Bulls @ Magic 6pm CT

[Red8911]

Moral victory against a team built the right way.

How are they built right? They’re also in the middle of the standings.

[WindyCityBorn]

Sucks that they lost to this damn team again. You can tell bulls players wanted this one bad but just couldn’t finish in the end.Magics size was an issue, defensively they were strong and they kept getting rebounds.

Billy for some reason continued to go small despite getting hammered by their size. Craig or Drummond should have been playing in crunch time.

Vuc had a really good game but once again his 3s weren’t falling. Demar was solid throughout but at the end he didn’t get it done, Magic defense pretty much shut him down and couldn’t do what he wanted. Coby got to be better, seems like he might be hurt not moving as fast as he usually is.

Not worried about Coby at all. This is like his first bad game in the last 10 or so. It’s an indictment of this roster that he is so integral to our success. No one expected it. In a way his great play has allowed our front office to remain delusional about staying the course.

[Red8911]

Well, at least Vuc showed that he’s still better than WCJ. Magic need an upgrade at C pretty bad.

Many posters even though quiet today are still convinced that Carter is far better than Vuc.

Carter wasn’t just a disappointment to the Bulls, the Magic don’t like him either and were looking to trade him. Honestly I don’t see him being a starter for too long especially if he leaves.

[WindyCityBorn]

Moral victory against a team built the right way.

How are they built right? They’re also in the middle of the standings.

5 games above .500 on the backs of players still on their rookie deals. Built on the assets acquired by trading their aging “star” at the right time. They will have the assets to seriously improve their roster going forward. You need more?

[Dan Z]

Well, at least Vuc showed that he’s still better than WCJ. Magic need an upgrade at C pretty bad.

Many posters even though quiet today are still convinced that Carter is far better than Vuc.

Carter wasn’t just a disappointment to the Bulls, the Magic don’t like him either and were looking to trade him. Honestly I don’t see him being a starter for too long especially if he leaves.

They can figure that out in the off season. Obviously, trading Vucevic to the Bulls was the right move.

[PaKii94]

Sucks that they lost to this damn team again. You can tell bulls players wanted this one bad but just couldn’t finish in the end.Magics size was an issue, defensively they were strong and they kept getting rebounds.

Billy for some reason continued to go small despite getting hammered by their size. Craig or Drummond should have been playing in crunch time.

Vuc had a really good game but once again his 3s weren’t falling. Demar was solid throughout but at the end he didn’t get it done, Magic defense pretty much shut him down and couldn’t do what he wanted. Coby got to be better, seems like he might be hurt not moving as fast as he usually is.

Vuc had a 50%TS. That's not a good game that's actively hurting the team.

[WindyCityBorn]

Well, at least Vuc showed that he’s still better than WCJ. Magic need an upgrade at C pretty bad.

Many posters even though quiet today are still convinced that Carter is far better than Vuc.

Carter wasn’t just a disappointment to the Bulls, the Magic don’t like him either and were looking to trade him. Honestly I don’t see him being a starter for too long especially if he leaves.

They can figure that out in the off season. Obviously, trading Vucevic to the Bulls was the right move.

Yep. Wagner on his own won the trade for Orlando. Carter was a throw-in compared to those two lottery picks.

[Dan Z]

Many posters even though quiet today are still convinced that Carter is far better than Vuc.

Carter wasn’t just a disappointment to the Bulls, the Magic don’t like him either and were looking to trade him. Honestly I don’t see him being a starter for too long especially if he leaves.

They can figure that out in the off season. Obviously, trading Vucevic to the Bulls was the right move.

Yep. Wagner on his own won the trade for Orlando. Carter was a throw-in compared to those two lottery picks.

I bet the Bulls and the Magic thought both those picks were going to be non-lottery picks, which makes me think that protections should've been better on them (at least the first one).

Oh well..at this point it is what it is. It's a big reason why the Magic are improving this year (overall...I know they've slumped at times).

