Magic (9-20) at Celtics (22-7) Game#30 12/16/22

[Csfan1984]

Interesting game. Some things I noticed
-Little worried the bench is falling apart these last games, especially Grant. They have zero confidence.
-Think using length and matchup hunting was good for the Magic. The man in the dunkers spot just feasted on rebounds against our guards. This was actually a game for double bigs since the length of Magic was on full display.
-Refs did assist Magic more but they were the aggressors.
-Tatum and Brown had very soft games till it was too late to comeback. They both struggle to have a sense of urgency too often.
- Two biggest issues were rebounding and shooting. They were terrible at both tonight.

Not sure if something happened on the west coast trip or they are tired. This team is starting to regress. They just don't play as hard/fast.

[ozgod]

Dismal loss it looks like. Just got home from dinner and it looks like this won’t be a fun one to watch on DVR 

[jpotter33]

Another thing that irked me - seemed like the perfect game to go big, especially getting Timelord back, too. Yet Joe stayed small, and ended up doing so most of the night. That killed us, especially with going small not paying dividends with extra shooting.

[Yuckabuck33]

I’m sorry to be a prisoner of the moment, but if there is a positive trade out there for Derrick White, it should strongly be considered. He’s continually demonstrated he’s a shrinking violet when the team needs him to step up.

Besides Jaylen (and Pritchard?), everyone on this team is a shrinking violet when they need to step up.
Including Joe.

[GetLucky]

Another thing that irked me - seemed like the perfect game to go big, especially getting Timelord back, too. Yet Joe stayed small, and ended up doing so most of the night. That killed us, especially with going small not paying dividends with extra shooting.

I think this was much tougher once Horford got ejected. I think Joe tried it, but Kornet got cooked in the first half, as did Blake in the second. Grant was ice cold and is small anyway. Timelord was great, but he was on a clear 4-5 minutes per quarter restriction. Tough to go big when all those factors are at play.

(I actually liked the C's defense tonight, a lot of flukey long rebounds didn't go their way, but they defended the first shot reasonably well for most of the night.)

[SparzWizard]

Think many of the good teams are going through some bad patches right now. Bucks lost to the Rockets and got dismantled by the Grizz. C's getting slapped around 3 of their last 4 games. Need to win next game.

[Yuckabuck33]

brogdon may have hit that 3 but Timelord had an easy dunk and should have taken it

It’s infuriating right? He passed the ball while he was two feet away from a dunk.

I don't understand this. Three is more than two. Why was he wrong there?

because Timelord had an easy dunk for a guaranteed 2 but he passed it out for 3 on a night when this team can't throw it in the ocean.

Bamba was in front of him. Give the guy a break. He’s coming from a serious injury and probably had second thoughts about going strong for the dunk. And yes, his decision to pass proved to be a great play.

Bamba wasn't in front of him.  had a clear pass to Brogdon.  Timelord was right under the basket.   even if he doesn't dunk, he's got a clear layup

If i remember right, Bamba and another guy were within Rob’s vicinity and could have challenged him. As I said earlier, Rob probably didn’t feel comfortable going up for that shot for some reason (maybe because he’s coming off a major injury) , and he made a great pass which resulted in three points. I guess let’s just agree to disagree on this.

You're correct, there was a second defender there after Rob faked Bamba.
The idea that you have to go for the sure two comes from the 80s when 3 pointers were considered very risky. But, statistically whether they were missing 3s earlier has no effect on whether the next shot goes in. In fact, regression to the mean says that Brogdon's 3 had more of a chance to go in. Timelord did the right thing.

[DocomoCelts]

Watch the Magic take Sunday's game, and then things get real interesting for Mazzulla and his new coach bounce.

Cs better hope Rob gets back into the flow quickly as their defence has been awful.

[RockinRyA]

Interesting game. Some things I noticed
-Little worried the bench is falling apart these last games, especially Grant. They have zero confidence.
-Think using length and matchup hunting was good for the Magic. The man in the dunkers spot just feasted on rebounds against our guards. This was actually a game for double bigs since the length of Magic was on full display.
-Refs did assist Magic more but they were the aggressors.
-Tatum and Brown had very soft games till it was too late to comeback. They both struggle to have a sense of urgency too often.
- Two biggest issues were rebounding and shooting. They were terrible at both tonight.

Not sure if something happened on the west coast trip or they are tired. This team is starting to regress. They just don't play as hard/fast.

I agree with your observations. Vs the magic they need to play double bigs, problem is rob is on a restriction and Al got himself kicked out. Smart has been wanting to push the pace and he's right. I think the problem is when Brogdon brings the ball up, its a bit slow imho. Its not that we dont want him calling the plays, but he's usually with white, why not let white bring the ball up so we can get into the sets faster. Then brogdon can start probing the defense when the initial options die down.

We also have a lot of easy shots that missed, not just threes but twos as well. And the magic hit some tough shots that were well defended. I think our positioning  during rebounding is key. We dont need everyone inside the paint. How many times the magic got the ball off long offensive boards coz every C was inside.

[RockinRyA]

11/46 from 3 with poor defense.

46 3-pointers ? Are you kidding me ?
Does Mazulla not see that they are missing 3's all night - maybe a change in offensive strategy is in order mid-game ?
What do you think Joe ?  I don't see this guy coaching us to a championship.

3s were the shots that was open. Magic were loading up the paint. And the threes were wide wide open. Like several of them are practice threes. Only time we have success going to the rim were when rob or al was in the game because the magic are afraid to leave them for the dump. But  rob is on a kinutes restriction and al was ejected. Those kornet minutes killed us today. Btw, mazz was calling timeouts, didnt do a thing.

[Birdman]

Team with height is are downfall..that’s why I think Milwaukee are favorites in my eyes

[RockinRyA]

Team with height is are downfall..that’s why I think Milwaukee are favorites in my eyes

Not necessarily height but a team with size and length at the wing spots have given us trouble lately (GSW, Clippers)

I wont worry much about teams with double bigs once Rob and Al can play together for long minutes again.

[Surferdad]

Team with height is are downfall..that’s why I think Milwaukee are favorites in my eyes

Not necessarily height but a team with size and length at the wing spots have given us trouble lately (GSW, Clippers)

I wont worry much about teams with double bigs once Rob and Al can play together for long minutes again.

Who would that be on Orlando? Cole Anthony is short yet he went off to put the game away, sometimes while being guarded by Tatum.

[RockinRyA]

Team with height is are downfall..that’s why I think Milwaukee are favorites in my eyes

Not necessarily height but a team with size and length at the wing spots have given us trouble lately (GSW, Clippers)

I wont worry much about teams with double bigs once Rob and Al can play together for long minutes again.

Who would that be on Orlando? Cole Anthony is short yet he went off to put the game away, sometimes while being guarded by Tatum.

Banchero, wagner. Both are bigger than tatum and brown. Also Im not gonna take much out of this game. If we play them 10 games we will win 8 or 9, esp with a healthy rob and al who didnt get ejected. You can see luke and blake lineups arent really working as of late.

[Csfan1984]

Team with height is are downfall..that’s why I think Milwaukee are favorites in my eyes

Not necessarily height but a team with size and length at the wing spots have given us trouble lately (GSW, Clippers)

I wont worry much about teams with double bigs once Rob and Al can play together for long minutes again.

Who would that be on Orlando? Cole Anthony is short yet he went off to put the game away, sometimes while being guarded by Tatum.

Both Wagners, and Banchero were threats all game long. Magic bench crushed C's bench. The wings and mobile bigs feasted on rebs and drew fouls all night. Anthony was solid but he wasn't the main guy. He just had a few moments.