Post Game Thread: The Los Angeles Lakers defeat The Orlando Magic 106-103

39 comments

1. Davis and Russell came to play. Can chirp about a few no calls but this game is winnable if we play sharper. Proud of the team for toughing it out and taking it to the wire after a bad start.

2. Not even gonna blame the refs here. The officiating was horrible in the 1st quarter, but they werent the reason Paolo and Franz combined for 9/31 shooting.

   I say it all the time, but i will say it again. I love Suggs.

3. Well, that was disappointing. If I’m looking to the positive, Suggs and Gary are great.
   Also we had it close with most of our starters ice cold.

4. Shoutout Gary ofc and Fultz really got going in the second half. Not too worried about Paolo overall but the missed wide open 3 really killed whatever momentum we had. Suggs defence is amazing. Losses like this will happen, ofc I wish we won but it happens

5. Jalen Suggs is my new favorite, and once I figure out how to change my flair it will reflect that. The man cares, I almost started crying when I say him crying. I called it in the game thread.. close game, LA’s vets we’re gonna execute better than we were. AD was a monster, DLo reminded everyone he’s not a meme, and Lebron was the closer. Super disappointing Paolo game. Paolo or Franz needed to be out for Harris. Needed Fultz’s playmaking, Suggs hustle and D, and Harris’ shooting. Did not need 2 below average shooters out there in Paolo and Franz. The shooting is clearly still a problem. Lakers packed paint the last 5 min. Love you Suggs. Everyone else, go work on your shooting.

6. We played the rockets and the blazers, felt cute, then ran into lebron James and Anthony Davis. Davis made Wendell look helpless in the paint. This is unfortunately where we show our inexperience as a team. Further along we get in the season the more we win against teams like this.

   Unfortunately, second night of a back to back I’m not optimistic about winning the next one either but we are way better than we were last season.

7. I’m happy we have Jett/ AB to replace Ingles, because he’s done absolutely nothing for three games. Goga played 1 minute too and did nothing, which was disappointing but at least he’ll probably do 1 minute spurts max.

8. -Laker whistles are just a whole different sport, never changes

   -Suggs is a fucking winner

   -Paolo playing center for team USA was awful for his development?

   -Gary has to be in the game at the end

   -JI is either healthy or he isn’t. If he is, you’ve gotta say fuck it and put him on AD when Wendell is getting cooked

9. Bad play calling at the end plus Paolo and Franz playing terrible. Should have won that.

10. Damn this sub is quickly changing their opinion on Paolo. Been saying this for a week, but he needs to get his ass in the gym next offseason and put in work and become a respectable shooter. He is never going to be a closer for us with below average jump shooting and abysmal ft shooting. I genuinely think this guy is gonna go from ROTY to averaging 15/7 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

11. Some of our fanbase need to chill… We lost 1 game out of 3 (our first real challenge).. We will lose more games this year, BUT we have already seen how much potential this team has through the start of this season…

    Games like this will only build our young teams experience and harden us in the long run.. Let’s get behind the players and support their efforts and growth (because they need it and they are already doing their best on the floor)..!

12. I think i’ve decided the Magic are my second team since the blazers suck. There’s also a lot of Washington connection (where I live). I thought there was some major home cooking going on with the refs tonight. Absolutely nothing to be worried about from the Magic perspective, they played great and just typical Laker home game bullshit tbh.

13. 5/5 Gary and not on court for last possession is INSANE.
    & The ref made it so obvious on the 4th qtr, then again it’s @ Lakers.

    They obviously slack off Fultz and Paolo isn’t playing well… smh Mosley.

    Suggs got the DAAAAWG. Somehow he reminds me of Alex Caruso.

14. Tough start for Paolo’s sophomore season good news this is only the 3rd game of the season and he will only get better.

    Franz has got to work on his last possesion shots man. Going for a contested three over Lebron a couple of steps behind the 3pt line aint it.

15. ALSO Why the fuck are we playing Joe Ingles 90 year old ass when we have young players who actually can shoot just chilling on the bench (Jett)

16. Poor shooting night, unfortunately. We’ll get em next time.

17. This was a game

18. I love Suggs. Kinda reminds me of Darrell Armstrong with how active he looks out there. He’s gonna be good.

19. I love this team, but I’m upset we didn’t take advantage of being in the penalty in the 4th. I’m excited about this season, but this is one we should’ve won.

20. Tough nights for all our biggest players, only Harris had much to offer tonight.

    We got 79 more games to figure out the rotation so I’m not too bothered by the minutes allocations. Lots of time to experiment.

