GAME THREAD: Magic @ HEAT | 730EST Tipoff

[Orlwillbeback]

I am reading the Schmitz article of the game and actually agree with his tone. This loss was not a good look any way you slice it.

That and I liked Vogels response. They wont overreact but not going to underreact either. That was a bad loss and unacceptable. They looked like they were light years away from being ready.

I agree and tbh I don't think this is a good thing. This is the first time I have read a Schmitz article and I felt alright about it or anything besides enraged for that matter.

[basketballRob]

I am reading the Schmitz article of the game and actually agree with his tone. This loss was not a good look any way you slice it.

That and I liked Vogels response. They wont overreact but not going to underreact either. That was a bad loss and unacceptable. They looked like they were light years away from being ready.

Hope it doesn't start to be a trend, where our guards gets dominated. Hardaway JR looked like an all-star the other night and the Heat guards looked like men against boys.

[Bergmaniac]

I see we were 3rd a couple times and 1st once with SVG. Brian Hills last year they were 6th, so he basically inherited a top 5 defense.

We were 16th last season and Detroit was 14th.

We were third in defensive efficiency in 2011 when our roster (after the trades early in the season) was made up only of average and downright terrible defenders except Dwight and we didn't even have an actual backup centre (Bass played these minutes when Dwight sat on the bench). That was an incredible achievement IMO.

Big fan of SVG and in my opinion easily the best coach we ever had (semi-retired Chuck Daly wasn't here long enough), but I think those incredible defensive efficiency got more to do with Dwight than any player or coach on that team.

Oh, sure. Still, SVG's coaching was a big factor too. Even when Dwight was on the bench we were a decent defensive team despite the roster.

[Tayswagzzz]

Good ol' SVG, great coach. One of my favorites. Curious to see how the Pistons do this season, they have a solid roster.

[The Other Ankle]

The funny thing is all of this came off of a game where EP was our 2nd best player on the night (especially the first quarter where he was really good) and also had a good game the game before this one lol.

omg stop crying. For **** sake!

The need to troll with EP hate builds up when we/he has some success, then comes spilling out the next game or when stats can support it.

I'm for being positive about our players for a good bit longer and rooting for them to succeed!

Who's not rooting for EP to succeed? I'm positive about the players when they do something positive. Its not all rainbows and gumdrops especially when the play like crap. People critiqued his game because he still looks like he cant shoot the damn basketball. Had he improved that aspect of his game to the degree they need him to, it would've started to show by now imo. Although aggressive he still struggles to finish, (although his floater looks improved) and he's average defensively at best.

What is there for anyone to get excited about? MOAR POTENTIAL? Mario is in the same boat imo. People expected to see some improvement but he's been a let down thus far as well. Players are obviously competing in the preseason so the "Its preseason " excuse only holds so much merit. They still have to be held accountable if they suck.

Cranky self-important posts are a pattern. The complaints are hyperbolic and the insight negligible.

If player X doesn't provide the contribution asked of him, his role will be diminished and he may not stick with the team. This is not a revelation, it's expected in every single case.

Posters who want to whine about who the weak links are when we lose and make a big deal of it are just annoying. There's a reason why each player is on the team, and there will be reasons why some don't make it. But making it your focus to accentuate the negatives seems like both overreaction and compensation.

[doct3r dr3]

So, since getting down on the team is all the rage now, allow me to be contrarian again. In the grand scheme of things, this preseason has actually been encouraging. It's provided a pretty satisfying answer to what was, for me, the most obvious outstanding question with this team -- outside of Vucevic and Fournier, where is the scoring going to come from? More specifically, will Ibaka be able to shoulder a larger role in the offense than he's had in OKC?

Seems like the answer is a resounding yes. In the preseason, Ibaka has shown promise as a legitimate co-first-option. They've been able to dump it down to him in the post and have him create with his back to the basket, or find him on the pick & pop, or even let him catch-and-shoot 3-pointers from the wing in semi-transition. This is a big deal. Having 3 potential go-to scorers, and 2 offensive afterthoughts is a lot different from having it the other way around.

