Orlando Magic HQ Podcast – Ep. 180 – “2024“

Orlando Magic HQ Podcast – Ep. 180 – “2024“

Live from Orlando Florida you’re listening to the Orlando Magic HQ podcast the voice of magic fans join us every week for a unique fan perspective on all of the latest Magic news and updates the show starts now Merry Christmas and happy New Year and welcome back to another episode of

The Orlando Magic HQ podcast to you by the believe podcast Network and bet online or your host Al myself Anthony today is Friday December 29th and in today’s episode we will be talking about magic dealing with injuries again also trade deadline is right around the corner and Allstar voting do the magic

Really have a shot at getting some players to represent the Orlando Magic at the allstar game but before we get into that just a quick word from our sponsors bet online the only people that don’t get time off this time of the year are pro athletes and us at bet online

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There today to get into the action remember to use promo code believe to receive your 50% off welcome bonus on your first deposit with that said Al this week in review we lost against Boston 128 111 lost against Boston again 114 to 97 we lost against Miami

Milwaukee got a win against Indiana 117 to 110 win against the the very very terrible Washington Wizards and then a loss against the idless Philadelphia C 76ers when you take a look at kind of summarizing uh these last few games since we last recorded um what what are

Your what are your thoughts on this we we knew that the magic weren’t going to be able to sustain that level of play where they held on to the second place um in the East we fell down we’re in fifth place right now in the East um

Where we’re kind of balancing out a little bit but let’s be honest uh we can contribute a lot of that to uh different factors right injuries is a big play of it um jayen Suggs missed some games uh Joe Eng Les Jonathan Isaac so really key players that that are really important

To what we do on a day in and day out basis are missing on some of these games but jayen Suggs able to make it back we started uh implementing wend Carter Jr um but what do what do you take of these these last games I mean you you said it best when

You look back at the month of December heading into December we said it like it’s going to be a tough month we have a really really tough schedule a lot of road games and unfortunately injures injuries have not been kind to us so if you were to tell me that this was our

Record fully healthy I would have been like uh it’s kind of concerning maybe we’re not going to live up to that that four seed fifth seed expectations that we now have for ourselves but the fact that we’ve been injured so much we’re missing so many key members of our team

A five- seven record in a very tough month of December it’s not bad like again we wish it was better let’s be honest but looking back at it being positive I’m ending the year in a positive note that was my mindset heading into this podcast we got to be

Positive I mean if you would have told me that magic would have been 18 and 12 30 games in while missing mostly most of the games without Marquel and wend Del Carter missing ji and Gary Harris a ton of games in and out of the lineup I

Would have told you that that was definitely not doable especially with how tough our schedule is in the first half of the season so old things considered I I’ll take it 18 and 12 it’s a solid record and I think this team is going to do way way better in the second

Half of the season Once We are healthier and once the schedule gets a little bit easier so am I satisfied this month no but if you would have told me again a five and seven record with our injuries I would have definitely taken that what about you what what’s your takeaway from

This past uh seven games and how we have looked so far yeah how how do I forget about Gary Harris yeah I mean the second unit really took a hit you know uh as much uh smack as we’ve talked about Gary uh excuse me Joe Engles um he he’s a big

Part of the second unit and I think that you’re really starting to miss it right um same with Gary Harris the second unit just in my opinion hasn’t been the same um and it’s because we’re we’re missing our whole entire second unit Gary Harris Joe Eng Les Jonathan Isaac you know

That’s that’s a big part of our strength you know a lot of the games this season when you brought in that second unit you know they They Carried a lot of uh the pressure off of the starting unit because they were able to get us back

Into games they were able to keep us competitive um and you know quite frankly coach Moos had a lot more weapons at his disposal and that just hasn’t been the case I would say some of the bright spots that you know we we can

Kind of uh take a look at is we’ve been able to get solid look from Caleb Houston he’s been fun to watch man every time he shoots the ball you know it looks like he’s going in now he’s not giving us high production but he’s definitely somebody that you know that

You know can add a value to this basketball team um we also got a chance to see Anthony black had uh a career night which was really awesome to see I just wish that you know he would have followed that up with another consistent night and I think that you know maybe if

