Magic vs Bulls

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

12 minutes ago, Magicman28 said:

Possibly but it also a game that shows our weakness.

If shots aren't falling, it's an disaster.

Thats going to have to improve at some point.

Eh.  The missed shots happen.  The defense sucked. No energy today.  

There was one play where Chicago did a 2/4 pick and pop. Gordon probably switched when he wasn't supposed to (or maybe he was.  I have no way of knowing. But that's besides the point). Instead of going "oh let me try to recover for Gordon's mistake" he decided to continue to defend the man Gordon is already defending and point  at his wide open man who eventually hit an open three.  

[Magicman28 295]

25 minutes ago, Payton4thewin said:

Eh.  The missed shots happen.  The defense sucked. No energy today.  

There was one play where Chicago did a 2/4 pick and pop. Gordon probably switched when he wasn't supposed to (or maybe he was.  I have no way of knowing. But that's besides the point). Instead of going "oh let me try to recover for Gordon's mistake" he decided to continue to defend the man Gordon is already defending and point  at his wide open man who eventually hit an open three.  

But that's my point. Missed shots will happen and games like these will be the result. Yeah defense wasn't good either but that doesn't negate our offensive weakness which is no first option go to guy who can create/make plays.

This was against the rebuilding Bulls too.

 

 

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

3 minutes ago, Magicman28 said:

But that's my point. Missed shots will happen and games like these will be the result. Yeah defense wasn't good either but that doesn't negate our offensive weakness which is no first option go to guy who can create/make plays.

This was against the rebuilding Bulls too.

 

 

No but what i mean is we can survive missed shots.  Sometimes they just don't go in.  It should have been a closer game as Chicago wasn't really just hitting well defended shots.  We let them beat us.  

It might end up being a good thing.  You can't come out flat and think you're going to beat even the worst teams.  Sometimes you need that reminder

[Magicman28 295]

3 minutes ago, Payton4thewin said:

No but what i mean is we can survive missed shots.  Sometimes they just don't go in.  It should have been a closer game as Chicago wasn't really just hitting well defended shots.  We let them beat us.  

It might end up being a good thing.  You can't come out flat and think you're going to beat even the worst teams.  Sometimes you need that reminder

Sometimes...Sometimes it just means you're a 38-40 win team and here's what you need to improve to be better.

[magicjed23 12]

We took good shots, but as suspected our shooting percentage was and is unsustainable. Those shots were falling in the first 8 games. Shots were not as good at the end as we were clearly in desperation mode. Vogel should have gone to the bench earlier in the 3rd quarter to see if Speights could knock down some 3's and open up the paint.

As for the players, missing our top two PG's hurt the team. When we needed someone to calm us down and reorganize the offense, we just didn't have it. Mack had his moments, but because he was not hitting shots or converting on drives the defense sagged off of him without worry. The few times Mack got us into a set or found the open man the majority of the shots were missed. Vogel chose to use Simmons as backup PG and he just didn't show an ability to play in that role and on a night like tonight we needed him to make up for Ross. It may have worked if Ross played well or someone else was hot but the entire team was struggling. I am not sure what some of the posters here are watching but Hezonja plays at least average defense and he has gotten his shooting to the point that he has to be guarded tightly as he is not a liability any longer. We have been getting good play from Simmons and Isaac but Vogel's short bench has cut his playing time. Hezonja can play PG though in an emergency and he can do it effectively. Vogel should have known this and went with him. Simmons should have been kept at his normal position as he has been key in most games, especially with the offensive struggles and mistakes Ross has had trouble with. While going a different way might not have mattered if we shot that terrible, I feel that we could have gotten a few 3's when it mattered from Hezonja and a smoother playing team, and ee would have seen the typical Simmons and more free throws and set defense.

It really looked like we overlooked the Bulls with a huge game against the Celtics that would have told us (and still will) tell us if we are legit. Once they hit us we just couldn't get into the game. When we had to play without a point guard we were not getting open shots at a high rate and we missed when we got open ones. Better  play from that position might have gotten us in the right mindset to turn things around, but it was unavailable tonight. We have been shooting an unsustainable percent this early season and we knew eventually that would cool off to a degree and the hope was that we would have Payton (and now Augustine) back before that cool down began. Unfortunately, we might have missed that by one game as Payton was not ready and not only did our shooting dip, it completely tanked and it doesn't seem we had such a bad shooting game since before last years trade deadline. That drop was far worse than anyone anticipated to be just a return to the mean.

That was not the team we have been watching this year even in our losses. And the Bulls played the game of their lives and I am willing to bet they lose by 30 tomorrow night. We just became visibly discouraged by our misses and their constant makes. We were a half step slow on defense and that pretty much guaranteed a loss. Luckily it's one game and every team has 3 or 4 games like this in a season. Thinking ahead to Sunday, it really feels like we need Payton to be ready because if Mack is the only PG the only chances we have are to shoot better than we have in any game or if the Celtics lay an egg. Either way we have to bounce back on both ends and keep it close. If we do that, we will give Fournier a shot to take over and be the clutch 4th quarter player the stats show he is. Gordon and Vucevic need to hit their averages. Ross needs to put together a solid game on both ends.Simmons needs to return to form and his brothers Isaac and Biyombo need to D up without fouling. Whoever plays PG needs to keep his man from getting straight line drives to the hoop and offensively the "PGs" must take and make their shots when open. They must get in the paint with a purpose and hit the guys on the perimeter who in turn must swing the ball to the open man. The PG must be a threat around the hoop and nobody should hesitate while open and must take shots with confidence.

The bottom line is that we have to think of this as a must win and trust the system in place to get us the victory. Make or miss, the defense must remain stout for 48 minutes.

