2024 NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 1: (5) Orlando Magic at (4) Cleveland Cavaliers

[Knightro]

Trae makes 43, 46, and 49 mil the next 3 years and will take 4+ picks and possibly AB and Jett to land him. He is just wildly overrated by his FO. Most hardcore nba fans get it but the Atlanta Hawks’ FO is delusional.

I suspect it will take less. We shall see though.

[Optimus_Steel]

Weltman has been here 7 years and has been completely incapable of adding 3-point shooting (really any shooting) to this team.

He totally blew the 2023 draft. We didn't need more 20-year-old rookies, but he drafted two of them anyway. Worse, neither is good enough to even make the rotation, even though Orlando has the absolute worst backcourt in the NBA (and second-worst isn't close). He should've traded the picks to address obvious weaknesses on this roster. Now we have two stiffs who probably don't even have much trade value (certainly not as much value as they had as numbers 6 and 11 on draft night).

Then he let the trade deadline pass despite having several expiring contracts and guys on rookie deals, in additional to future firsts. He's never added a top-tier free agent, so this summer's cap space is useless. It just feels like all windows have closed while he sat on his hands.

How is this summer free agency useless??? Some of these takes lol. Black has shown things so he is clearly not a stiff. We haven’t seen Jett in real minutes so we don’t know. Now that they’ve seen the team is competitive they will be aggressive.

[KillMonger]

Weltman has been here 7 years and has been completely incapable of adding 3-point shooting (really any shooting) to this team.

He totally blew the 2023 draft. We didn't need more 20-year-old rookies, but he drafted two of them anyway. Worse, neither is good enough to even make the rotation, even though Orlando has the absolute worst backcourt in the NBA (and second-worst isn't close). He should've traded the picks to address obvious weaknesses on this roster. Now we have two stiffs who probably don't even have much trade value (certainly not as much value as they had as numbers 6 and 11 on draft night).

Then he let the trade deadline pass despite having several expiring contracts and guys on rookie deals, in additional to future firsts. He's never added a top-tier free agent, so this summer's cap space is useless. It just feels like all windows have closed while he sat on his hands.

How is this summer free agency useless??? Some of these takes lol. Black has shown things so he is clearly not a stiff. We haven’t seen Jett in real minutes so we don’t know. Now that they’ve seen the team is competitive they will be aggressive.

People want instant gratification, we're spoiled with paolo and Franz and forget that most rooks take years to develop

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[Driguez]

Idk I think Isaac should stay coming off the bench for the rest of this season.

Our defense was not the problem. JI helped us so much with that. Our problem is shooting. We need 2 or 3 players to step up and help us knock down shots.

Absolutely but I think we benefit more having him with our second unit. It's worked through the season. He can close the game with the starters.

[Fortune Teller]

Weltman has been here 7 years and has been completely incapable of adding 3-point shooting (really any shooting) to this team.

He totally blew the 2023 draft. We didn't need more 20-year-old rookies, but he drafted two of them anyway. Worse, neither is good enough to even make the rotation, even though Orlando has the absolute worst backcourt in the NBA (and second-worst isn't close). He should've traded the picks to address obvious weaknesses on this roster. Now we have two stiffs who probably don't even have much trade value (certainly not as much value as they had as numbers 6 and 11 on draft night).

Then he let the trade deadline pass despite having several expiring contracts and guys on rookie deals, in additional to future firsts. He's never added a top-tier free agent, so this summer's cap space is useless. It just feels like all windows have closed while he sat on his hands.

How is this summer free agency useless??? Some of these takes lol. Black has shown things so he is clearly not a stiff. We haven’t seen Jett in real minutes so we don’t know. Now that they’ve seen the team is competitive they will be aggressive.

Ok, forget about our opinions, if Coach Mosley thought Black and Jett had any ability to help, don't you think they would get some minutes? I don't think it's asking too much for your lottery picks to AT LEAST be good enough to make the rotation. They don't have to make the all-rookie team, just make the freaking rotation. Mosley watches these guys practice every day and his opinion is that they aren't better than Fultz, Anthony, Suggs and Harris (who were 4-33 combined from the floor today, 1-16 from three). I think it's fair to say they're not very good.

Summer free agency is useless if your GM is too timid to make a move. The sample size is large enough and Welt has had cap space before. I wouldn't expect much.