21. i’m in so much pain omg

22. Tonight I have to say was on poor rotations and play calling. Everyone but Harris was cold and he didn’t close the game nor were many plays ran for him. Makes no sense. Paolo is playing very poorly as well. He’s ice cold. Might just be all the international play but we need him to wake up if we want to make a serious run every night

23. People may think I’m crazy but paolo has to shoot more what I mean is actual jumpshots obviously tonight he sucked especially in the clutch but long term paolos game will unlock if teams have to respect his jump shots that doesn’t mean just from 3 but more mid range pull ups post fades etc.. right now he’s just driving to the basket and praying for a foul teams are just packing the paint and daring him to shoot anything and he has zero confidence in his shot so he’s passing it off or taking a half hearted shot that’s not going in.

24. Need better production from Banchero.

    Especially when guys like Lebron show up.

    Also seems like Gary was the hot hand.

25. This game broke my illusion. Guess we are a playin team at best.

26. Well fought game, honestly. Shame they couldn’t hold on to the lead they held for so long. It would be great if our players can always be in tune and snap out of the cold at any moment’s notice. Time will come our best players can just “do it” like KD, Lebron, AD, Curry, Giannis, etc. They’ll find the notes and rhythm for their piece, coaching included too.

    young buck like these guys will be able to do the right thing one day –reference to an old nba 2k voiceover.

27. Suggs is a franchise player. This guy is such a competitor, and he takes losses extremely hard. Not the first time we see Suggs get emotional after a loss. The guy wants to be great, wants to impact winning, wants to compete at the highest. He is going to change this teams dynasty as a leader on court, momentum bringer and defensive engine. He just needs to keep working on his crafts but he will get there, I truly see that X-gene that separates players. Suggs will continue to develop until he cant anymore, and we are in for a fun ride throughout his development.

    Also WENDELL IS NOT A CENTER. I have been saying this for 3 years. I hope yall finally see what I am trying to say. He is not what most would call a center, and its not because of his height, others are shorter than him that I would consider centers like Bam. Its that he doesn’t help defend correct, isn’t a real rim deterrent, cant play drop coverage, cant stop PNR’s, is best used as a POA defender and big man stopper but really a help defender, isn’t that efficient as a rim protector, is an ok rebounder most nights but generally he can be out rebounded, his offensive game is reliant on PNR’s and shooting from corner, things I associate with PFs (see John Collins).

    Yes Wendell, is a bit flat footed and heavy for a regular PF but I honestly think he is closer to that than a Center and he needs to lose a bit of weight. He was more flexible and agile once he first got to this team, they are trying to make him a center and it looks like he is bulking to match up with other centers but its taking away some of what made Wendell fantastic the first 2 years, and its what makes me think he is a weakness these last 2. Wendell is not a center. I rather him go on the bench and bring in a real center. I really wanted this team to use all the money we had in cap for Vuc, and after that didn’t work I really wanted Orlando to pursue the trade for Ayton (something that was easily matchable to what the Suns got). Somebody that can play drop coverage, hold a zone, and also rebound. Spacing is just a plus. Both Ayton and Vuc, I honestly think are better synergistic and cohesive fits for the rest of the SL and also would have risen this team to a real new level. Wendell isnt terrible I just dont think he is a center and that will forever be a weakness for this team. I said it before I think he was a top 10 PF 2 years ago, the year he had Mo as his center. But for some reason Mosley and Wendell are fixated on him being a center despite looking better as a PF, looking more flexible and comfortable (in my eyes but he knows his game better) as a PF. I even think he had better numbers and averages as a PF but the Magic were tanking but individually Wendell was an elite PF that year. Then we decided to change everything, drop Mo, put in a tanker like BB, a lot of very weird and to me counterproductive moves (fire Mosley seriously).

    I also honestly think AB, Jett, and Caleb would have brought something to this game. I don’t think Joe has helped at all these 3 games, and I don’t mean just because he hasn’t scored. I do understand he is getting assists, but I truly think he is not only replaceable, but I think he is a net negative. His style is slower, he doesn’t cut, and clearly he isnt always on teh same page. I would have rather seen a foul drawer in AB get minutes, a secondary playmaker, and also hot scorer in AB get minutes, or the 3&D Caleb get minutes, all of them have positives that would have helped the second unit over what Joe brings.

    Paolo is struggling, which I called because he played on the USA squad that had him off role. Everybody talking about Paolo in the future being a center, the guy is not a center. He is a forward. He needs to get back in that mindset. I wouldn’t hate him trying a few minutes since I think he may give something Wendell cant at the C but I really think the Magic need to find a real center like Mo Bamba to hold that position.

