Is This Magic Team Actually For Real?

[jezzerinho]

Lemme say this.

Yesterday, I would have said that - based on the manner of our wins and losses so far - the very good teams with vet stars are going to pick our tenacious defence apart by staying patient, passing out off the pressure, baiting us for fouls and shooting from deep. Basically playoff-style BB.

Having seen last night's game, against a Joker-led Denver side that has all the credentials to swat our pesky defence aside, and to see how much Denver struggled to keep Orl at arm's length, well... I may have to revise my thinking and up my estimate of games to be won against vet playoff teams.

A bit of a regression is expected, but I don't think we'll be as straightforward to figure out as I thought only 24hrs ago...

[p0peye]

I just hate this thread, 2016 Jan is still fresh in memory.

[anothermagicfan]

15 games is almost 1/5th of the way through the season and the magic are tied for the 4th best record in the NBA. It is a 6 way tie so 1 loss could drop us to the 10th best record. Which is still pretty damned good considering our record from last year's first 25 games.

Then there's this Friday. Next game is against 1 of the 3 teams with a better record than us. Let's see if the magic show up and play with the same competitive spirit.

[Knightro]

Just enjoy the ride baby.

[meatwad4343]

Assuming we stay relatively healthy, this team for sure finishes in the top 6 in the east. We won't have to worry about the play in. After this season I think we've shown enough growth to consolidate our assets and make a trade to bring in the missing piece to round out the team. I really think we're one player away from being legit contenders.

[Bergmaniac]

I am quite pessimistic usually, but I feel we have a good shot at ending as the 5th-6th seed with a bit of injury luck. The defence may drop a bit, but we have the personnel to be at least very good on that end as long as we don't get a major injury crisis. And on offense there is certainly a room for improvement mostly on Franz's part.

A lot will depend on health, obviously. We have a lot of injury prone players. WCJ and Fultz are replaceable for a time, but others may be harder to replace. Isaac's health will be a major factor, he doesn't play many minutes, but so many of our key runs happen when he does thanks to his smothering D.

[I Rasharted]

What does it mean to be "for real"? My interpretation would be that a "for real" team is a playoff contender. Like, not a play-in bubble team but a contender for the 5-6 seeds. A team in the same tier as Miami, Atlanta, New York, and Cleveland.

I'm ready to say we are for real in that context. I'm up from 39 wins to 46. I suspect our defense is legit and I think we can be buyers at the deadline if we need some offense.

I think they're gonna have trouble maintaining the defensive intensity, but 42-46 wins feels about right.

[Optimus_Steel]

I’m disappointed no one has posted the gif of the endowed chick strapped to the roller coaster…

[VFX]

Read on Twitter

[eyriq]

Read on Twitter

Lol love it

[Bensational]

Seeing how the team responds to hardships like losing streaks and slumps will give a stronger sense of how for real the team is.

They’re absolutely ready for the challenge.

[Residual-Heat]

great win last night but lets not forget the nuggets are missing their second best player. The Magic are a good team though. At this point id be disappointed if we dont make the play offs. I cant believe our starters are 19, 22, 22, 21 and 24 and all combined are making less money per year than Tobias Harris

[RookieStar]

Yeah.. just enjoy it.

We aren't the 96 bulls or the 17(??) Warriors

You can bet we are gonna encounter3-4 game losing streaks. We just weather it and move on.

[Message Boar]

Yeah, I don't have the energy to get into it too much, but, like others alluded to:

This is still a young team, I'm sure we'll still have plenty of ups an downs and take our lumps. Just enjoy the good stretches as much as possible.

[jezzerinho]

great win last night but lets not forget the nuggets are missing their second best player. The Magic are a good team though. At this point id be disappointed if we dont make the play offs. I cant believe our starters are 19, 22, 22, 21 and 24 and all combined are making less money per year than Tobias Harris

That's nuts!

[Magic2030]

Sooo... Alex Martins 2030 is for real?

Whoop whoop


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[Skin]

For a long time I have wanted a Center who is more defensive focused than offensive focused. This was my biggest gripe through the whole Vuc era. It made me accept the Bamba pick despite wanting to trade up. Turned out he was more interested in jacking up 3s than playing defense. When we got WCj, I wasn't the biggest fan, but he grew on me because he offered some nice rebounding and was a 3 level scorer, but the defense was always underwhelming with him. His injury has really been the blessing that has FORCED the Magic to do what we've always NEEDED, but they have always been against.

Having a defensive presence at Center opens up so much for the rest of the team. Especially someone who doesn't have a selfish need for offensive touches in order to be happy. The combination of Goga and Isaac is the #1 reason for our recent success. It has enabled Paolo and Franz to grow into roles as our priority scorers as well.

I still think our backcourt is average at best, but they are gaining confidence, and their swag level is starting to rise. We might be on the verge of shaking that choir boy image.

[drsd]

I think the re-integration of our injured “starters” is a concern…the chemistry right now is amazing.

Six game winning streak. You have a real point here.

[Ralof]

point it's simple: Magic are not a joke anymore.
already beat lakers,nuggets,celtics and bucks.

clearly they are way better teams than us,but since last half season you have to put effort if you want to beat the magic,you can not just play at 50% and still win anyway.

and Defense gonna going down a bit probably,but no reasons why should not be top 10 at the end of the season.
also,the effort level it's insane and roster it's really deep for a team with basically play-in aspirations.

[Optimus_Steel]

Is this for real?


Heck yea.