Since the beginning of the rebuild we have lost games like this upcoming one, and usually by a wide margin. I know that there is something different about this team, but to prove it we must go out there and get this win. Let's defend our home court like our lives depend on it. We have no reason not be juiced up for the Celtics and after being embarrassed by the lowly Bulls here at home. We need to show it was a fluke. Take pride in fighting for the name on the front of the jersey. Use some of that Disney magic. And make Sunday's game the real game dedicated to Helen Devos.      

         

[Franchero MVP 391]

We really need to play Birch instead of biyombo. 

[All Eyes On Me 1,206]

Guys, I know the start was hot, but we’re not a 50 win team yet, we’ll still wind up in the 36 - 44 range. Still a lot of growing left to do. The point guard issues tonight were bad and the shots weren’t falling which will happen, but to play without heart in front of a great home crowd and get blown out by a Bulls team full of scrubs is inexcusable. Hopefully it’s a wake up call, but this one pissed me off.

[All Eyes On Me 1,206]

11 minutes ago, Gordon MVP said:

We really need to play Birch instead of biyombo. 

I agree. Biyombo is beyond terrible and seems to be getting worse. He had back to back plays in that 3rd quarter where he decided to jump to block a Justin Holliday runner 10 minutes after it was released, then allowed Robin Lopez to have that dunk back instead of deciding to box him out that completely killed the team’s spirit for good. Birch can’t be worse. And Speights isn’t the answer as full-time backup 5, his defense is nonexistent 

[magicjed23 12]

Why does anyone think we didn't play with heart? We played with heart, but were literally missing every shot no matter the distance. You don't lead the half when the shooting is so lopsided if you are not playing with heart or effort. We fell apart because individuals played too hard. We didn't play team offense and only Fournier made shots. While our defense was unspectacular, if was good enough if we had any 2nd half offense. In a league that gives  offense all the advantages it's unreasonable to expect stops on 4 or 5 consecutive possessions while not making any shots. Half of their points were on 3's, many contested, and even though they shot 50% on three's it's pretty good if you only allow 90 points. If you believe that we are a 36 win team, you should realize that we are not a good shooting team and if are out shot we will likely lose those games. Good offense beats great defense and heart every time because shooting is the point of the game. We still had no business losing this game but blame it on the real reason. We have known for years that if we shoot poorly we will have trouble winning. Only stars and players with the unique ability to play through contact and take the punishment give you leeway where you can win with less than ideal shooting. Those players are in very high demand and rarely leave winning teams. Not everyone can suppress the instinct to avoid pain and situations where injury is possible.  

Don't equate heart, hustle, or effort with results because those things do not guarantee success.

Did we get off to a slow start? Yes. But, notice that the moment we began making them we erased the deficit. In the 3rd, several players got gun shy and got themselves in trouble when they passed up the open shot. The players didn't have their mind on this game as naturally players look ahead to big games. The reason were having success is that we trusted the scheme and executed it without thinking and our vets kept the collective thoughts of the team in check. We might not have a star, but we have enough talent to stick to the scheme and with the correct mental approach be one of the best teams. We still need to learn three very important lessons. We do not currently have a star player so we cannot win if we stray from the schemes at all, so stop trying to be a heroes.. And know your limitations! Another lesson is that a win is a win is a win. Beating Memphis is no more of an achievement than beating the Kings, and more importantly, beating the Nets is just as important as beating the Spurs. You might get the better team one night but better team(s) will get you far more often than not, so you must beat the lesser teams as they give you the best chance to win. Ignore the standings and any markings on the jersey of the opponent. The Magic must act as though they are playing the World Champions every night and every player is All-NBA 1st team. The numbers on the jersey only identify your primary responsibility and on a switch, the number that your teammate was responsible for now becomes your responsibility, even if the play is ran incorrectly. The numbers are for reference, but you're always guarding the MVP and must not let anyone down. The newest lesson that we have never had to deal with is success. It's a learning process, but we must expect teams to give you their best shot when you are winning (when losing opponents see an easy win). When you are winning everyone wants to talk about you and tell you about it. But, you are only as good as your last game and you will be slammed when you don't play well. Success breeds higher expectations and you must rise to meet the challenge. The better players become the focus of the defense and have to trust teammates will be ready to take over when needed. It takes a team to win games. Winning puts a target on the team and everyone must play even smarter and better. Your team must get better each game. Individual improvements must lead to team improvements. It's easier to accept losing than to handle the expectations that come with winning, and to succeed you must want it more and find a way every game.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

5 hours ago, Skip to my Jameer 114 said:

Guys, I know the start was hot, but we’re not a 50 win team yet, we’ll still wind up in the 36 - 44 range. Still a lot of growing left to do. The point guard issues tonight were bad and the shots weren’t falling which will happen, but to play without heart in front of a great home crowd and get blown out by a Bulls team full of scrubs is inexcusable. Hopefully it’s a wake up call, but this one pissed me off.

We're not a 36 win team.  If we don't make the playoffs with the level of talent we have the season was a failure

[Soul Bro 1,419]

The PG play last night was rufffff. Mack starts running with the ball right when he catches it, and Simmons is more of an attacking sixth man than a PG. I also think Vooch did an extraordinarily bad job protecting the paint with help defense. Then came the hero ball and bad overall defense. It'll be interesting to see how we recover.

[jec 427]

9 hours ago, Skip to my Jameer 114 said:

Guys, I know the start was hot, but we’re not a 50 win team yet, we’ll still wind up in the 36 - 44 range. Still a lot of growing left to do. The point guard issues tonight were bad and the shots weren’t falling which will happen, but to play without heart in front of a great home crowd and get blown out by a Bulls team full of scrubs is inexcusable. Hopefully it’s a wake up call, but this one pissed me off.

I would move the range up to 40-48 wins. Sunday will be a good test.