Game Thread: Magic (28-37) vs Nuggets (28-39) 3/15 7PM

[ORL_on_FIRE]

Define a troll. Is it anyone that doesn't agree with your point of view and then presents their opinion on a message board?

No it's the people who constantly talk **** about Orlando. The outcome.. The score... None of it matters. Aslong as they have something to complain about.

Skiles should've sneezed at the 7:00 mark. Nope.. He didn't do it.

This team sucks.

You're the one that's constantly complaining about other posters complaining though.

Yeah I'm aware. For the most part I do it every game thread.. Just can't help myself. I've gotta call someone out everytime.

Sucks when you can't even celebrate a victory with your fellow Orlando brahs.

But it is what it is. I'm rather new so I'm still learning that this is just how things are here. All good.

[SOUL]

Sucks when you can't even celebrate a victory with your fellow Orlando brahs.

But it is what it is. I'm rather new so I'm still learning that this is just how things are here. All good.

A year or two ago my views would've aligned with yours and others that are more positive and don't like to see much criticism of players or coaches. I was super positive. People like Ducklett (ask him) I absolutely did not agree with and had arguments with every day on the board.. now our views are very similar.

My point is that these wins are adding nothing, so it's just not enough to make me look at it from a snapshot and say nice win, nice win and pretend like there is nothing to be gained from it. I get that it's not fun to not celebrate anything, but we have to take a realistic look at where we are currently. Even early on in the season I noticed patterns that emerged from our team and pointed them out in wins and people got annoyed. I was VERY happy we were winning, but just throwing caution out there.

I'd rather do that instead of overreact with a win, and overreact with a loss. You can find faults in losses and in wins.

Again and again I will support the team and the younger players. I hate when people get on AG/Elfrid/Mario because they are young and learning the game. I did the same defense of Vucevic/Oladipo/Tobias when they were first, second and third year players as well because they didn't deserve to be torn apart for no reason.

Now people say I hate Vucevic, Fournier, etc which is definitely not true, I just expected more from them because of their roles.

Same with Skiles, I thought he was a great hire but he has been doing a lot of small things that bother me. I'm not ready to kick him to the curb, but I'm not going to put my stamp of approval on him either.

My gripe tonight wasn't with winning, it's quite the opposite. I wanted AG in the game because he was playing well, on fire actually, and didn't deserve to be benched for as long as he did. What that tells me is that in games next year when it may actually matter, I may have to worry about the coach benching him, or anybody for that matter who is playing well as we watch our lead dwindle because he was reactive rather than proactive in his substitutions.

It's not about shot attempts or force-feeding AG as people may put words in my mouth, it's patterns and it just so happens that AG is one of our better players and probably our biggest hope to bring us out of this drought so I want to make sure this coach knows how to handle him. I'm not saying he doesn't, I just don't want us to lose games because of stuff like that in the future. We will see.

[OrlandoDream]

FYI. AG and Mario didn't come in NBA ready but very raw. If they want to take it to the next level, they will have to work hard and learn the hard way.

I can understand this for Mario but AG has separated himself from the pact. I have no problem(for most parts) with the way Skiles has treated Mario. He has a long way to go to become the player we want him to be. However, AG does not have this problem. He has gotten to the point where we are just a better team with him out there. He is has areas to improve so I guess that is why Skiles monitors his minutes so cautiously.

Im sure most of us with eyes can agree that Skiles has awful rotations that make no sense. You can justify AG not going out there 30+ every night but how do you explain Fournier playing 40+ minutes every night? I know his shooting is hot right now but Skiles lets him get away with so many things out there. His selfishness is what frustrates me the most about him. We have all seen how he only passes to Vuc, Jason and Dipo on a consistent basis. He constantly dawgs the AG and Mario. For as often as he drives in the paint, he rarely passes it out when you got an open man ready for the 3. He is not Paul George or Lebon James. He misses many of those shots and doesnt get the benefit of the call for most parts. He and this team would be much better if he played more team ball instead of the 1 on 5 Kobe ball. He is making his shots now so we can't say anything, but its a fools gold game plan that will eventually fail. Your not making your teammates better and playing selfishly. It baffles me how a coach that emphasizes team ball constantly lets him get away with that. It's like he just signed the adoption papers.

Evan is obviously in his contract year and will do as much as possible to bump up those stats and get paid. I would like to keep him for the right price and if he becomes more team oriented. Also think he is better off as a 6th man. Since he loves to score so much, then bringing him off the bench and giving him the green light would be perfect.

There has never been a coach in the history of the NBA where Magic fans would not criticize the substitution patterns. It is impossible to develop players or appease rabid fans!

I think the Magic are showcasing Fournier/Dipo to trade one or the other this offseason. Then, Mario can take over the SF position for the future.

We're not showcasing anybody. We're still trying to make th playoffs so Skiles believes that our best chance at that is to play veterans over less experienced. He loves Fournier too much to let him walk. I can see a S&T.

[PennytoShaq]

Aaron Gordon may not be LBJ or one of the top 5 guys, but he definitely is a player we can build a real core around. He's the only guy on the team that brings consistent energy to every game and is showing a fast rate of growth. Additionally he has excelled in his matchups against multiple talented PFs around the league and last night he dominated Faried to the point where I felt sorry for the guy.

[ORL_on_FIRE]

Sucks when you can't even celebrate a victory with your fellow Orlando brahs.

But it is what it is. I'm rather new so I'm still learning that this is just how things are here. All good.

A year or two ago my views would've aligned with yours and others that are more positive and don't like to see much criticism of players or coaches. I was super positive. People like Ducklett (ask him) I absolutely did not agree with and had arguments with every day on the board.. now our views are very similar.

