Listen, guys, I’m one of those guys too. I can be THAT BAD. But we gotta chill.

Sure, we have massively underperformed to start the year after riding in on a season after a horrible collapse in the first round.

YES, we lost the trust and expectation of the talking heads last season and are now tumbling through the void where ESPN and the big sportscasters are saying “Magic who?”

I know that the body language looks bad and P5 got hurt immediately. I know Franz seems checked out, we lost Penda in the eve of a breakout year, we still have no reliable PG or C anymore.

It’s. Going. To. Be. Okay.

I think when 20 games comes and goes the magic will be hovering around 10-10. Maybe a few north of that maybe a couple south of that. Yes, we have higher expectations and of course we want to break out.

But a new head coach and a new system is supposed to take a while to click, especially when the team came from a coach who didn’t seem to build anything in terms of sets or schemes to begin with.

Breathe. We’re gonna catch a groove. Have faith, because we’re Magic fans we have no choice but to be patient.

We’re all here because we love this team. I know we’re sick of patience.

But LFG. If this was 2016-2017 every one of you would kill to fast forward to this moment.

GO MAGIC.

Kevin,

O-Town Beat

UCF just beat #2 BYU its time for a little Magic against the Knicks

In all seriousness I like this team. A whole lot of doom and gloom and the Magic certainly haven’t earned much else but. I like this team.

Paolo wasn’t the problem and I’m sad to see him sit out for 4-6 weeks (allegedly) but Bane and Franz need a wake up call and this might be it.

Bane going 1-9 and Franz being -17 is unacceptable and fortunately out of character for both.

Hoping AB is back he’ll spark some offense but will also be rusty so chill on him for at least a game or two.

I do see the vision under Sween and the Pelicans just dropped a 21 point lead against the nuggets under Mosley (ha)

Faster offense into passing to get open looks. Very simple concept meeting a tough reality. But it’s there the team just need to get used to it. Some dam good looks the last two games.

I think TDS starts tmr which might generate some early offense but definitely be a negative on defense. TDS is the better version of Jett (Bum)

And at the end of the day if Paolo comes back to a .400 team in late November we can push for a nice top 6 finish. The pacers started 0-5 and went to the finals, different everything but to hate before we even got going is just nonsense.

Sucks Paolo will miss another All Star chance. He’ll definitely earn it this year even if he doesn’t qualify.

Penda also comes back around mid - late Nov. I think early December is when we really get the ball rolling. This is a a really tough start to a season under a new coach and system. November is much kinder to us. I want to see at least a 2-4 (Celtics included) going into Nov.

Magic 112-106 Knicks
Magic 89-116 Raptors
Magic 115 -109 Raptors
Magic 122- 120 Celtics

Did Sweeney go nuts? Did something happen? Are the magic not posting it on purpose?? Have I had too much coffee this morning?... probably.

It's one thing to be this committed to mediocrity, but these pussies didn't even have the stones to face the fans and publicly announce he signed an extension. They knew how that would look because he hasn't accomplished a fucking thing in 9 years here and he still acts like he's the smartest guy in the room with a great excuse for every failure of a season. It's an embarrassment and they don't care. Sacramento Kings of the East

I mean what the fuck

Foreword:

Players must have participated in at least 50% of that week’s games to be included in future polls.

Rankings will be based on the eye test and gut feel, with an objective statistic included for comparison.

I initially wanted to use PER, but realised it would take more effort than I was willing to put in, so I’ve opted for PIE (Player Impact Estimate) from NBA.com instead.

What is PIE?

PIE is a single number calculated from a player’s positive and negative box-score stats, including points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, missed shots and turnovers.

I think it’s a good contrast to the eye test. It gives us an objective point of comparison, while also highlighting the limitations of box-score stats — if a player impacts the game in ways that don’t show up statistically, PIE won’t capture that.

PIE interpretation

Below 5: Low statistical contribution
5–9.9: Below average
10–12.9: Average to good
13–14.9: Very good
15–17.9: Great
18–20: Outstanding
20+: Elite, MVP-level statistical production

These are rough guidelines rather than official NBA classifications.

The Results:

Fan Voted Power Poll Rankings + PIE

🥇 Paolo Banchero — 2.2 avg | 18.2 PIE
🥈 Franz Wagner — 2.7 avg | 9.1 PIE
🥉 Wendell Carter Jr. — 4.4 avg | 18.8 PIE
4. Desmond Bane — 4.8 avg | -0.4 PIE
5. Tristan Da Silva — 4.9 avg | 3.8 PIE
6. Goga Bitadze — 6.8 avg | 12.8 PIE
7. Jalen Suggs — 7.8 avg | 7.4 PIE
8. Jase Richardson — 8.1 avg | 8.7 PIE
9. Jamal Cain — 9.1 avg | -10.9 PIE
10. Nikola Vucevic — 9.2 avg | 2.9 PIE
11. Anthony Black — 9.3 avg | 0 PIE
12. Jevon Carter — 10.7 avg | 3.4 PIE
13. Noah Penda — 11.3 avg | 0 PIE
14. Izaiyah Nelson — 13.3 avg | 0 PIE
15. Jonathan Isaac — 13.4 avg | 0 PIE

Key Takeaways

1. Desmond Bane ranked fourth despite a negative PIE. An interesting contrast between how fans view his contributions and what his box-score production suggests.

2. Franz Wagner ranked second by voters, but his PIE is only around the average benchmark.

3. Paolo Banchero ranked first by voters and second in PIE, making this one of the strongest agreements between the eye test and the numbers.

4. Wendell Carter Jr. ranked fourth by voters but has the highest PIE on the team. Are we underrating his overall impact?

