ML6

Ehhhh I know it's my theory so I'm more likely to search for reasons for shadiness but I can think of some... FO not trying to freak out the fanbase that is starting to see the first glimmer of hope after 7 years, not wanting people to worry about the longterm health of a franchise cornerstone, ticket sale considerations, etc. Admittedly, the complete tear concern of mine is solely based on Woj's report of a "severe sprain". That term has a very specific medical definition -- a complete tear. But it was not listed in the Magic PR release or from local people. So if he went rogue with that term, then any degree of a tear is on the table. I just am skeptical that Woj came up with that term on his own without having been told it. I do agree that if it IS a complete tear, it would be odd for him to not undergo surgery. Although literature says some Grade 3 (severe) LCL tears can be managed non-operatively, but really only if there isn't instability.

Here's an analogy to how the Magic are presenting the injury. Let's say you pull into the parking lot and you and whoever was in the passenger seat get out. They slam some part of their hand in the car door. You look over and they seem to be grabbing their ring finger. It seems pretty bad. You take them to the hospital and after a little while you're given the following information: there was a severe phalangeal injury, but the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th digits are fine. In this scenario it would be pretty obvious that the ring finger was injured, as that's the only one left. That's the same thing in Isaac's scenario. The LCL/FCL is the only major ligament left, and it's located in the posterolateral corner where the injury is.

I'm going to sound like a downer to those who read the end of the Wizards thread, but that one is about to stop getting traffic so I'll give my 2 cents again here. I think JI either tore or severely damaged his LCL (aka FCL). The press release from the Magic omitted mentioning that ligament, but they said the ACL/MCL/PCL are fine. The LCL is located in the posterolateral corner of the knee, which is what is damaged per the report. I think to make people not panic, they just left it as "posterolateral corner injury". That is far more nebulous and non-severe sounding to people as opposed to "LCL tear", which would have people freaking out. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the wording in the press release is intentional for those purposes. It makes too much sense.

I don’t know, maybe I’m too cynical. But is it not weird that 1 of the 4 major ligaments is omitted from the narrative? The one that matches with the method of injury and goes hand-in-hand with the rest of diagnosis?

Not in all instances, no. ”Of note, not all isolated Grade 3 LCL injuries result in functional instability and necessitate surgical intervention, but repair of grade 3 injuries with PLC damage may be necessary and orthopedic referral is warranted.”

I believe it was reported as a severe sprain, bone contusion, and a posterior lateral corner injury. There were also specific statements that there was “no major structural damage to the ACL, PCL, or MCL”. I found this really interesting because it curiously left out any mention of the LCL, which was the first ligament I thought of — check my post history — when I saw how his knee bent (outward, as if someone had taken a hammer to the inside of it). Taking it a step further, posterior lateral corner injuries are often associated with injuries to the, you guessed it, LCL. Call me skeptical, but I don’t find it coincidental that they omitted a mention of the LCL. I think he probably damaged it to some degree and they used the word “sprain” to make people think it wasn’t that bad. Now, if the term “severe sprain” was what the MRI truly stated, that has a very specific medical definition — and it’s not good. A “severe sprain” AKA a grade 3 sprain is defined as, ahem, “a complete tear of the affected ligament.” My guess is it is really bad and they worded things intentionally to make people not realize how bad it is.

Possibly. But Robbins did have a tweet or part of an article where he said he expects it to be the remainder of the season. I think part of it was his own assumption though, because he expects to FO to be cautious as they always are.

Bonga’s not good but I still don’t get why we are choosing to put Khem on him

Defensive effort is embarrassing tonight

We will lose if we don’t start playing some semblance of transition defense.

Stop passing toward Payton

Stop passing toward Payton

No doubt. The counterargument is that if his injury is bad enough to account for a 10% drop in 3P% from last year (which was already mediocre at ~35%), and we watched his leg/foot go out last game, he needs to not be playing. The other injuries on the team should be inconsequential.

Gordon is 11/55 (20%) shooting 3s since his 5/5 game against Phoenix. If you remove that game entirely, he's at 24.6% on the season. That's lower than Markelle's 25.4%.

Oladipo is one of my favorite Magic players ever despite his short stint here. He caught way too much flak from certain parts of the fan base who perceived him to be too inconsistent -- of course he was going to be inconsistent as a young guy... you let young guys work through that when the ceiling is so high. It was so frustrating when he was traded b/c the signs of stardom were clear: roasting Jimmy Butler any time we played the bulls, going clutch shot for clutch shot with Durant/Westbrook, making huge plays down the stretch against the Rockets, all while playing great defense. Do I think that he would have reached his current level had he not spent that year in OKC? Probably not. But there was evidence from pretty early on that he could become 90% of it.

The progression of Markelle takes from Sixers fans (and where we will eventually get to): LOL he's the biggest bust ever dude. The fact that Brand got anything for him is a miracle. No timeline still huh? He'll be a great cheerleader on your bench! Wow he made a 3, congrats. Yeah he made a couple 3s but his shot still looks atrocious. Nothing has even changed, he did all of this stuff in Philly too. People just didn't care. 20 point career high lol, is this what we are praising from a #1 pick now? 25 point career high lol, is this what we are praising from a #1 pick now? You really think a 30 point triple double is a big deal? Let's see him do it again. Luka does it all the time. LOL if he was really that good the Magic wouldn't have needed 6 games to win that series.

Chuma and MPJ are not even remotely analogous injury-wise. Your last couple of posts seem to indicate you have a needlessly pessimistic understanding of our draft history.

I don't think DJ is going to get us a 1st.

So KOC says the Sixers should be looking at ways to trade Horford. Philly fans seem to want him gone and don’t care about the return. Should we want him? I’m prone to believe his issues are more fit than rapid decline, but he’s pretty expensive.

I haven’t checked the box score yet but it felt like Butler had about 8 turnovers and Fultz had about 7 steals. Am I close?

Two of which were on an uncontested lay up during their final possession

The news could’ve been a lot worse. The lack of damage to his ligaments is huge. On the flip side, maybe the “he’s walking on it fine, might not miss any time at all” media spin should’ve been thought through a little bit more.

Would be an incredible stroke of luck for him to be OK. Hopefully that ends up being the case because it’s sounding good postgame.

Based on the way his knee bent I would say LCL is equally if not more likely. But who knows, gotta wait for the MRI

I know nothing really matters after that Isaac injury but DJs inability time ever hit a wide open roll man with a pocket pass is just so tough to stomach