We would have saw that it would have been more of a uh turning of a page more so than just a oneoff we didn’t get a chance to see that um but you know those are those are some of the bright spots but uh we know that this team is a team

And we’ve said this before in other episodes and you know not not taking it from the go and sa Warriors but we’re a team that’s a strengthen numbers we need our whole arsenal of teams to really be at our at our Peak at our top and yeah

Maybe you can say that about every basketball team but for the magic who are terrible from behind the three-point line if you don’t have Joe Engles and you don’t have Gary Harris you know that’s going to hurt you even that much more and we’ve been struggling behind

The three-point line more so than we have all season long um so I’m I’m desperate to be able to get these guys back because they are a significant difference uh for our basketball Club yeah man I think to your point I think Joe Engles has been the biggest surprise

To me not only the shooting we know the shooting is is valuable right but the playmaking believe it or not like you would think that it’s Cole Anthony roting the show when the bench is in and actually no it’s been Joe Joe Engles bringing the ball up picking rolls with

Goa with one whoever’s out there so I think we’re missing that big time and I was really hoping that he would be healthy to play tonight against the Knicks which is a big game we need this game tonight um unfortunately he won’t be able to go tonight but hopefully ji

Is back hopefully Gary Harris plays tonight because again we need this bodies that just they make a big difference on the defensive end shooting wise with Gary Harris um and to your point Anthony black I just need to see more consistency I gotta see him score 10 points you know

Maybe in three four games in a row like it cannot be where he goes career high or 15 points in one game and then to the next like the defense needs to know that you’re a threat when you are out there and some things have done this to us

Milwaukee did it Philly did it they dared him to shoot they dared him to do something offensively and he wasn’t doing it then what that does is we’re not playing Five against four on the offensive end and that’s never fun because now that means two bodies on

Paulo two bodies on two bodies on France every single time it’s hard to score that way it throws us off completely um so hopefully that will come with more time but it’s definitely good to see him have that Breakout game it was fun to see him shooting threes and making them

It gives you a glimpse of what the future may be like if he can be more consistent but um definitely good to see yeah the magic are five and seven um in December and just a read off of stat from uh Adam Papa Georgio from the pen

And Pops podcast who had mentioned this about Joe Engles that the magic are three and seven when Joe Engles misses a game or plays less than 15 minutes in a game Orlando is currently 15 and five when Joe plays more than 15 minutes this season so obviously I don’t I don’t have

Any of the analytical stats in front of me but we know that Joe Eng Les it doesn’t he doesn’t have to fill up the stat sheet in order for him to be impactful you know we’re talking about a a vet that just with his presence opens up the floor and his playmaking ability

I honestly didn’t know that he was really that impactful um before he got to Orlando he definitely makes a difference because you know that allows Cole Anthony to be able to you know do do his his thing at at the offg guard position so you know it’s it’s a person

That we’re missing drastically and hopefully we’re able to get him back soon um because the magic are struggling yes we had a really really great win against Indiana but you know we we a game against Philadelphia at home without Joel MB that should have been a a automatic win if we’re serious about

Being a playoff team then we need to be able to take advantage against circumstances like this like we’re we’re getting beat by tobius Harris and Tyrese Maxi like that that shouldn’t happen it shouldn’t let let it let alone it happened on our home court the magic are

Currently 0 and two since we’ve been the Kia center right so first off don’t even get me started with that if you’re going to do a name change do the name change at the end of the season cuz now I just feel like it’s it’s bad karma is bad

Luck at this point like the magic need to get a win under the Kia Center because it needs to happen right um but outside of that man you you also thought that bringing in wend Carter we know he missed a lot of time it’s going to take

Some time for him to get adjusted but my man’s playing like trash right now like he is not he is not the window Carter that we got accustomed to used to like it it almost seems not almost seems it is a bad basketball decision to not have

Goa play right now and you can definitely show now here’s the thing though you need Wendell Carter to get over that like you need him to shake everything off and get back to playing his level of basketball because we know what Wendell Carter can bring luckily we

Have you know a good stretch where MOS has shown a good balance between Wendell uh Mo and then Goa but what what are your thoughts on wend cardo so far um where is he that’s really my question man because I I don’t think this version of w Carter looks nothing like what we

