2020-2021 General Game Thread

[Luke_FfS 247]

1 minute ago, jmmagicfan said:

It's so hard to tell where we really are right now. 2018-19 we were very lucky with health for most of the year, and ended up with the 8th seed. 2019-20 we had average/slightly above average games missed due to injury, but still ended up with the 8th seed. This year we started strong (4-0), but have been ravaged by injuries since.

It's not so hard IMHO, we're a mediocre team in a weak confence, as you correctly pointed out, even when we were healthy we finished with the eight seed, so using injuries to further evaluate what we have for me is just delaying the moves that need to be made, and hide for reality.

This year, even if completely healthy, we would have been a 4th/5th seed at the very best, with a great possibility of another first round exit. If we check the contenders roster, and ours, it's not so difficult to see that we aren't even close, even if we have a (bad) cap situation like a contender.

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

2 hours ago, fan for too long 2 said:

At this point do wins or loses get us closer to a position to eventually compete for a championship? I don’t care about your feelings this year. Reality is that we have ZERO chance of winning this year. So as a fan of this team since the beginning of it. 

This year I am rooting for loses and that’s what we all should be doing. Because that is the ONLY way we are going to improve in the future. 

I can't understand how the ONLY way to improve our future is by losing. We'd been losing pretty consistently for half a decade or more before Clifford arrived and yet here we are. But the only solution is to just... Lose some more? 

 

[TrueMagicFan07 664]

2 hours ago, jmmagicfan said:

I've seen varying degrees of improvement - Vucevic is playing like he's at his peak, Fultz was settling in nicely until the injury, Birch has looked better/more comfortable backing up the PF, Okeke and Anthony have done fairly well for rookies. Ennis and MCW consistently bring energy, and Bacon has played better of late. Bamba even seems to be getting a few more minutes, so maybe he has worked his way out of Clifford's doghouse. He still looks slow and plodding, but seems to have one of the better (+) numbers every game. Not sure how that is happening, cause it doesn't match what I'm seeing?!? 

I agree with the bolded sentences, jmf. I haven't watched very many games this season (for various reasons). But after a few days, I come to the forum to bring me up to speed on what has been happening in games.

After a couple of games that Bamba played in, fans on here raved about how well he played. While watching the game the other night, I noticed what jmf commented about Bamba looking slow and plodding. As I watched the game, I remember thinking to myself "Oh my, Bamba looks slow and listless, not keeping up with the flow".

In my honest opinion, Bamba looked confused--he didn't appear to know where he was or should be on the court. His screens, or whatever you all call it, didn't look clean. When he was not in the game, the magic players that were on the court were moving quickly, smoothly and with confidence.  

 

[fan for too long 2 530]

Good to see u back true. Hope your doing well. 

[TrueMagicFan07 664]

18 minutes ago, fan for too long 2 said:

Good to see u back true. Hope your doing well. 

Hi, thanks fan. I'm so happy to hear from you. I'm okay, but it's been rough. If you recall, early last season before the pandemic struck us, I mentioned I had health issues. Well, I had bacterial infection, inflammation and ulcer in the  stomach. Also a throat infection associated with my sinuses. I've been seeing a lot of specialists along with tests and procedures. In addition to a lot of medication, I was placed on a specific diet. I've weathered the storm but every now and then if I'm not careful what I eat or drink (I don't drink alcohol), I get some discomfort in my stomach.

At the beginning of this season, I tried to come back to the board after a couple of games --thought it would take my mind off my stomach issues. When the Magic lost Fultz  and MCW to injury, I posted a comment saying, " We should have kept DJ, even if it had to be 3rd off the bench"-- was just kidding, and someone gave me a down vote. Now that helped me feel better, didn't it. :(    I really did not have the energy to post that comment.

Somebody on this message board just don't like me or my boring/waste-of-time game thread starters.   :)

Thanks again, fan.       

BTW, LOVE YOU ALL!!!

 

 

 

[Soul Bro 1,419]

TMF, welcome back!

[TrueMagicFan07 664]

29 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

TMF, welcome back!

Thanks, Soul!     

 

[JJZFL 618]

1 hour ago, TrueMagicFan07 said:

Thanks, Soul!     

 

Our game thread could really use some help.  I for one have missed the great individual game thread starters you did in the past.  Hope you feel well enough to do a few more of them for us on occasion.  Just start a separate thread for a new game whenever you want!!

[JJZFL 618]

5 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

I can't understand how the ONLY way to improve our future is by losing. We'd been losing pretty consistently for half a decade or more before Clifford arrived and yet here we are. But the only solution is to just... Lose some more? 

 

I agree with you.  Trying to be bad and lose a lot is how we got into this situation in the first place.  Even as an expansion team, the Magic never had that mentality before.  

[TrueMagicFan07 664]

34 minutes ago, JJZFL said:

Our game thread could really use some help.  I for one have missed the great individual game thread starters you did in the past.  Hope you feel well enough to do a few more of them for us on occasion.  Just start a separate thread for a new game whenever you want!!

Thanks, JJZFL. I've thought about throwing one up on occasion when I feel up to it. I will use a general theme whenever I post a game thread starter (a simple graphic with text) announcing or to start a game discussion--nothing complex as I did in the past.

[RossMagic 6]

It’s early days I suppose, but what do you guys think of Randle from what we’ve seen? 

[RossMagic 6]

We’re playing really well tonight, perhaps the best I’ve seen all season up to this point.