TreyMachine

I heard on the radio today that Cleveland hasn't won a playoff series without a guy named Lebron in 31 YEARS. The pressure is FAR MORE on Cleveland to perform here, whom mortgaged their future to get Donovan Mitchell. A loss could blow up everything if they lose this series (a la Mitchell might choose to leave), vs. the Magic whom clearly have more great days ahead of them and a lot of flexibility financially right now. It will be an interesting series. I think the Magic play best when they feel free to play loose. I'm hoping for a Game 1 Road win!

This is something I'm thankful for - we're at full strength going into the playoffs. I hear Mitchell has missed 15 of the last 21 games as well with knee ailments. I'm hopeful we can take one of the first 2 games in Cleveland. We're very good at home this season.

Thought I put the thought in another thread and everyone ran with it. My bad!

My concern is that Paolo did not play that great during last years FIBA competition. I could see Chet over him or even Jalen Brunson, who was one of the leaders last summer. I’m curious to know if they are leaving 1 roster spot to see how guys play in the playoffs. That’s my gut feeling

I don't know if it's been discussed, but Paolo being courted to play for Team USA in the FIBA 2023 games away from Italy and then not being put on the Team USA Olympic roster for 2024 seems salty to me. Maybe the thought is that Paolo will eventually represent the USA in the next Olympics, but I'm sure he's disappointed. That being said, it's only an 11 man roster and there's an "open spot for one more player." I'd love to see the Magic get to the East Semi's or Finals (can we beat Boston??) and Paolo to prove his value to be on that roster. A summer playing with Lebron, Steph, and more would be an AMAZING experience for him and his growth no doubt.

I don't want to get down on the magic either, but I have big, big concerns here unless we can pull out a big win against either the Bucks or Sixers. This is "do or die" basketball the next 3 games essentially. I think the Bucks really rattled us yesterday. I'm hoping that someone on that team - Paolo, Cole, or one of the vets - can give a motivational speech that lights the fire and we come out swinging tomorrow night. We know who we are and when we play our game, we win - and we're near a 50 win team. LFG Magic

Isn't he anticipated to be a lottery pick? The guy is an athletic shooter and a competitor for sure.

I saw a stat that identified Jalen Suggs 40.1% three point shooting this season is equivalent to the best season Damian Lillard at the 3 at 40.1%. is anyone worried that Jalen is going to command a significant salary in the off-season now to go along with Franz? I guess this is why we didn't sign anyone and kept our cap space flexible.

I'd love to get the #3 seed so we wouldn't have to potentially face Boston in the 2nd Round. That team looks unstoppable right now.

tuned in for the last 5 minutes and have no idea what you're talking about. Paolo and Suggs have been clutch and we're playing with a fire in our bellies. Perhaps it shouldn't have been this close but this team showed out when it mattered. Learning to win in close games is certainly a necessity for teams to succeed in this league.

We're all old. lol. I remember posting about the Chris Paul / Jameel Nelson trades back in 2010. That's when I started coming here - back when the forum was actually linked on the Orlando Magic's official website. Excited to be here with ya when we get that championship. I know it's going to happen one of these seasons.

I'd just like to congratulate CTMagicUK on now having 9,999 posts. His next post gets him to 10,000, and it's a real milestone to get to 10,000 posts on any board. Appreciate your professionalism, your years of insight and thoughtful dialogue, and your dedication to sticking with this board - and this team - through the good and (many) bad years. Cheers to you and I look forward to up-voting whatever your 10,000th comment is here.

I'm convinced only a select handful of people actually have "insider" information and everyone else just makes up anonymous sources. Klay will retire as a Warrior. His knees are gone and with it, his jump shot.

Agreed. We've made it so that the formula for an award / Supermax is tied to the number of games you play. Now it needs to be tied to the outcome of the All-Star game. $1 million doesn't move the needle but $50 million certainly does.

Paolo is trying far too hard and really wants to a point you can tell (he just got blocked by Steph Curry). Wish he could relax and take it in, but you can tell he's trying to consciously balance trying hard while acting like he doesn't care.