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Live or Die Magic

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Posts posted by Live or Die Magic

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Based on comments from Memphis folks on Twitter, ramifications for the Wiseman thing are still forthcoming. That surely must be a factor in Hardaway's thinking. It could be a messy separation, if it happens. Penny moves on, but Memphis still gets punished.

    If Atkinson (and Hammond??) are still in the mix, I'm not sure what the hold up is anymore. Billups was hired by Portland while the Clips are still playing, so I don't know what is stopping a Magic/Atkinson deal, unless Atkinson is just not in the mix from the Magic's perspective. And really, with Weltham playing this so close to the vest, we don't know for sure if all the candidates that they have reportedly requested permission to interview - Willie Green, Charles Lee, Wes Unseld Jr. - have actually had their interviews yet.

    The Magic FO is definitely being deliberate and careful with this...but yeah, Memphis would appreciate knowing if their head coach is leaving/staying sooner than later.

  3. Posted · Report reply

    If you only go by Twitter over the last day or so, the Penny-to-Orlando thing is a done deal.

    I don't know if I have reservations because he doesn't have a ton of experience yet or if it is the whole Magic nepotism thing that bothers me.

    I think my feelings may be related to specific issues we know as Magic fans. Kind of like if we brought in a free agent on crutches. Or if we acquired another center in the draft. It is something that Magic fans would get iffy about, because of our past negative experiences.

    If Penny is good at coaching guards, then he may be a great option for us. Between the guards we currently have on our roster and the ones we might draft, we need someone to get the most out of them. Most importantly, we need someone to inspire all of these young players while also instilling discipline and that nebulous "winning environment." Penny can probably do the inspiring part, but is he also capable of tactically winning games once this talent we have begins to flourish?

    • Upvote 1

  4. Posted · Report reply

    6 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

    I can’t believe you guys are back. It’s about time ;)

    I mean, I wouldn't say it's permanent just yet. We never went away exactly, just moved the discussion to a different format. And still been feeling the pain of Magic fandom during the interim.

    Still, it is nice to see familiar faces.

     

  5. Posted · Report reply

    22 hours ago, Marc Acres 3:16 said:

    It’s been a while but after tonight I felt compelled to come here and vent. I’m tired. I’m tired of the team trying to blow sunshine up our rear ends about how we are moving forward toward the future. We are in no mans land. We have the basketball equivalent of the land of misfit toys. Guards that can’t shoot, forwards that break all the time, a center doesn’t seem to give 2 ***** about trying. Getting absolutely screwed tonight isn’t the problem. The short sighted guy wearing gallons of hair gel set us back years going win now at the dumbest time in the dumbest way. Winning meaningless games year after year to end up one pick away from the impact players has killed us. I can’t take anymore pie in the sky from the mouth pieces for this team. They keep telling us that winning matters and some how the collection of role players we have will magically transform by tasting the playoffs, we are going no where because we pick poorly and we develop poorly. This sucks. 

    I'm also tired. I'm tired of hearing Marc Acres complain to me about the sorry state of this team. Then I am forced to say things like, "you can't polish a turd, Marc."

    "Get back on the boards," I said. "Use that outlet to vent your anger," I said. 
    I never thought he'd actually do it. I can't let him go back in all alone, so dammit, I have to go in with him.

    • Like 1
    • Upvote 1

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I would like to know more details about the deal before I determine if it was a poor deal or not. For all we know there is a team option for the 4th year or it may be front loaded. Someone mentioned it in the other thread that Ryan Anderson had a similar deal for a little bit more money. I don't remember hearing a lot of criticism on that deal throughout the league and Anderson is a comparable player. Shooting is a premium in today's league and this roster needs a lot of shooting. Frye does help with that considerably.

     

    If you checked your FB at all you'd know that I already told you all four years are guaranteed. I told you this during the Magic's SL game! Jerk.

     

    Also, with Nelson and AA gone, Frye immediately becomes the best shooter on the team.

    • Upvote 1

  11. Posted · Report reply

    The thing that made Jameer Nelson great is the thing that made Nick Anderson great: they both WANTED to be Orlando Magic players. They both felt honored to be here and be a part of this team and this community. I feel heartbroken right now and I will miss Nelson greatly but I want to thank him SO MUCH for his leadership and his commitment to this team. Jameer, you are one of the few to wear Magic pinstripes that truly deserved our adoration and love. I wish you well and I can honestly say that I you are one of the few now-former Magic players that I hope wins a ring elsewhere. Please come back to us once your playing career is over.

    • Upvote 4

  14. Posted · Report reply

    The Spurs were also "situational" tankers, in that Robinson was out injured most of the year prior to them getting Duncan.

    This is easily the best, most successful example of this. I can't see it ever happening again like that. Too many variables had to align perfectly.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Problem here is that is doesn't matter what the few die-hard fans who frequent this board think. Sure, blast the OP for not being enough of a fan. But when you've lost 20% of your season ticket holders and 60% of your TV audience in just two years, the OP has a lot of company. I posted multiple times last summer, and got blasted for it on this board, that allowing ourselves to become this bad for a prolonged period of time is a risky strategy, and that as far as I was concerned, neither our coach nor our GM had yet earned the kind of credit they are being given here. I can only hope we get better soon, but I don't have any confidence that we will.

     

    Shouldn't "die-hard" be a redundant adjective?

