2025-2026 Regular Season Game 41: Memphis Grizzlies (17-22) vs. Orlando Magic (22-18) - 2pm ET

[AdamTheGreek]

Raise your hand here if you all expected Penda to get more playing time thab Jase considerin we are stacked at the F spot conpared to the PG spot

I did. That was one of my season predictions. Noah is still raw, but he’s a great defender and hustle guy. Plus, Noah’s offense is further along than expected. He has made some beautiful buckets so far including this game. He had a decent amount of French media there for him. Same will happen in London.


As for the game, our lack of team defense appeared again and we found ourselves down 20. Had a bit of a defensive run in the middle of the second. Came out of the gate in the third well but let up by the end of the quarter. 4th we did OK defensively, Memphis finally looked like a depleted team in the fourth.


Tyus looks like a guy who knows he’s gone. He is still doing OK setting up the table, but he missed so many open looks in the Berlin game.

[JBSouthpaw]

Raise your hand here if you all expected Penda to get more playing time thab Jase considerin we are stacked at the F spot conpared to the PG spot

.....


As for the game, our lack of team defense appeared again and we found ourselves down 20. Had a bit of a defensive run in the middle of the second. Came out of the gate in the third well but let up by the end of the quarter. 4th we did OK defensively, Memphis finally looked like a depleted team in the fourth.


Tyus looks like a guy who knows he’s gone. He is still doing OK setting up the table, but he missed so many open looks in the Berlin game.

Franz's reasoning on the slow start to the game, probably has some validity.

Read on Twitter

[Skybox]

Raise your hand here if you all expected Penda to get more playing time thab Jase considerin we are stacked at the F spot conpared to the PG spot

.....


As for the game, our lack of team defense appeared again and we found ourselves down 20. Had a bit of a defensive run in the middle of the second. Came out of the gate in the third well but let up by the end of the quarter. 4th we did OK defensively, Memphis finally looked like a depleted team in the fourth.


Tyus looks like a guy who knows he’s gone. He is still doing OK setting up the table, but he missed so many open looks in the Berlin game.

Franz's reasoning on the slow start to the game, probably has some validity.
[x]

Read on Twitter

[/x]

Dude played 27 minutes and looked great. 9 boards including 5 offensive, 4 FTAs, so it's not like he was ducking or avoiding contact ...quite a contrast to everyone else who seem to be on all kinds of restrictions from their various injuries. Franz is a throwback.

[Bergmaniac]

Great to see Franz back, he was obviously rusty early but was great in the clutch.

Also very nice to see another strong Paolo game with him making 3s at a good clip. Black had a very strong second half.

Mo looked awful defensively early on but was much better in the second half.

I am concerned about Bane though, another game where his jumper was way off, his handle was shaky and he struggled to get by defenders on his drives.

[rcklsscognition]

going by what i've seen on social media and at the game......maybe there's some legs to this Euro NBA expansion thing.....

I’m curious if anyone from the US knows about how awesome basketball is in Europe. They have such better infrastructure there. For example, in France, there is basically nationalized rec league, you can get on your local city’s team and play a full season leading to national champion, in multiple age brackets like youth, adult, senior. You get real jerseys, there’s a real league, buses, practices, real schedules and fans and stuff. Mostly all subsidized.

[OrlMagic05]

Paolo's defense is extremely frustrating to watch.

Paolo's defense is extremely frustrating to watch.

But he kept us in the game for 3 quarters.

Yes, I dont know if its his conditioning, but it looks like he takes defense off a lot. Teams are starting to see this and attack him.

[basketballRob]

It looks like Paolo has really worked on his defense.

Sent from my SM-G998U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Blue_and_Whte]

P5 has a great night, it’s nothing that he did, it’s because Franz exists on the court…
Why did I expect more?
Both stars coming back making it easier for everyone including each other is somehow unfathomable for some here. It’s mind blowing…

[VFX]

Raise your hand here if you all expected Penda to get more playing time thab Jase considerin we are stacked at the F spot conpared to the PG spot

Considering Isaac is terrible to the point of unplayable I did.

I was concerned with the pick during the draft because who hands a one way backup PF playing 12 minutes per game the size contract Isaac got?

Well now he’s a multi DNP guy so the next guy up is Penda. Injuries exacerbated this. He looks good right now in his role as an energy defender guy Isaac used to be.

[JoshuaPotter]

Raise your hand here if you all expected Penda to get more playing time thab Jase considerin we are stacked at the F spot conpared to the PG spot

Considering Isaac is terrible to the point of unplayable I did.

I was concerned with the pick during the draft because who hands a one way backup PF playing 12 minutes per game the size contract Isaac got?

Well now he’s a multi DNP guy so the next guy up is Penda. Injuries exacerbated this. He looks good right now in his role as an energy defender guy Isaac used to be.

Here is the thing. Bane like it or not was a form of Suggs PPG insurance. This time last year, the more or less same team was under 500 with a similar injury trajectory + recovery windows. Here we are now.

So Bane hasn't been injured, and Black continued to progress. "We are fine" when you got 2 people who can still play upwards of 30+ minutes per game at those positions. Even so, Jase has found some minutes and proven to be an actual basketball player. (Remember we also gave Jett some random wing burn.)

But yeah, Penda. Seemed obvious based on his profile that we were looking for an less injury prone Isaac and while he doesn't provide the exact same stocks / defensive presence. You can't argue his availability and taking advantage of his minutes. The worst thing about Penda is I think he gets lost in team defense.

[JoshuaPotter]

So I actually got to watch this game.

I loved Paolos energy, presence, on both sides on the floor. WHERE WAS THAT?