My point is that these wins are adding nothing, so it's just not enough to make me look at it from a snapshot and say nice win, nice win and pretend like there is nothing to be gained from it. I get that it's not fun to not celebrate anything, but we have to take a realistic look at where we are currently. Even early on in the season I noticed patterns that emerged from our team and pointed them out in wins and people got annoyed. I was VERY happy we were winning, but just throwing caution out there.

I'd rather do that instead of overreact with a win, and overreact with a loss. You can find faults in losses and in wins.

Again and again I will support the team and the younger players. I hate when people get on AG/Elfrid/Mario because they are young and learning the game. I did the same defense of Vucevic/Oladipo/Tobias when they were first, second and third year players as well because they didn't deserve to be torn apart for no reason.

Now people say I hate Vucevic, Fournier, etc which is definitely not true, I just expected more from them because of their roles.

Same with Skiles, I thought he was a great hire but he has been doing a lot of small things that bother me. I'm not ready to kick him to the curb, but I'm not going to put my stamp of approval on him either.

My gripe tonight wasn't with winning, it's quite the opposite. I wanted AG in the game because he was playing well, on fire actually, and didn't deserve to be benched for as long as he did. What that tells me is that in games next year when it may actually matter, I may have to worry about the coach benching him, or anybody for that matter who is playing well as we watch our lead dwindle because he was reactive rather than proactive in his substitutions.

It's not about shot attempts or force-feeding AG as people may put words in my mouth, it's patterns and it just so happens that AG is one of our better players and probably our biggest hope to bring us out of this drought so I want to make sure this coach knows how to handle him. I'm not saying he doesn't, I just don't want us to lose games because of stuff like that in the future. We will see.

As far as Ducklett goes.. I could see that. I honestly feel there's no way that guy truly believes what he posts. Sorry Ducklett.

I have the mindset going into every game that we can win it. This is the NBA and any given night something unexpected can happen. This doesn't make me unrealistic. I'm not so blinded by homerism that I have no clue where this team is. I know we aren't quite there yet it's obvious... But I hate when posters chalk us up an L before the game even starts.

I too myself have questioned Skiles rotations and why he isn't playing certain players more. Just last night I questioned the entire 4th quarter why isn't AG in?(I think he finally came in with 3 mins left). This doesn't mean I think he sucks as a coach. The people saying he should be fired after one season are insane. Give it a chance! I understand certain people are impatient because we have been going through this process for over 4 years but we all knew it was going to take this long. This team DOES NOT suck. This team is YOUNG. These guys play good basketball but have struggled because their lack of experience at the end of games. Some Magic fans need to learn how to separate the two.

[The Real Dalic]

One of my favorite things about the past few weeks about AG is that he puts up these great numbers in 25+ minutes, you give him 36 in a year or two and he could explode! Most of our players get their numbers from playing a lot already. He matches their numbers with about 13 minutes less.

Can't wait to see him next year!

[Xatticus]

It seems to me when Ag makes a few big plays and starts smiling and getting excited Skiles loses it a bit and pulls the reigns on him. I like the fact he gets fired up and plays with energy, that gets the rest of the team fired up and everyone seems to elevate their games a bit.

Perhaps he has never gotten over the fact that his job was taken by just such a player (Hardaway).

[the_hobo]

YES ilyasova is out tonight!!! That means Nicholson will play!!!!!

Too lazy to make hornets GT lol

[Xatticus]

And now AG is a starter playing starters minutes! How hard is that to understand that he finally earned that spot.

Wait, now they want him to get 20 shots per game as well as if that will make any difference in the world. Actually, that would teach him Chucking habits akin to becoming more like MCW instead of a solid all around NBA player.

Anyone can chuck shots, but I prefer they do it in practice instead of games.

It really has nothing to do with how many minutes or shots he got. His movement in that first quarter was superb. He set screens and moved to open space. That he hit every shot he took was less important than the fact that every one of those shots was wide open due to his work when he wasn't in possession.

He went to the bench and played intermittently after that. It was baffling.

[Xatticus]

i cant believe you guys are still bitching about this ****. I dont care whos playing or playing well I just want us to win.

Aaron Gordon is not a future superstar. He doesn't have the talent.

Most people that follow a losing organization look for reasons to believe things are going to get better. They don't revel in the occasional meaningless victory.

[Xatticus]

i cant believe you guys are still bitching about this ****. I dont care whos playing or playing well I just want us to win.

Aaron Gordon is not a future superstar. He doesn't have the talent.

I don't k of if AG is a superstar in the making our not but you're right about the whining and crying. It's pretty much ruining the quality of the board. These people actually think they know more than am nba coach.

Someone please fix this broken record.

The reverence you show to position is sad and contemptible. This is the rationale of every half-wit authoritarian that has ever attempted to subjugate those around them. People in the highest reaches of the tallest ivory towers are every bit as capable of ignorance and petty bickering as those they practice exclusion upon, they simply dress it up differently.

Think for yourself.

[Xatticus]

There has never been a coach in the history of the NBA where Magic fans would not criticize the substitution patterns. It is impossible to develop players or appease rabid fans!

I think the Magic are showcasing Fournier/Dipo to trade one or the other this offseason. Then, Mario can take over the SF position for the future.

Sociologically speaking, Magic fans really shouldn't be differentiated from any other fan base. People are people. If you wish to look for why Magic fans behave differently, you must look to the behavior of the team.

And in case you didn't know, Skiles has been notorious for his curious substitution patterns and preferential treatment of veterans since long before he became the Magic's head coach.

[NickAnderson]

This is some funny ass ****


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