[ChosenSavior]

Wish Monday was here already. I'm ready for Game 2. Saw Paolo's post game interview along with Coach Mose and I do feel we will play better. Whether that leads to win or not, who knows but we still have a great shot to tie this series.

[Bensational]

lol I don’t know. Defense would definitely be weaker and he really isn’t the greatest shooter honestly. Depends how much he would get to the line and if he can control his TOs.

Hot take: if the Magic make a PG addition in the offseason it won't look pretty to start next season. I think it's going to take Paolo some time to learn how to fit with another playmaker and play off them. Franz and the C probably stand to benefit the most from the addition, while Paolo might take a dip in production and efficiency - and people will turn on Paolo very quickly as a result.

I don’t know man, it could also make his life easier. Regardless, it’s obvious that help is needed at the guard positions. They definitely need a pg and they need a creator, if they can find a pg that can create that would be ideal. This team can’t go anywhere without these improvements therefore Paolo will have to adjust if it does affect his game. As i believe that Paolo will be a superstar I don’t think it will affect his game too much.

I’m not saying there wouldn’t be benefits and improvements, like I said, Franz and the C should see upticks. Paolo probably benefits most individually by having a better version of Harris on the court to help space and convert open looks.

[KillMonger]

Weltman has been here 7 years and has been completely incapable of adding 3-point shooting (really any shooting) to this team.

He totally blew the 2023 draft. We didn't need more 20-year-old rookies, but he drafted two of them anyway. Worse, neither is good enough to even make the rotation, even though Orlando has the absolute worst backcourt in the NBA (and second-worst isn't close). He should've traded the picks to address obvious weaknesses on this roster. Now we have two stiffs who probably don't even have much trade value (certainly not as much value as they had as numbers 6 and 11 on draft night).

Then he let the trade deadline pass despite having several expiring contracts and guys on rookie deals, in additional to future firsts. He's never added a top-tier free agent, so this summer's cap space is useless. It just feels like all windows have closed while he sat on his hands.

How is this summer free agency useless??? Some of these takes lol. Black has shown things so he is clearly not a stiff. We haven’t seen Jett in real minutes so we don’t know. Now that they’ve seen the team is competitive they will be aggressive.

Ok, forget about our opinions, if Coach Mosley thought Black and Jett had any ability to help, don't you think they would get some minutes? I don't think it's asking too much for your lottery picks to AT LEAST be good enough to make the rotation. They don't have to make the all-rookie team, just make the freaking rotation. Mosley watches these guys practice every day and his opinion is that they aren't better than Fultz, Anthony, Suggs and Harris (who were 4-33 combined from the floor today, 1-16 from three). I think it's fair to say they're not very good.

Summer free agency is useless if your GM is too timid to make a move. The sample size is large enough and Welt has had cap space before. I wouldn't expect much.

Flawed logic imo to think it's that simple.... We won 9 games in a row with AB and Goga.... They really didn't play themselves out of the lineup and sure as hell didn't play themselves into getting DNPs so how do you explain that? Dell and kelle wasn't particularly playing well before they both got injured so..... I think mose has things set in his mind and that's just what it's going to be......otherwise you can't explain how you say you're not going to be giving minutes anymore they have to "earn" it.... They earn the minutes by playing well in the actual games but they have to sit because hypothetically they get outplayed in practice? That makes sense to you? To me the simple logic is just politics

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[ibraheim718]

Look the playoffs are about game to game adjustments.. Mosley has to adjust, period. For those of you that think it won't matter you should just stop watching the series now. He HAS to try some different things i.e. lineups and rotations.

[Bensational]

Clearly moving the narrative... Again, if you put up a poll here and ask who is the better offensive player between Black or Harris or Black against Cole and you know damn well how those polls are going to look. No question...

And again... EVERYONE outside of Paolo was terrible offensively... Should we bench everyone and put in Houstan, Goga, Black, Chuma, and Schofield? Takes like this for a young team in their first playoff road game (first playoff game in totality) Should be a bit more centered. They looked scared, they looked rattled, and they looked inexperienced.

People here are already screaming to shorten up the rotation. Now we want to place in more young guys with no experience in a playoff situation who are more likely to lose their composure and make more mistakes with the core young guys they're already running who to are struggling and making their share of mistakes. That logic does not breed success AT ALL...