The secondary issue. AB. I know the "hope" was that we could showcase German talent in the NBA and use "national pride" to inspire the next gen and the hope of an expansion team at some point.

But in a team where TDS, Moe, Franz were showcased. AB dominated and gave one of the best (not the best, I think Magic fans have to be honest between T-Mac, Penny, Shaw, Howard) dunks I have ever seen in my life.

Just what does AB have to prove to you to say he doesn't deserve a MAX when we gave one to Franz + Paolo + Bane?

[Idiosyncratic]

Here is the thing. Bane like it or not was a form of Suggs PPG insurance. This time last year, the more or less same team was under 500 with a similar injury trajectory + recovery windows. Here we are now.

So Bane hasn't been injured, and Black continued to progress. "We are fine" when you got 2 people who can still play upwards of 30+ minutes per game at those positions. Even so, Jase has found some minutes and proven to be an actual basketball player. (Remember we also gave Jett some random wing burn.)

But yeah, Penda. Seemed obvious based on his profile that we were looking for an less injury prone Isaac and while he doesn't provide the exact same stocks / defensive presence. You can't argue his availability and taking advantage of his minutes. The worst thing about Penda is I think he gets lost in team defense.

Yeah to me Jase was always a pick for next year. Get him a year of NBA strength training and let him take over for Tyus next year. The fact that he looks playable this year should just make them more confident he can take that role next year. You probably would like to bring in a vet min Cory Joseph type vet as insurance, but you mostly feel very good about AB and Jase against bench units and as Suggs injury insurance.

Penda was always ready from a defensive standpoint. Dude was harassing the point of attack in a pro league. Shooting was the question and has kept him on the floor. He's not this good from 3, but looks like he will be passable enough to go with that defense. Team defense needs work as you said and decision making on offense will also improve and fully unlock his passing. He just needs another year of the game slowing down for him and you can easily see a high level role player.

[DiplomaticMagic]

At the end of 1st qtr, Mose had a lineup of Tyus-TDS-Penda-Mo-Goga. He cannot be serious.

At first, I thought Franz looked like he was still injured? Looked good in 4th qtr, hope hes okay.

Jase needs to play over Tyus for the 1000th time.

Mo isnt playing much, but I just feel like impact when hes out there. He should probably get more touches and minutes. And he should be main back-up C. He should play over Goga and not with him.

[JoshuaPotter]

At the end of 1st qtr, Mose had a lineup of Tyus-TDS-Penda-Mo-Goga. He cannot be serious.

At first, I thought Franz looked like he was still injured? Looked good in 4th qtr, hope hes okay.

Jase needs to play over Tyus for the 1000th time.

Mo isnt playing much, but I just feel like impact when hes out there. He should probably get more touches and minutes. And he should be main back-up C. He should play over Goga and not with him.

Moe had already cemented himself as a high energy impact guy. Not necessarily great at defense but puts the energy into it and makes momentum plays.

I think if you look at PPG vs minutes he is still fairly efficient in limited minutes. I am not sure much else we could ask for a dude who took a year off at basketball to heal from injury.

[JoshuaPotter]

Raise your hand here if you all expected Penda to get more playing time thab Jase considerin we are stacked at the F spot conpared to the PG spot

I did. That was one of my season predictions. Noah is still raw, but he’s a great defender and hustle guy. Plus, Noah’s offense is further along than expected. He has made some beautiful buckets so far including this game. He had a decent amount of French media there for him. Same will happen in London.


As for the game, our lack of team defense appeared again and we found ourselves down 20. Had a bit of a defensive run in the middle of the second. Came out of the gate in the third well but let up by the end of the quarter. 4th we did OK defensively, Memphis finally looked like a depleted team in the fourth.


Tyus looks like a guy who knows he’s gone. He is still doing OK setting up the table, but he missed so many open looks in the Berlin game.

In summary. The league will always gravitate towards high energy Bo outlaw types and sometimes in favor of raw skill less effort guys.

[PigsEatHam]

But in a team where TDS, Moe, Franz were showcased. AB dominated and gave one of the best (not the best, I think Magic fans have to be honest between T-Mac, Penny, Shaw, Howard) dunks I have ever seen in my life.

I spent an unreasonable amount of time trying to remember a great Brian Shaw dunk before I realized you meant Shaq.

That being said, that AB throw-down was special, particularly at that point in the game to give the team the lead.

[VFX]

It’s great to see the Penda pick paying off.

My initial issue with the pick came down to money and minutes.

Either Isaac’s contract was ridiculous and a terrible mismanagement of cap space, or the Penda pick was a bad short term investment due to not being able to him not getting minutes while moving off other money in return. One of those things was going to be true.

Well the Penda pick paid off and the Isaac contract was dumb. Now Orlando has to move off more money to keep AB and Weltman hasn’t even been extended.

[JoshuaPotter]

But in a team where TDS, Moe, Franz were showcased. AB dominated and gave one of the best (not the best, I think Magic fans have to be honest between T-Mac, Penny, Shaw, Howard) dunks I have ever seen in my life.

I spent an unreasonable amount of time trying to remember a great Brian Shaw dunk before I realized you meant Shaq.

That being said, that AB throw-down was special, particularly at that point in the game to give the team the lead.

Yes, Shaq, you are right. I'll leave it. As I do not pretend to be perfect.

[JoshuaPotter]

Well the Penda pick paid off and the Isaac contract was dumb.

In this gif, there is a character with the name of the answer.

Spoiler:

Bingo

[drsd]

Box score thoughts:

Orlando lost the FG% differential battle but won the game. How.

It was FGA-differential (+12). And that came from redounding differential dominance where the Magic was +17. And 12 of the were OREB differential.

The Magic starers all had positive +/- numbers, and all the bench win minus numbers. Hmm.