Official Orlando Magic Preseason Thread - Next Game Wednesday at New Orleans

[Horcy]

Not only an I happy to see a different team, Im happy to see a different playing style. No more conservative defense and more attacking mismatches and ball movement. Im excited for this team, good or bad.

Absolutely!

[JBSouthpaw]

Much better than the summer league!

Enjoyed Cole's 3rd quarter.
His head seems to be up more this year, able to find some open shooters.
Bamba's effort was there.
Thought RJ was very solid too.
WCJ was good, except when he tried to dribble...
Suggs found a way to contribute even though not very good on the offensive side.
thought the 2nd unit played with a bit better pace than the 1st unit. I noticed it the 1st time the 2nd unit came in.
I think Mo Wagner is good at basketball.
FTs.....they made 20 out of 23, we attempted 14....made only 8.

Brown & Tatum are very good.
Smart and Schroder are going to destroy other teams' ball handlers.

[Knightro]

Considering we already know Fultz and Isaac aren’t going to be ready for the first game, feels like last night was pretty close to a preview of what the early season rotation is going to be.

My guess is that when Okeke is healthy, and his injury sounds relatively minor, he’ll slide into the starting lineup and Ross will go back to being a sub which will subsequently slide Moore out of the mix.

Starters: Suggs, Harris, Wagner, Okeke, Carter
Reserves: Anthony, Hampton, Ross, Wagner, Bamba

Something like that. I suppose they could keep Ross starting, but it doesn’t seem necessary.

[JBSouthpaw]

Considering we already know Fultz and Isaac aren’t going to be ready for the first game, feels like last night was pretty close to a preview of what the early season rotation is going to be.

My guess is that when Okeke is healthy, and his injury sounds relatively minor, he’ll slide into the starting lineup and Ross will go back to being a sub which will subsequently slide Moore out of the mix.

Starters: Suggs, Harris, Wagner, Okeke, Carter
Reserves: Anthony, Hampton, Ross, Wagner, Bamba

Something like that. I suppose they could keep Ross starting, but it doesn’t seem necessary.

Yeah, probably right.

J.I. would knock Mo Wagner out of the 1st 2 lines,
who does Fultz bump?? I think Harris would be the choice?

[Optimus_Steel]

Much better than I expected. I thought a 20 pt beatdown but we played against most of their rotation players and had the lead until the gleaguers were unleashed. Cole played with better decision making.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using RealGM mobile app

[yoyojw17]

So one preseason game and hottakes are already out? damn. Two years ago we openend preseason with Gordon 25 points and "finally allstar,breakout " comments, Bamba was out there having double doubles and ofc "finally Gobert "takes were on full swing...

With same logic:
Suns are now worst nba team by that standards i guess. And Curry will now be sidekick for Jordan Poole.


As far as some basketball nitpick takeaways :
Suggs will need to adjust ballhandling to NBA as he should know every guard in nba has quick hands and loose and high dribble won't work.
Wagner can't overcommit on stripping people the ball away from, he will get in foul trouble and guys will bounce off him ( Tatum did twice).


I'm actually intrigued what Celtics can do this year. On paper they have s*** loud of talent but lack high quality bigs. Their W- L prediction can go from 42 to 52 games easly.

Facts...we definitely shouldn't overreact.

but i know for me.... when expectations and desires come into reality.... it is a good sign that we are moving in the right direction.

I loved many of the aspects in this game and will be looking out for them with further consistency. Might be the most excited i've been in years for the start of a season!

My brain needs at least 10-15 games of sample size to come out with any conclusions about current roster. But given that Fultz and Isaac won't play probably any of those games, evaluation of season will be harder than usual.
In general preseason, epsecially in fashion Nets, Suns, Jazz ,76ers and Lakers treated first game, has no meaning nor value, it's just bunch of fringe nba players playing against each other.

Hopefully last 2 preseason games should be "real" lineups on teams playing last tests before real thing.

As for Orlando, we will probably treat whole season as some sort of test drive. No expetations whatsoever.

as i said.... direction is the key for me. are we trending in the right one or not. that's what i'm hoping for.... win or lose. we will see what all these baby steps accumulate into.