So there's that, and the bench looks like it will have the firepower to keep the team afloat on certain nights.

This thing just might work out after all...

[Xatticus]

The funny thing is all of this came off of a game where EP was our 2nd best player on the night (especially the first quarter where he was really good) and also had a good game the game before this one lol.

omg stop crying. For **** sake!

The need to troll with EP hate builds up when we/he has some success, then comes spilling out the next game or when stats can support it.

I'm for being positive about our players for a good bit longer and rooting for them to succeed!

Who's not rooting for EP to succeed? I'm positive about the players when they do something positive. Its not all rainbows and gumdrops especially when the play like crap. People critiqued his game because he still looks like he cant shoot the damn basketball. Had he improved that aspect of his game to the degree they need him to, it would've started to show by now imo. Although aggressive he still struggles to finish, (although his floater looks improved) and he's average defensively at best.

What is there for anyone to get excited about? MOAR POTENTIAL? Mario is in the same boat imo. People expected to see some improvement but he's been a let down thus far as well. Players are obviously competing in the preseason so the "Its preseason " excuse only holds so much merit. They still have to be held accountable if they suck.

Cranky self-important posts are a pattern. The complaints are hyperbolic and the insight negligible.

If player X doesn't provide the contribution asked of him, his role will be diminished and he may not stick with the team. This is not a revelation, it's expected in every single case.

Posters who want to whine about who the weak links are when we lose and make a big deal of it are just annoying. There's a reason why each player is on the team, and there will be reasons why some don't stick. But making it your focus to accentuate the negatives seems like both overreaction and compensation.

I personally find ad hominem far more irritating. A critical approach is a necessity for independent thought. If you don't like what someone posts, you can simply ignore it instead of trying to skirt the board rules against personal attacks.

[ivDT]

Okc lost and gave up 142 points to a European team in the preseason.. I don't think their fan base went nuts and tried to trade away their team like we have.

hah! good god, could you imagine if we did that?

They are the freaking OKC! Top 3 team in the West. Their fans don't care if they are 0-8 in the preseason because at the end of the season they know where they are. We are the Magic, apples and oranges cannot compare the two. I don't care if we are 0-8 as well, if our team shows heart, hustle and a huge improvement with Payton and Gordon. We can see bright spots with Four, Mack, Sergei, CJ, DJ, Wilcox and Green. Building winning habits is what this preseason means for the Magic. OKC doesnt need that, they have a winning team already.

pretty sure we'd still have a crap storm of crazy ass trade proposals even if we were projected to be one of the top teams in the league. we're just a forum that loves to panic. it's always been that way regardless of how good our team is.

[OrlDave]

potential last shot.

[OrlDave]

derp, wrong thread

[erod009]

So, since getting down on the team is all the rage now, allow me to be contrarian again. In the grand scheme of things, this preseason has actually been encouraging. It's provided a pretty satisfying answer to what was, for me, the most obvious outstanding question with this team -- outside of Vucevic and Fournier, where is the scoring going to come from? More specifically, will Ibaka be able to shoulder a larger role in the offense than he's had in OKC?

Seems like the answer is a resounding yes. In the preseason, Ibaka has shown promise as a legitimate co-first-option. They've been able to dump it down to him in the post and have him create with his back to the basket, or find him on the pick & pop, or even let him catch-and-shoot 3-pointers from the wing in semi-transition. This is a big deal. Having 3 potential go-to scorers, and 2 offensive afterthoughts is a lot different from having it the other way around.

So there's that, and the bench looks like it will have the firepower to keep the team afloat on certain nights.

This thing just might work out after all...

I really don't think that was the main issue.

Point is will our young talented guys step up? Gordon, Payton and Hezonja.