Saw last year and what we saw in his first five games with us and mind you even in his first five games this season he wasn’t killing it but he was producing he was you know dropping 15 points rebounding eight per game doing decent things but now man I don’t get it

Like he just looks lost out there he looks step slower than anyone else um and don’t forget like his injury wasn’t like an ACL or a you know ankle injury it’s a wrist on his off hand so we’re not talking about like it’s affecting his shooting is affecting the way he

Moves it’s a risk injury um so if he’s looking like this I’m concerned for marel marquel’s gonna look when he comes back because Marquel does have a significant injury in his knee apparently um but to answer your question and it’s concerning and I’m also not a fan of the rotations where

Now you’re playing him seven minutes in the first quarter but then he’s benched all the way until like the two- minute Mark of the second quarter it’s like is he in or is he not um so do we send him to Lakeland and not Leland I keep saying

That to CMI and have him kind of you know work through this rust and then come back when he’s ready because right now it’s not helping the team it’s not helping himself it’s kind of weird uh what they’re doing with him right now but what are your thoughts

Yeah I mean I I personally I’m surprised but not surprised you know I I I guess you expected for Wendell to be plugged in um at the starting lineup um I’m surprised that the adjustment hasn’t already been made but you you bring up a really good point it’s it’s not like it

Was a leg injury it was his it was his left hand so um why why why isn’t he producing more I granted I get it he’s it’s it’s been a long time frame since he’s been on the basketball court he’s going to take him minute for him to

Adjust but man the magic had a really good thing rolling with Goa and it would I would have liked to have seen when Dale come off the bench until he’s really more acclimated um you know back onto the floor because Goa he’s been giving us really good minutes the

Starters are already used to him being on the floor you know so it’s it’s one thing that I I wish we would have seen um at this point it’s in my opinion it’s a little too late but you know there there has to be that that click that

Switch where you know the adjustment is made because we’re the the mag the there’s no I can’t think of another NBA team that can be successful Western Conference Eastern Conference without High Caliber point guard and Center play like we can’t just strictly rely on on fron and Paulo the

Whole I mean granted that’s that’s our offense right but at the same time we need we need strong support on those two pillar positions we just just don’t have that right now Anthony black he’s he’s doing what he’s able to do I get that but we should be able to get

More we’re we’re waiting patiently waiting for Marquel F to get back and if it’s anything like Wendell Carter coming back I don’t know if I’m really looking forward to it like it’s G to take Markel another set of time frame for him to get adjustin and acclimated and it’s

Just you you want to continue watching and seeing the success uh of this ma of this Magic Basketball Club and I I just feel like it’s it’s going to be it’s going to be a long adjustment before you know we’re we’re able to continue to you

Know play at at the high level I’m not I’m not expecting for us to win nine games in a row again um but man the these are games that we should be winning we should be able to be a Philadelphia team that has no Joel embiid in a crab talking

Uhrick Beverly you know what I mean so you know it’s it’s tough it’s tough uh you want the magic to be healthy that’s just not the case right now and I kind of feel like we’re at a a stagnant State and I mean you can say that for

The last what three four years and I think that’s the part of it I tweeted this today where I’m the most upset I recall opening night I recall our episode before the season us talking to each other saying we’re finally going to a season fully healthy it’s going to be

Amazing to see this team kind of grow and develop and really evaluate what we have because we’re finally healthy and that lasted five games and game 30 is here and we’re still dealing with it so it’s tough I I feel bad for the front office because we’re not really getting

A chance to evaluate Marquel folz we’re not really getting a chance to see Wendell Carter with his point guard like let’s be real Wendell’s point guard is Marquel fultz he scored easily you know eight to 12 points a night off of pick and rle plays from marel fols so I also

Don’t want to put all the blame on Wendell solely because he’s also getting used to playing with Anthony black who he’s never played with in the past and that’s tough to do Paulo and France are great Playmakers but again they are main scorers so I think that’s the biggest

Thing for Wendell he’s kind of just learning to play with this new lineup that we’re throwing out there um but to your point man we need Wendell we need Marquel to play and stay healthy because again if we’re trying to be serious in the playoffs they’re the key don’t get

