OFFICIAL GAME THREAD - Magic Vs Pistons - Mar. 17, 2022 @ 7:00 PM

[All Eyes On Me 1,196]

9 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

I think Cole’s the outspoken “leader” or spirit animal of the team, which complicates bringing him off the bench. Regardless, everyone needs to be held accountable.

 

2 minutes ago, jmmagicfan said:

Plus it's really hard to put Cole on the bench when your other point guards (Fultz, Suggs) are working with minutes restrictions and/or not eligible for a game due to injury. 

I want more point Franz, but that’s just me being selfish. The more Franz plays the more he reminds me of a smoother Hedo.

[JJZFL 618]

22 minutes ago, TreyMachine said:

I think we get confused that defense is entirely about effort or individual capacity.

Half of being a good defensive team is knowing where other guys are going to be in the rotation and playing well as a unit. If three of the five normal starters are not starting, and different guys are thrown together with other guys, that doesn’t make for great continuity, particularly if only one or two of them have a mental lapse at any one time.

Detroit had guys out also (such as last years #1 pick).  What I saw from us last night was a team going through the motions.  

[TrueMagicFan07 664]

1 hour ago, All Eyes On Me said:

I agree here. This (and many other reasons of course) are why we miss Wendell so bad when he’s out. He’s our smartest defensive player by far.

The alarming thing that’s been happening lately though is the blow-bys. Our guards might as well not even jog down the court to pretend to play D these last 2 games.

". . .the blow-bys".  *smh* 

I couldn't believe that this was happening in bunches. There was no excuse for it. I mean, what was the game plan to stop it?

The Magic have defended much better teams and ultimately won the games but couldn't do it against a bottom dweller like the Pistons. /scratching my head. 

[Luke_FfS 247]

19 hours ago, All Eyes On Me said:

Agreed. If accountability were a thing this year, Cole would’ve been shown the bench awhile ago. Hard to remember a player going from so good to so bad as quickly as he did this season.

This year, last year, all the Clifford era and therefore the management era too... seem like we're constantly unable to do that, and to build a coaching staff that shows costant improvement and lead by example.

[South_Aussie_Magic 90]

On 3/19/2022 at 7:33 AM, TrueMagicFan07 said:

". . .the blow-bys".  *smh* 

I couldn't believe that this was happening in bunches. There was no excuse for it. I mean, what was the game plan to stop it?

The Magic have defended much better teams and ultimately won the games but couldn't do it against a bottom dweller like the Pistons. /scratching my head. 

race to the bottom is tightening up

[GoMagic444 0]

I feel like long term our back court rotation will need to be Cole and Markelle. I think Markelle eventually needs to be starting and I will bet that the coaches pretty much know it as well.

Jalen Suggs is good on defense but I like Markelle, Cole and R.J. more right now.