[chitownsports4ever]

Sucks that they lost to this damn team again. You can tell bulls players wanted this one bad but just couldn’t finish in the end.Magics size was an issue, defensively they were strong and they kept getting rebounds.

Billy for some reason continued to go small despite getting hammered by their size. Craig or Drummond should have been playing in crunch time.

Vuc had a really good game but once again his 3s weren’t falling. Demar was solid throughout but at the end he didn’t get it done, Magic defense pretty much shut him down and couldn’t do what he wanted. Coby got to be better, seems like he might be hurt not moving as fast as he usually is.

Not worried about Coby at all. This is like his first bad game in the last 10 or so. It’s an indictment of this roster that he is so integral to our success. No one expected it. In a way his great play has allowed our front office to remain delusional about staying the course.

So its an indictment of the roster that the starting PG played well ?

That the starting PG who took 21 shots play well ?

Some of you are deep into your narrative bags tonight

[weneeda2guard]

Moral victory against a team built the right way.

How are they built right? They’re also in the middle of the standings.

5 games above .500 on the backs of players still on their rookie deals. Built on the assets acquired by trading their aging “star” at the right time. They will have the assets to seriously improve their roster going forward. You need more?

They are nothing more than another young team who will inevitably consolidate their assets and trade away a few of their young guys for a vet fringe star. Just like they all do. Just like we did before we traded for vuc. Remember how many writers were praising our young players?

Will almost bet Orlando adds more vets in the off season.

[BigUps]

This loss was an organization loss. That’s how I see it. From Billy’s inability to draw up a play, trades for players that have been resigned now, decisions that have kept the team treading water, etc.

It’s a micro example of the macro problem. One we will continue to see as long as AKME are here and stay under the tax.

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

Battling with playoff teams consistently and we are going to add PAW, a top 15 pick and LaVine. This team is going places.

A top 15 pick?

So to be clear, our “going places” team is either missing the playoffs or squeaking in with the worst record?

I was mostly referring to next year. Team is awkwardly built and needs re-arranged but has so much heart and talent. Then we add in 3 impact players. They are not fall off at all.

The awkwardness won’t go away this summer. Pat, DeMar and our best center will either walk or get paid market rate, the latter the Bulls would have to accomplish while staying under the tax. Not sure how that happens without attaching assets to our bad contracts (Vuc, Zach) or our dead money (Lonzo). And then we’re hoping the team’s alchemy is better than the last two seasons we’ve barely made the postseason and quickly flamed out.

There’s no reasonable basis for optimism unless you’re content to watch this team stretch to remain where it is.

[Dan Z]

How are they built right? They’re also in the middle of the standings.

5 games above .500 on the backs of players still on their rookie deals. Built on the assets acquired by trading their aging “star” at the right time. They will have the assets to seriously improve their roster going forward. You need more?

They are nothing more than another young team who will inevitably consolidate their assets and trade away a few of their young guys for a vet fringe star. Just like they all do. Just like we did before we traded for vuc. Remember how many writers were praising our young players?

Will almost bet Orlando adds more vets in the off season.

If the Magic trade for Vets they'll still base the team around their two best young players: Wagner and Banchero.

[Bullflip]

Bulls should have traded for Jonathan Isaac. Good defender who can rebound and shoot the 3

[weneeda2guard]

5 games above .500 on the backs of players still on their rookie deals. Built on the assets acquired by trading their aging “star” at the right time. They will have the assets to seriously improve their roster going forward. You need more?

They are nothing more than another young team who will inevitably consolidate their assets and trade away a few of their young guys for a vet fringe star. Just like they all do. Just like we did before we traded for vuc. Remember how many writers were praising our young players?

Will almost bet Orlando adds more vets in the off season.

If the Magic trade for Vets they'll still base the team around their two best young players: Wagner and Banchero.

