ball junkie

If he can shoot 3’s he’ll play on this team …will certainly be a crowd favorite and get the crowd hyped with one of his dunks …my son actually called me about it he was excited.

Scroll to the 56:30 mark …A good 12 minutes of Magic discussion …lotta positive …and some negative in terms of personnel last year seeing mucho minutes .

I wasn’t disagreeing that someone would be alienated …was disagreeing with your premise that half the fan base was liberals ….especially in this state see the previous link I posted .

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3998391-how-florida-became-a-conservative-bastion/amp/ If Magic fans are representative of our state (see link) we are a long, long way from being equally split among liberals and conservatives …in fact the article calls Florida the home base for conservatism and republicans …my house has more than doubled in value because everybody wants to live here now driving that number up …Am glad the Magic powers made that contribution . Now for the teammates issue it could be a factor .

https://www.foxnews.com/media/nba-star-jonathan-isaac-launches-anti-woke-pro-christian-alternative-nike-values-valid.amp GO JONATHAN ! …He is key to our season imo .

The Magic had one of my least favorite drafts from a philosophical perspective, given their roster. In my opinion, they should be doing everything they can to build around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner as big creators. The team’s future should lie in putting the ball in their hands as often as possible and surrounding them with floor-spacing given how good both are as drivers and passers. But selecting Anthony Black at No. 6 doesn’t really accentuate that as a strategy, as Black is a non-shooter right now. I love Black as a player because of his elite feel for the game, and he showcased why in a standout second-half performance in the Magic’s first game against Detroit that one NBA scout told me was his favorite of the first three days of summer league. But, in total, the flaws of drafting him to play next to Banchero and Wagner were on display. He didn’t look comfortable shooting, only attempting six 3s in 85 minutes. Plus, he had only a one-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio and wasn’t as dynamic on the ball as you’d hope for as a non-shooter. I love Black’s defense and passing, but I remain unconvinced that building around him as the point guard next to Banchero and Wagner is the right call. https://theathletic.com/4695223/2023/07/21/nba-summer-league-takeaways-vecenie/ Free article at least was for me …just posted today …Sam Vecenie

Only way Suggs is getting PG minutes is if somebody gets hurt …Fultz will get majority of PG minutes …AB is gonna get minutes or at least I think he will …probably a little bit of everywhere …Cole flourished in 6th man guard off the bench …which leaves Harris and Suggs battling for 2 guard minutes …looks to me like Suggs getting less minutes …makes sense to me

You gotta read the article Jay …he wasn’t like give up on him …that he was gonna be caught in a numbers crunch with AB in the fold …Fultz entrenched at PG, AB can play the 1,2 or 3 …Cole flourishing in a 6th man role …unless he can beat out Gary Harris he’s looking at less minutes than last year …that he was the odd guard out .

According to OMD …they say you can’t spend time trying to develop everybody …so they listed 5 guys we should continue to develop …and 4 we should give up on . Players we should develop …Banchero duh, Franz duh, WCJ, Cole, Fultz Players we should not spend time developing …Chuma, Houston, Goga, Suggs Surprised to see Suggs name here but the author lists some pretty solid reasons why it might be time to move on from Suggs . https://orlandomagicdaily.com/2023/07/20/orlando-magic-young-players-develop-give/

Absolutely …I was a lifelong gym teacher in public schools …breaks my heart to see how kids are being indoctrinated with all this sexual stuff …it’s crazy and blows my mind …as a fellow Christian I love what JI stands for and is unafraid to speak up about . I was really more shocked with Charles Barkley …grabbing a mic and using language like that …dude is just about as popular as Michael Jordan these days …he’s like the lead analyst for NBA and college games …a highly, highly visible public figure . The article insinuated he was falling in line with the Woke agenda …I’m hopeful we can get somebody in office in the near future that can stop all this indoctrinating of kids …anybody can see all the confusion and chaos it creates ….my kids just recently graduated HS …they told me some stuff going on …I will continue to say as a fellow educator …what the heck does sexual orientation/stuff have to do with educating kids in school .

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nba-player-questions-charles-barkleys-explicit-rant-rednecks-holes-what-does-this-even-mean Wow is all I’m gonna say

The point of all of this is to say that every Eastern Conference contending team has questions. Really only the Cleveland Cavaliers can be viewed of as a team clearly on the rise. The Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers are both young teams seemingly eager to grow — the Pacers likely missed the playoffs because of an extended injury from Tyrese Haliburton. They are also clearly on the rise, banking on internal growth and the right veteran addition — Bruce Brown for the Pacers and Joe Ingles for the Magic. The Magic and Pacers are going to be the teams competing to knock two of the above teams out of the playoff picture next season. It seems like Brooklyn will lose its place. Toronto or Atlanta may be other teams fighting to keep their spot. But a lot can happen. And ultimately a team has to take care of itself. Where there is seemingly opportunity then is the Magic are stable. They have continuity and familiarity. Not to mention they have the potential to grow internally. Their best way to improve is their players to get better. That is what the Magic are betting on in the end. And if Orlando does have that kind of growth, it is easy to see them being able to break through into the playoff picture. And from there, chaos might reign with how in flux much of the Eastern Conference is. There is certainly a path for the Magic to break a few tiers very quickly. https://orlandomagicdaily.com/2023/07/18/the-eastern-conference-is-a-mess-the-orlando-magic-can-take-advantage-of/

Sam Mitchell was the color commentator for the game …the lady made the comment that the Magic had the biggest jump in wins this past season …Mitchell acknowledged Orlando has talent but said, “I’m not sure they’re a playoff team” . Speaking for myself …with all these lottery picks on this team …two of which were former number 1’s …if we don’t make the playoffs this upcoming season I’m gonna be very disappointed and will consider the season a failure .

Let’s just take out a portion of the season. In the 22 games after the All-Star Break, Fultz averaged 15.6 points per game, 6.0 assists per game and 3.7 rebounds per game. He had shooting splits of 53.3/32.4/81.1. That only highlights the shooting potential he still has and how much more confident he was playing. The Magic played better with Fultz on the floor too. After the All-Star Break, the Magic had a +0.8 net rating with Fultz on the floor with a stunning 113.9 offensive rating (2.5 points per 100 possessions better than the team’s average) and a solid 113.0 defensive rating (0.1 points per 100 possessions better than the team’s overall average). In fact, only Paolo Banchero had a better on-court offensive rating than Markelle Fultz after the All-Star Break at 114.3 points per 100 possessions. This was with a starting group that struggled a bit more overall after the All-Star Break. Fultz was still a net positive. And that is a sign of how much better Fultz was playing to close the season. It is worth noting then that for the entire season, the Magic had a -3.7 net rating with Fultz on the floor (110.3/114.0 split, both worse than the season’s overall averages). Something got into Fultz toward the end of the season and it was evident how much more confident he was. That came in the form of his shooting more pull-up 3-pointers and jumpers, his efficiency frommid-range and his excellence finishing at the rim (Fultz made 68.6 percent of his 4.8 field goal attempts per game in the restricted area after the All-Star Break). That quarter of the season is a fairly small sample size in the grand scheme of things. But it is important for what it represents. https://orlandomagicdaily.com/2023/07/14/markelle-fultz-still-has-claim-to-orlando-magics-point-guard-spot/ Fults with 113.9 offensive rating Banchero 114.3 …almost identical …thought it was interesting …anyway, article talking about AB and his role moving forward

Agree …disappointing …not like they don’t need reps