They are thinking about the future... but I think unfortunately a lot of you guys are in denial that guys like Black might not be apart of it. This team is in extreme need of veteran shooters, scorers, and hybrid playmaking/shooting. Black is more of a connector piece that fits none of those needs the Magic have.

Imagine writing that much in defense of a collective 0-17 performance from 3 guards in 57 minutes of court time.

[eyriq]

How is this summer free agency useless??? Some of these takes lol. Black has shown things so he is clearly not a stiff. We haven’t seen Jett in real minutes so we don’t know. Now that they’ve seen the team is competitive they will be aggressive.

Ok, forget about our opinions, if Coach Mosley thought Black and Jett had any ability to help, don't you think they would get some minutes? I don't think it's asking too much for your lottery picks to AT LEAST be good enough to make the rotation. They don't have to make the all-rookie team, just make the freaking rotation. Mosley watches these guys practice every day and his opinion is that they aren't better than Fultz, Anthony, Suggs and Harris (who were 4-33 combined from the floor today, 1-16 from three). I think it's fair to say they're not very good.

Summer free agency is useless if your GM is too timid to make a move. The sample size is large enough and Welt has had cap space before. I wouldn't expect much.

Flawed logic imo to think it's that simple.... We won 9 games in a row with AB and Goga.... They really didn't play themselves out of the lineup and sure as hell didn't play themselves into getting DNPs so how do you explain that? Dell and kelle wasn't particularly playing well before they both got injured so..... I think mose has things set in his mind and that's just what it's going to be......otherwise you can't explain how you say you're not going to be giving minutes anymore they have to "earn" it.... They earn the minutes by playing well in the actual games but they have to sit because hypothetically they get outplayed in practice? That makes sense to you? To me the simple logic is just politics

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Bingo. Somehow it's a decision focused on locker room vibes and some "believe" narrative around a "we've been building this" mantra. It is a minor miracle Mosley has this young team winning so I give him the benefit of the doubt, but it definitely isn't based on oncourt production.

[Bensational]

lol I don’t know. Defense would definitely be weaker and he really isn’t the greatest shooter honestly. Depends how much he would get to the line and if he can control his TOs.

Hot take: if the Magic make a PG addition in the offseason it won't look pretty to start next season. I think it's going to take Paolo some time to learn how to fit with another playmaker and play off them. Franz and the C probably stand to benefit the most from the addition, while Paolo might take a dip in production and efficiency - and people will turn on Paolo very quickly as a result.

How?

Paolo can play more in the post and face up attack situations mid range.

Paolo doesn’t need to be handling the ball like a PG…..

He’s not a PG….

Yet we still don’t have one that can play off Paolo in the post/midrange post where Paolo can attack and they have to double or he has a guy or two to kick out that can knock it down or swing it to the corner for a capable corner shooter.

He’s going to have to develop that part of his game anyway so it’s probably worth dealing with the growing pains now. He just hasn’t shown much aptitude in trying to find those opportunities now. We tried it for the first 4 games of the season and he was terrible and we never went back to it after that (coincided with Fultz getting injured).

Part of me wonders if Paolo has a better chance of developing a baby Jokic game, but he’s just too slow reading defenses and making passes for that right now. He doesn’t really have a guy he has a 2-man game with like Joker/Murray, or even Joker/AG. If he could unlock that it could be just as valuable as a PG upgrade that puts Paolo in position to create closer to the hoop.

[MasterGMer]

Let's see how the team responds second game. Very important game.

[MagicMatic]

Weltman has been here 7 years and has been completely incapable of adding 3-point shooting (really any shooting) to this team.

He totally blew the 2023 draft. We didn't need more 20-year-old rookies, but he drafted two of them anyway. Worse, neither is good enough to even make the rotation, even though Orlando has the absolute worst backcourt in the NBA (and second-worst isn't close). He should've traded the picks to address obvious weaknesses on this roster. Now we have two stiffs who probably don't even have much trade value (certainly not as much value as they had as numbers 6 and 11 on draft night).

Then he let the trade deadline pass despite having several expiring contracts and guys on rookie deals, in additional to future firsts. He's never added a top-tier free agent, so this summer's cap space is useless. It just feels like all windows have closed while he sat on his hands.

I agree with half of this.