[drsd]

Considering we already know Fultz and Isaac aren’t going to be ready for the first game, feels like last night was pretty close to a preview of what the early season rotation is going to be.

My guess is that when Okeke is healthy, and his injury sounds relatively minor, he’ll slide into the starting lineup and Ross will go back to being a sub which will subsequently slide Moore out of the mix.

Starters: Suggs, Harris, Wagner, Okeke, Carter
Reserves: Anthony, Hampton, Ross, Wagner, Bamba

Something like that. I suppose they could keep Ross starting, but it doesn’t seem necessary.

I don't think any of us could predict two rookie starting on opening night. But here we are.


p.s. Carter and Bamba have a real contest going for roster minutes!

..

[Horcy]

Considering we already know Fultz and Isaac aren’t going to be ready for the first game, feels like last night was pretty close to a preview of what the early season rotation is going to be.

My guess is that when Okeke is healthy, and his injury sounds relatively minor, he’ll slide into the starting lineup and Ross will go back to being a sub which will subsequently slide Moore out of the mix.

Starters: Suggs, Harris, Wagner, Okeke, Carter
Reserves: Anthony, Hampton, Ross, Wagner, Bamba

Something like that. I suppose they could keep Ross starting, but it doesn’t seem necessary.

I don't think any of us could predict two rookie starting on opening night. But here we are.


p.s. Carter and Bamba have a real contest going for roster minutes!

..

Didn't see Suggs starting before the game. Maybe at this moment Cole would be better starting but as probably coming from the bench will be Cole's role for the coming years so I guess it's better to get used to. Smart decision by Mosley.

I definitely prefero Bamba starting over WCJ but he'll need to earn it.
Yesterday he did an amazing job. Something many of us who trusted on him though that was going to happen with more confidence from the coach.

[Knightro]

Read on Twitter

[Def Swami]

I was a little caught off guard by the starting lineup last night. I didn't expect the Magic to start 2 rookies. I didn't expect the Magic to go right to Suggs at PG right out the gate. The second unit looked better last night; they were more confident and assertive. Which makes sense considering they weren't trying to work in two players who have never played in the NBA before.

I just wanted to see our returning players look like they belong. Summer League left such a bad taste in my mouth. I was really pleased by how Anthony, Hampton, Carter, Bamba looked. It made me wonder what happened in training camp this week to warrant the SL that Mosely chose to go with.

Being a full time PG is such a learning curve. You could tell that Suggs had moments where he either didn't know the play, was hesitating, or overthinking. On one hand, you might as well throw him in the fire and allow him to make his mistakes now and learn. On the other, I think he's going to benefit when he's playing off ball with another guard. Without Fultz, I understand why the Magic would need to split Suggs and Anthony to keep a PG rotation.

Starting this season without Okeke and Isaac is going to make for some weird lineups out the gate.

[JBSouthpaw]

I was a little caught off guard by the starting lineup last night. I didn't expect the Magic to start 2 rookies. I didn't expect the Magic to go right to Suggs at PG right out the gate. The second unit looked better last night; they were more confident and assertive. Which makes sense considering they weren't trying to work in two players who have never played in the NBA before.

I just wanted to see our returning players look like they belong. Summer League left such a bad taste in my mouth. I was really pleased by how Anthony, Hampton, Carter, Bamba looked. It made me wonder what happened in training camp this week to warrant the SL that Mosely chose to go with.

Being a full time PG is such a learning curve. You could tell that Suggs had moments where he either didn't know the play, was hesitating, or overthinking. On one hand, you might as well throw him in the fire and allow him to make his mistakes now and learn. On the other, I think he's going to benefit when he's playing off ball with another guard. Without Fultz, I understand why the Magic would need to split Suggs and Anthony to keep a PG rotation.

Starting this season without Okeke and Isaac is going to make for some weird lineups out the gate.

Has Okeke been ruled out for the season opener?? I thought just JI and Fultz?

[basketballRob]

I was a little caught off guard by the starting lineup last night. I didn't expect the Magic to start 2 rookies. I didn't expect the Magic to go right to Suggs at PG right out the gate. The second unit looked better last night; they were more confident and assertive. Which makes sense considering they weren't trying to work in two players who have never played in the NBA before.