    This game wasn’t the best, alot of mistakes from everybody. Mosley had 2 days off, and time to prepare for the Lakers but the team still looked unprepared. Its not even about hitting shots. I just don’t think they were prepared and came out sloppy. Thats half coaching and half on the players. I really don’t understand how Mose gets 0 blame for these years of tanking, in which we see these types of games often. Its not because the Magic are young, or its not solely because they are young, other young teams don’t always start the games so sloppy, don’t always have these types of just bad TOs, the Magic have a great team that can win against anybody imo but so often it feels like mid game adjustments, timeout usage, player usage and options, are all just not optimal. Mosley didn’t even seem to draw up a good play to end the game, it was just a long pass to Franz with 0 movement, no screens, and Franz is pretty deep from 3 line. Winnable games so often slip from this teams hands and I can only blame coaching. I like Mosley I really do, I understand players gotta come out ready also, and hit shots, but I do feel often he is outcoached mid game. So often Mosley allows guys to just fire random shots, Markelle took like 4 mid range shots back to back to back to back and missed, Suggs was a chucker a few games already, Cole started to iso sometime in clutch moments in the 4th in the last 4 mins with 0 other teammates involved it happened like 3 times in a row, just no play calling or direction from these guys. This is like year 4, Mosley gotta be better by now imo.

28. This was the most frustrating loss I’ve had in a long time with this team… despite poor officiating, we still had the game won. Paolo and Franz disappeared in the fourth, Markelle didn’t, Suggs played his ass off and he’s a future 1st team NBA defender. Same old story: poor shooting and bad decision making at the end cost us a win. Paolo seriously is concerning because he’s been very poor these first few games. Average against Portland and not good at all against Lakers. He also played badly against the Lakers last season too, maybe lights are too bright. We need him to be better if we want to be a playoff team which I think we definitely can be, because we are better than last season by a mile

29. 9-31 from your two best players is no way to win games.

    Hopefully us playing tomorrow night will get our minds right so we can play better. This Clippers team has been playing lights out at Staples. It’s only two games and against the Spurs and Blazers, but they have a full lineup and are going to be one of the better teams this year.

30. Can you please not put the score in the post game thread?

31. Hard fought game, tough loss but really proud to be a fan of this team. United as one

32. I’m here for the over reactions

33. I don’t know what’s more frustrating as a fan that was at the game. Our top two guys having poor shooting nights or the fact that I was sitting next to two Germans visiting LA that were cheering for the Lakers and not Orlando.

34. * The ball movement sucked, and when it didn’t – the magic couldn’t hit shots.
    * Paolo was the worst player on the floor. Nothing went well for him except his assists, and we were better when he was off the floor. He needs to work through his struggles.
    * Franz couldn’t shoot. His D was solid, and he made some nice passes at least, but if him and Paolo (our best players) look like this we are lottery bound.
    * JI looked really good. He chucked some bad looks, but his D looked great and he moved nice. Big positive!
    * Suggs started horribly, but played through it with extreme intensity. His passion burned us on the last play, but he did amazing things to even get the team in position for a close game. He plays harder than anyone, and he’s a legit starter!
    * Garry Harris looked great on offense, deserves more minutes, and yet coach sat him on the bench.
    * Cole deserved more time. He needs to work on his D, but overall he’s our best pure scorer.
    * Fultz does everything well so he deserves time, but I’m really hoping he battles through his broken shot. He’s talented and makes great plays, but his shot looks awful.
    * No offense to Ingles, but he shouldn’t be getting minutes in a close game like this IMO. Cole and Harris deserved more time. Even Black could have been good to try against DRussel. Mo played hard, but he probably got too many minutes too.
    * WCJ got owned by AD. He’s a huge part of the team and a great player, but it was a bad matchup. He had some great plays.

35. I know Ingles is getting a lot of crap, but I find it it ridiculous that we aren’t even trying to get him shots from three. That’s like the one thing he’s good at, he’s historically one of the best three point shooters in NBA history but we just use him as a secondary ball handler off the bench.

    If we insist on giving him minutes, draw something up for him to get threes. The fact he didn’t shoot a single three tonight is ridiculous.

36. Anyone else not feeling satisfied with WCJ? Obviously AD is AD, but I want someone kinda like that. Go get blocks/rebounds and own the damn paint

37. P5 will work through it. He’s got the tools just needs to get his head sorted. Had plenty of opportunities to hit the paint hard but pulled up and passed or second guessed.
    He probably only needs to be given the green light by coach to take control and his confidence will return.
    P5 is trying to work hard for his teammates setting screens and even just going and propping up in the corner to create space.
    Hopefully soon he switches from that mentality and focuses more on his individual game where he can be the dominant force.
    Can clearly see this young team is still figuring it all out, each guard getting their minutes and a chance to make plays and score.
    By mid season they should have it all figured out. We don’t want these smaller guards driving up the paint and getting bullied, that job is for Paolo, Franz, WCJ, Moe, JI. The guards need to space it for them.
    Was hard watching AD own WCJ but there was no support for Wendall, JI needs more minutes to support and help protect the paint and P5 needs to get in there and throw his big body around.
    All will come in time, great start to the season…

38. Harden just got traded to the Clippers, looks like they may be short some bodies tomorrow night depending on who got traded.

39. just wanna say magic will make the playoffs this year