic’s spacing is bad primarily because Paolo and Franz are both bad 3PT shooters and good, but not great passers.

Defenses have zero fear whatsoever of Paolo and Franz beating them with 3PT shots off the dribble and defend them accordingly. And ultimately that is what kills the Magic’s spacing the most. Not the offensive scheme. Not the role players.

Every other player on the floor for the Magic stands beyond the 3PT line and watches Paolo and Franz attempt to beat their man 1 on 1 to create a rotation situation.

It’s a ton of standing around waiting for a pass that rarely comes.

[KillMonger]

i think it's a bit more nuanced than you're making it seem.....as good how? like in terms of skill? success? all of the above? quite frankly if we do what we're supposed to do and win a chip does it matter how good? if lebron/kyrie and luka/kyrie had the same roster and coach we have? i don't care how good they are they wouldn't have won ANYTHING not with this roster and coaching...the fact that those guys had the spacing required to be great in isolation isn't something you can just gloss over, it matters.....these are the numbers paolo and franz are putting up with some the WORST spacing in the league....i can't imagine if they had wide open spaces and one on one coverage every game.....i mean the last 30 games of the regular season paolo was at like 28/8/5.....i mean how much better does he need to be to be considered as good?

In my opinion, it’s actually *less* nuanced than you’re suggesting.

The Magic’s spacing is bad primarily because Paolo and Franz are both bad 3PT shooters and good, but not great passers.

Defenses have zero fear whatsoever of Paolo and Franz beating them with 3PT shots off the dribble and defend them accordingly. And ultimately that is what kills the Magic’s spacing the most. Not the offensive scheme. Not the role players.

Every other player on the floor for the Magic stands beyond the 3PT line and watches Paolo and Franz attempt to beat their man 1 on 1 to create a rotation situation.

It’s a ton of standing around waiting for a pass that rarely comes.

i disagree, i think the role players have a lot to do with it....for example bron was never known for being a great 3pt shooter so spacing was important for him because it didn't allow teams to just load up the paint....bron only recently became a decent shooter that wasn't the case early in his career and certainly wasn't so in his 3rd year....plus 2016 had david blatt as the coach, a coach that's known for offense......nobody would be standing around in a david blatt offense....these things matter it isn't just the individual, that is only part of the equation.....at least how i see it

[pepe1991]

I don't think we can play much better tbh

Paolo won't make 4 threes a game on 60% accuracy, off bench nobody will provide scoring.

Franz can maybe play little better.
But Tatum, Zingis and Brown can play much bettter

Story of game one is: played well, lost by 17

[basketballRob]

I don't think we can play much better tbh

Paolo won't make 4 threes a game on 60% accuracy, off bench nobody will provide scoring.

Franz can maybe play little better.
But Tatum, Zingis and Brown can play much bettter

Story of game one is: played well, lost by 17

Franz and Paolo had 9 assists and 9 turnovers. The Magic need to fix that.

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[Bensational]

I don't think we can play much better tbh

Paolo won't make 4 threes a game on 60% accuracy, off bench nobody will provide scoring.

Franz can maybe play little better.
But Tatum, Zingis and Brown can play much bettter

Story of game one is: played well, lost by 17

We need a lot more from our guards because we miss the spark Suggs can give us. If Cole, AB, CoJo or even Houstan or Harris can get going it’ll help them handle some of Boston’s runs.

I think a big adjustment the Magic can make is to help Paolo and Franz create some easier looks for others now that they’ve got more of a feel for how they’re being covered.

Team limited Tatum, Brown and KP about as well as you could hope for. Gotta find an answer for White and Pritchard next.