I just wanted to see our returning players look like they belong. Summer League left such a bad taste in my mouth. I was really pleased by how Anthony, Hampton, Carter, Bamba looked. It made me wonder what happened in training camp this week to warrant the SL that Mosely chose to go with.

Being a full time PG is such a learning curve. You could tell that Suggs had moments where he either didn't know the play, was hesitating, or overthinking. On one hand, you might as well throw him in the fire and allow him to make his mistakes now and learn. On the other, I think he's going to benefit when he's playing off ball with another guard. Without Fultz, I understand why the Magic would need to split Suggs and Anthony to keep a PG rotation.

Starting this season without Okeke and Isaac is going to make for some weird lineups out the gate.

Has Okeke been ruled out for the season opener?? I thought just JI and Fultz?

Fultz is out until at least December 1st. Isaac and Okeke must be close, because they're questionable for the season opener.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/ORL/orlando-magic/injuries/

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[j-ragg]

Good first preseason game to keep spirits high.

I know these are like cuss words here but Ross should start. Gary is a solid role guy but he can’t create (or make) much at all. Hopefully he shoots a good % from 3 so people will want him at the deadline.

[tiderulz]

I was a little caught off guard by the starting lineup last night. I didn't expect the Magic to start 2 rookies. I didn't expect the Magic to go right to Suggs at PG right out the gate. The second unit looked better last night; they were more confident and assertive. Which makes sense considering they weren't trying to work in two players who have never played in the NBA before.

I just wanted to see our returning players look like they belong. Summer League left such a bad taste in my mouth. I was really pleased by how Anthony, Hampton, Carter, Bamba looked. It made me wonder what happened in training camp this week to warrant the SL that Mosely chose to go with.

Being a full time PG is such a learning curve. You could tell that Suggs had moments where he either didn't know the play, was hesitating, or overthinking. On one hand, you might as well throw him in the fire and allow him to make his mistakes now and learn. On the other, I think he's going to benefit when he's playing off ball with another guard. Without Fultz, I understand why the Magic would need to split Suggs and Anthony to keep a PG rotation.

Starting this season without Okeke and Isaac is going to make for some weird lineups out the gate.

I expected it. I said from the get go, good things happen with the ball in Suggs hands. He needed to be the PG from the get go

[MagicFan101]

Cole is a natural 6th man. That is his role and I define it clearly above “bench player.”

So I’m surprised people shocked that we went to Suggs as the starting PG while Fultz and MCW are out.

Let Cole do his thing and give Suggs minutes at his destined spot during preseason.

[basketballRob]

Smart would've been a tough matchup for Cole.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[thelead]

I still can't believe we started Franz... I need to retrain my brain now that we've gotten rid of Cliff. Mosley is all in on development

[Skybox]

Read on Twitter

Love him or not....this guy is the X-factor. Him playing like Isaac on D (alongside Isaac playing like Isaac on D) is an amazing young defensive foundation...Listening to TRoss talk about Franz' 3pt shooting puts him at 3, IMO. That's a LOOONG, mobile defensive-minded front court with some great floor spacing potential. Backcourt also got some zing (I hope). Good job MO

[JBSouthpaw]

Read on Twitter

Love him or not....this guy is the X-factor. Him playing like Isaac on D (alongside Isaac playing like Isaac on D) is an amazing young defensive foundation...Listening to TRoss talk about Franz' 3pt shooting puts him at 3, IMO. That's a LOOONG, mobile defensive-minded front court with some great floor spacing potential. Backcourt also got some zing (I hope). Good job MO

I'd take that line from Mo all season! Hell, he'd be worth 12-15M.

I was just thinking about the centers in the east who could really give Bamba and WCJ issues

Embiid can punish anyone.
Vuc and Bam are starting to hang on the perimeter, they might only have a slight advantage.

No one else size wise makes me feel Mo or Wendel couldn't hang. Anyone else I'm missing?
Capela is good, but can't really push Mo or Wendel around.

[Magicfanatic82]

The product last night was much better than anything we have been watching the last few seasons.

It's just 1 game, but it's encouraging to see growth from the rookie scale guys games. The played free and not scared to make mistakes and get pulled.