  20. Posted · Report reply

    The Fan Voice: "25 Years of #25”

     

    By Live or Die Magic | November 7th, 2013

     

    It is no secret that Nick Anderson is my favorite Magic player, past or present. Several years ago I wrote a piece in which I made a case for his #25 jersey being retired by the team. Tomorrow night, while hosting the Boston Celtics, the Magic will honor Nick Anderson as part of its season long 25th anniversary celebration. I assume the appreciation shown to Anderson will be similar to what Tracy McGrady enjoyed last week. Considering what has transpired since I first wrote about retiring Anderson’s jersey, I feel it is even more fitting now that he be the first player to receive this honor. For many seasons, Dwight Howard was viewed as the person most likely to have his jersey retired by the team. That’s seems much less likely now. Jameer Nelson is viewed as another possibility, but if the rumors are true, there is a chance he won’t be on the roster by season’s end. Meanwhile, Nick Anderson continues to be a part of the Magic organization and continues to be as much a fan of the team as any of us. Think about that, guys. He isn’t just an employee of the organization; he is a fan of the team!

     

    I’ve heard the dissenting opinions about how Anderson’s career numbers and accolades do not merit the honor. But I feel it is pointless to try to compare his numbers to players on other teams who’ve enjoyed the honor. Why should there be universal, league-wide criteria for this? It is opinion based, much like all-star and MVP voting. Even the basketball hall-of-fame does not have clear cut criteria for what makes one person deserving over another. Each NBA team makes its own decisions in this matter. If there is some agreed upon criteria within the organization for how and when a player deserves this honor, they haven’t shared it openly. If we are waiting for a player to play ten seasons with the Magic and be voted to multiple all-star games, we may be waiting a long time. This doesn’t change the fact that Nick Anderson is deserving of the honor.

     

    Whether it ever happens or not, the Magic faithful will continue to show Nick the appreciation he deserves, and I’m very thankful toward the Magic for allowing us the opportunity to share that appreciation before the entire Amway Center.

     

     

    What Tanking?

    I think we can put to rest all of that talk about tanking. The whole concept of tanking is nebulous at best, murky at worst. It isn’t an idea you can instill in an organization from top to bottom, and the fan base besides. Even in the scenario where ownership and upper management would prefer to lose in order to get a more favorable pick, influence begins and ends with the players acquired. They cannot coach the games themselves. And in the scenario where a coach limits the minutes of his more polished veterans, his influence ends at the sidelines. He cannot tell his young, hungry players not to try hard and give their all on every play. Finally, even if the fan base buys in to the idea of needing to get just a bit worse in order to get way better, nothing can prevent the excitement of watching a group of early 20-somethings take down a supposed title contender. Inevitably, the Magic may end up in the draft lottery again this year (though likely not with a top-3 pick); but it won’t be because of tanking. Sure, the thought of grabbing a top pick in next year’s loaded draft is a nice one, but that is 8 months away, and meanwhile, we’ve got a Magic squad more than deserving of our praise and attention.

     

    Poor Lakers Fans!

    Is it wrong that I’m getting such enjoyment out of Lakers fans’ continued, sustained negative reaction to Dwight Howard leaving for Houston? I mean, how can something that feels so good be wrong? Lakers fans are a privileged bunch and have rarely had to suffer through the pains of rebuilding or mediocrity. They will get zero sympathy from Magic fans who have twice watched them take a prized center away from this franchise. It is about time that Lakers fans experienced a similar feeling of betrayal. Of course, it isn’t likely that the Lakers stay down for too long. Knowing the Lakers luck, they will score in free agency next season and be right back up among the best. So, I guess we should take pleasure in their pain while we can!

     

    Trade Wins

    Remember all of those times when the Magic made a trade and all the pundits said we got the bad end of the deal? I doubt we will be hearing that type of analysis anytime soon. The Orlando Magic are the only team involved in last year’s Dwight Howard trade that still employ any significant pieces from it. Dwight left the Lakers; Andre Iguodala bolted the Denver Nuggets, and Andrew Bynum left the Philadelphia 76ers without ever playing a game for them. Meanwhile, Maurice Harkless and Nik Vucevic are both starters for the Magic. Vucevic will make a hard case to both the voters and the coaches to be a participant in this season’s All-Star game and Harkless looks bigger and way more confident on the court as a 20 year old. While those other three teams seemed to make a bigger splash with all-star pieces, the Magic planned for the future. Of course, who expected this high level of contribution so quickly in our present?

     

    Tight Rotation

    Coach Jacque Vaughn likely laments having players such as Solomon Jones, Glen Davis, and especially Tobias Harris injured, but one benefit is that he is already being forced to use a tight rotation. In the past three home games, all wins by the Magic, Vaughn has been able to use only 10 players. When you consider that back-up point guard Ronnie Price only played 7 total minutes in the three wins, it really is a 9 player rotation, with most players playing between 20 and 35 minutes. This has enabled Vaughn to get his younger players significant minutes and allowed him to keep his older players (namely Nelson) fresh. Considering how well Victor Oladipo, E’Twaun Moore, Kyle O’Quinn, and Andrew Nicholson have played off the bench, there has been little drop off from the starters. In fact, as bench players, Oladipo and Nicholson are tied for 3rd in scoring and Nicholson is 3rd in shot attempts per game. There will be one or two players that see their playing time curbed once Harris is back, but for now, it is great to see so many different players having positive impacts and making the most of their opportunities.

     

    This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.

    • Upvote 4

  22. Posted · Report reply

    Man, did you guys miss Captain Hi-Top's point!

    You guys have got to stop taking these polls so seriously. It is a Sentinel poll! Stop focusing so literally on the whole "greatest" angle. No one said Anderson is the "best" player in Magic history, but he just might be the "greatest."

     

    He deserves to have his jersey retired, plain and simple.

     

    The Magic are being elitists if they intend to wait on someone to play 10 years with us and go to multiple all-star games.

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