First, yeah… Weltman and Co. sit on their hands WAY too much thinking that there is this golden window of opportunity to acquire everything this team so badly needs all at once. Why they haven’t done this in a step by step process blows my mind. There were MULTIPLE guys today that just had zero business on the floor. Carter is supposedly a starter and plays like he’s 6’5 on defense.

I’ve said it before that they haven’t BUILT around their core once in subsequent windows. The idea that your longer tenured role players fall into place around your more recently drafted core is just mind numbingly dumb for a number of reasons. Now, this isn’t ALL needing to be addressed at once, but rolling everyone out there and expecting better results with NO additions whatsoever is ridiculously stupid assuming they want to be in the playoffs “gaining experience”. Those deadlines and offseason came and went with nothing addressed.

Where I disagree is the analysis on the rookies. For whatever reason, Mosely thought it was a better investment to play guys that will/should not be here next season (Fultz and Gary Harris) over guys that are absolutely going to be here (Black and Howard).

Today’s game was a great example of WHY that decision is dumb. Not only are you not giving them so-called “valuable experience”, but your justification for forgoing that decision resulted in worse results. You don’t get worse than 0 points and bad decision making. I don’t get how other posters here are attempting to justify this. The game just spoke for itself and frankly has been the last few weeks.

[JF5]

Clearly moving the narrative... Again, if you put up a poll here and ask who is the better offensive player between Black or Harris or Black against Cole and you know damn well how those polls are going to look. No question...

And again... EVERYONE outside of Paolo was terrible offensively... Should we bench everyone and put in Houstan, Goga, Black, Chuma, and Schofield? Takes like this for a young team in their first playoff road game (first playoff game in totality) Should be a bit more centered. They looked scared, they looked rattled, and they looked inexperienced.

People here are already screaming to shorten up the rotation. Now we want to place in more young guys with no experience in a playoff situation who are more likely to lose their composure and make more mistakes with the core young guys they're already running who to are struggling and making their share of mistakes. That logic does not breed success AT ALL...

They are thinking about the future... but I think unfortunately a lot of you guys are in denial that guys like Black might not be apart of it. This team is in extreme need of veteran shooters, scorers, and hybrid playmaking/shooting. Black is more of a connector piece that fits none of those needs the Magic have.

Imagine writing that much in defense of a collective 0-17 performance from 3 guards in 57 minutes of court time.

Imagine not being able to write a logical reply

So I'd like to ask again... everyone outside of Paolo should be benched for giving nothing today, right?

Should we run the deep bench more next game?

Also, is Anthony Black a better offensive player than Gary Harris and Cole Anthony?

[Bergmaniac]

Black getting minutes would be nice since Fultz is done and these minutes would be great for his development, but I doubt he'd make much difference, he's been out of the rotation for too long and still pretty raw.

A bad as Cole was, we need to play him since him getting hot is one of the very few plausable roads to a good offensive performance in the playoffs against a good team for us.

[KillMonger]

Black getting minutes would be nice since Fultz is done and these minutes would be great for his development, but I doubt he'd make much difference, he's been out of the rotation for too long and still pretty raw.

A bad as Cole was, we need to play him since him getting hot is one of the very few plausable roads to a good offensive performance in the playoffs against a good team for us.

The problem is that AB should've never STOPPED playing.... He earned the minutes and didn't play bad enough to be played off the floor or to rack up DNPs... It was decision based off trust and not production on the floor

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[RookieStar]

Alright... I didnt watch it live and all.. gotta say, guard production was abysmal.

[KillMonger]

Sometimes the answer is staring you in the face... Season before this one, we go on a streak, no markelle and Dell....This season we go on another streak, no markelle and Dell..... I mean

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[Bergmaniac]

Black getting minutes would be nice since Fultz is done and these minutes would be great for his development, but I doubt he'd make much difference, he's been out of the rotation for too long and still pretty raw.

A bad as Cole was, we need to play him since him getting hot is one of the very few plausable roads to a good offensive performance in the playoffs against a good team for us.

The problem is that AB should've never STOPPED playing.... He earned the minutes and didn't play bad enough to be played off the floor or to rack up DNPs... It was decision based off trust and not production on the floor

I agree with this, obviously, I've complained a lot about the absurdity of taking away Black's minutes and giving them to Fultz who looks finished and there is 95% chance he won't be here next season, but we can't change the past.