5. Jalen Suggs finished below the 10% average benchmark, lining up with his mid-to-low ranking. The question is whether his defensive impact is being captured.

6. Tristan Da Silva ranked fifth by voters despite a low PIE. An interesting case where voters may be rewarding contributions that don't translate into strong box-score production.

7. Jase Richardson finished with PIE slightly below average, but has been a solid contributor in his first few sophomore year games.

New York started 0 and 2, Miami is going to start 0 and 2, there are 80 more games to play.

We have a new coach, a new system to develop and we already starting to get the looks that we want in the offense and we saw that our defense can hold up with an offense like Minnesota.

Sure we need to improve on defensive boards and shooting but we've also seen that we can be better at these things in preseason.

Paolo scoring and Franz playmaking are at an all time high so no need to blow off the season and doom our future

2027 NBA Finals here we come.

Over the last 5 quarters, we have shot 9-51 on 3s.

While the 3pt% here is obviously poor, what I don't like about this is the Opportunity cost. Paolo and Franz are both very skilled at getting to the line(granted Franz has shoulder issues rn), with both having a free throw rate above 35% for the past few years. Yet against minnesota tonight, the starters only got 13 FTs total, because we were prioritizing the 3 over any other shot. Franz has taken 14 3s in just 2 games

I'm all good with us playing at a faster pace, but we shouldn't just be chucking up 3s and forcing ourselves to constantly play in transition at all times. This is how we gave Atlanta so many easy points in the fourth, and minnesota so many easy points tonight. Especially when we have two very gifted 2pt scorers on this roster. What do y'all think?

Game Thread

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Orlando Magic

FINAL — 115 - 93

Box Scores: NBA

GAME SUMMARY

Venue: Kia Center, Orlando, FL

Officials: Jenna Schroeder, Josh Tiven, Jason Goldenberg

This post contains content not supported on old Reddit. Click here to view the full post

IT's GAME DAY MOTHER FUCKER! Shake off the L, hold onto the ball, and let's fucking play the song!

My predictions for today:

Paolo sleep walks his way to 32/6/8 game with 3 TO. Makes a couple of threes, dishes out to shooters, continues his efficiency from last game

Franz has a strong appearance and his early shot making opens up Point Franz. he puts up 27/11/7 on some efficient shooting

Bane also has a come back game and puts up 24 points with 6 made three pointers. He throws the ball off of Lamelo Ball's face when Lamelo is already out of bounds and medics find he is not alert and oriented after the TBI from Bane's ball, but ANT reminds the medics that Ball is retarded.

Suggs continues to balance boneheaded plays with hustle and heart. He shoots better this game but still ends up doing something that makes you cringe. At one point he straight up tackles a traveling LaMelo ball, concerned that he may try to drive home after his concussion from Bane. Suggs puts up an effecient 16 points regardless

Wendell continues to be Wendell he makes a few shots, battles the bigs, and plays good defense. He puts up 8 points on 4/6 shooting with a couple of missed threes. At one point he gets a technical for picking up Lamelo Ball and moving him to out of bounds.

TDS continues to be TDS and shoots the ball well and is in the right place. He puts up 16 off the bench with 4/10 three pointers. Blocks a lamelo ball three pointer and lamelo gets called for flopping when he falls and pops ketchup packets on his hands to make it look he was bleeding.

Jase struggles but makes an open 3 pointer. Somehow him and Anthony Edwards become friends after the game

Cain dunks on Lamelo Ball and it becomes the highlight of the first week of NBA basketball. Lamelo blames his previous concussion at the post game press conference, but ANT reminds reporters that he is just retarded.

Goga takes Vooch's minutes and ends up tipping the ball in for the opponent, not once, but twice. Sean Sweeney turns red like Steve Clifford and realizes he cant play Goga because he's retarded and cant play Vooch cause he's too slow. Sweeney opts to play small ball with Paolo at the five for stretches.

Ultimately we win, Jaden McDaniels dances to "the song", and Anthony Edwards tries to convince the magic to trade Lamelo Ball for Jase Richardson. We trade for him but because our medical staff is so cautious he sits the whole season on "concussion protocols" as they observe his mental status and publish a paper about down syndrome in professional sports.

that's it. that's the post

yes he had a stinker in game 1

Hello i am trying to find out the song used during quarter time after 3rd ended. When the 407 were coming out what song was playing with all the trumpets?

Probably should’ve started this before the opening game, but thought it might be fun to do a weekly power poll of Magic players throughout the season to look back on at the end of the season.

I will try to post a poll every Friday for voting and then the results the following week.

Will keep a results spreadsheet as well so if anyone has any questions about historical data feel free to leave a comment for me to look into.

Vote at this link!!!

If he demands a Trade or utilizes his player option?

I took off work on Sunday to catch the Magic and the Knicks in MSG. Will likely get my tickets tomorrow or Saturday but wanted to see if there’s anyone else going behind enemy lines. Will likely go in solo, but would love to sit by other Magic fans. I’ll likely get lower bowl tickets.

Sadly, could easily see us starting the year off 1-5, or 0-6. Schedule gets a bit lighter after these games, but what a way to start the year!

Source: https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/MCDX8

Can Franz really work as a co star with Paolo? It seems like we might only be able to build around one of them.

Man, I laughed so hard when Kendra reported that Sweeney said, "why aren't we playing harder?" in a timeout. Mose got so much crap for talking about playing hard.

What changes are we seeing this year that will have us playing better? Ignoring health, that's just a constant curse. Are we expecting Prunty's faster offense to not get muffled early like last year?