Just like we based our team around our 2 best young players lavine and coby

Point is, their future is nothing but what we did and what all the young teams will do. So praising their position as if they are so far ahead of us makes no sense considering we were just them. Sometimes adding the players work i.e the t wolves , the kings. Sometimes it doesn't i.e Atlanta, Toronto, Charlotte and Houston. I find we get googly eyed over other situations when they really are not that much better than us. Orlando started hot but been falling apart lately. Just like Utah. We get tagged with the worst ran franchise because we don't want to give the Lakers our assets for their trash. Meanwhile if we could pay attention to the full picture, these other franchises are not doing too much better than us.

[WindyCityBorn]

Sucks that they lost to this damn team again. You can tell bulls players wanted this one bad but just couldn’t finish in the end.Magics size was an issue, defensively they were strong and they kept getting rebounds.

Billy for some reason continued to go small despite getting hammered by their size. Craig or Drummond should have been playing in crunch time.

Vuc had a really good game but once again his 3s weren’t falling. Demar was solid throughout but at the end he didn’t get it done, Magic defense pretty much shut him down and couldn’t do what he wanted. Coby got to be better, seems like he might be hurt not moving as fast as he usually is.

Not worried about Coby at all. This is like his first bad game in the last 10 or so. It’s an indictment of this roster that he is so integral to our success. No one expected it. In a way his great play has allowed our front office to remain delusional about staying the course.

So its an indictment of the roster that the starting PG played well ?

That the starting PG who took 21 shots play well ?

Some of you are deep into your narrative bags tonight

Still a mediocre team with no future no matter what narrative you choose. Everyone will turn on Coby when he gets his next contract and has no help.

[GoBlue72391]

Bulls should have traded for Jonathan Isaac. Good defender who can rebound and shoot the 3

He has a huge contract for his level of production, can't shoot worth a lick, and is one of the most injury prone players in the league.

Who would we have even traded for him that Orlando would want?

He'd be a great FA pickup on a contract similar to what Caruso's is, as he's the ideal guy to play next to Vuc, but at his price and with upcoming extensions for Demar, PWill, and Drummond it just wouldn't make sense.

[WindyCityBorn]

How are they built right? They’re also in the middle of the standings.

5 games above .500 on the backs of players still on their rookie deals. Built on the assets acquired by trading their aging “star” at the right time. They will have the assets to seriously improve their roster going forward. You need more?

They are nothing more than another young team who will inevitably consolidate their assets and trade away a few of their young guys for a vet fringe star. Just like they all do. Just like we did before we traded for vuc. Remember how many writers were praising our young players?

Will almost bet Orlando adds more vets in the off season.

Would you trade our situation for theirs? Yes or no?

[RSP83]

Sucks that they lost to this damn team again. You can tell bulls players wanted this one bad but just couldn’t finish in the end.Magics size was an issue, defensively they were strong and they kept getting rebounds.

This is where I feel it's also not fair to the players. Guys like Demar and Vuc feel they have enough, have that belief and mentality and just continue to try to push through. Others follow. You add your FO reinforcing this belief, the players will double down on their effort chasing a mirage. I'm actually amazed the players are still playing along (except Zach).

It's Billy's job to maximize the roster (which he may have exhausted all options and he has tactical competency limitation), it's AKME's job to improve the roster. The biggest issue now is the latter. AKME seems to take more of the player's view rather than the helicopter management view. They're playing the short game with little regards to the long game.

[WindyCityBorn]

5 games above .500 on the backs of players still on their rookie deals. Built on the assets acquired by trading their aging “star” at the right time. They will have the assets to seriously improve their roster going forward. You need more?

They are nothing more than another young team who will inevitably consolidate their assets and trade away a few of their young guys for a vet fringe star. Just like they all do. Just like we did before we traded for vuc. Remember how many writers were praising our young players?

Will almost bet Orlando adds more vets in the off season.

If the Magic trade for Vets they'll still base the team around their two best young players: Wagner and Banchero.

And Suggs could still make a major jump. He’s only 22. Anyone criticizing the Magic has to think we have a complete dumpster fire.