Me wrong like Paulo and France will kill it we know that they’re gonna score 20 plus a night we know that but if we want to go far and win more than one game in the playoffs we will need to have Marquel we would need to have Wendell

Fully healthy and fully engaged on both ends of the floor right now that is not the case um but yeah man it’s with the Goa situation I mean you gota just mostly has to figure it out if it’s for the better of the team right now to have Goa

Out there make that move if it’s not then fully commit to Wendell but you cannot play him 12 minutes a night 3 minutes in the first quarter and 3 minutes in like it it’s weird what’s happening right now but I get it also because when is not producing so how do

You keep him out there when you know goa’s all playing him and so is Mo Vagner as well I mean that’s a tough part because you cannot not play Goa he tried that and that really didn’t work out nobody liked it I didn’t like it he

He’s in my opinion has deserved to be on the floor right um now just to kind of put an example right I I love so far some of the bright spots I’ve seen from Anthony black but if Marquel FZ comes back and Anthony black doesn’t get as

Many minutes I’m not I’m not really stomping my feet and and you know smoke coming out of my nose like to my in my opinion Goa just has more weight for me right now because of the rim protection and and the the scraps that he picks up

And the followup like he he he does so much for this team that when we’re rolling you know he’s a big uh contributor to that so I don’t know man it’s it’s tough coach Mo’s got to figure it out uh and we really really need Wendell Carter to to kind of snap back

At um back to what we know he’s able to do um with that being said NBA trade deadline is right around the corner but before we get into that just a quick reminder we do have our giveaway still going on for our HQ IG subscription if

You haven’t logged into her been a part of we are giving away a city Edition jacket as well as a couple of Orlando Magic HQ hats very similar to what Al is currently wearing right now we’re giving we’re we’re selecting our giveaway winners on December 31st uh and just a

Reminder if you don’t remember what the benefits are get access to our members only group chat where we talk about basketball literally all day long you get exclusive 20% off select home games once a month Q&A that we’re going to be scheduling soon for our very first one

Monthly custom magic wallpapers and then access to exclusive post stories in reals so if you haven’t done that go on to Instagram become a subscribers and uh talk Magic basketball with us man it’s it’s a lot of fun anyways back to the NBA trade trade deadline so NBA trade

Deadline is what’s the date February 8th February 8th so right around the corner trade deadlines on Thursday February 8th so that’s less than six weeks away so the heavy-hitting question do the magic not do anything or do the magic look to find ways to improve and this is the

Biggest question that I think that people have to come to terms with because the the ongoing um method that our front office have really been accustomed to is we’re waiting we’re learning we’re watching but at some point we know that the magic need to find a way

To elevate their talent and not saying that the talent isn’t there but my man we suck at shooting threes this is a three-point shooting driven League we have to be able to shoot the basketball that’s just a reality of it we didn’t make the rules we’re not going to be the

Only ones that create this U new brand of basketball that’s just going to going to work we we have to be able to be a threat I’m not saying that we have to be the best three-point shooting team in the NBA but we can’t be at the bottom if

We want to be serious we cannot be at the bottom and it’s it’s surprising because we have players that are shooting the basketball they have no problem shooting the basketball it’s just not going in for us we need to be able to have consistent Shooters again

We can contribute a lot of that to our injuries but even when our players are healthy we still haven’t been the best shooting basketball team in the NBA so with that being said What do the magic address do we stay put do we continue doing and we don’t mess up the chemistry

Or do we find a way to elevate this team some of the uh rumors that we heard was tus Jones could tus Jones be a target for the Atlanta magic is that someone that you would consider listen he’s a 42% three-point shooter so anytime you talk about us

Getting a shooter that’s shooting more than 40% bring him on like that’s my my takeaway I don’t care what position they play if they can shoot the three-point ball game but some quick stats to what you’re saying so think about our three-point percentage right now as of

This recording 33.7% that is 28th in the league okay that’s not bad enough three-o actually made we are currently at 10 per game that is 29th in the league okay what about tempting them 29 per game 29th in the league so we are one of the worst teams besides Detroit

When it comes to taking them making them in our percentage and again we can say this for the past eight years and that is an accurate statement we’re always 28 29 27th in the league when it comes to three-point shooting what has drastically changed in my opinion is we now have a competitive

Team we’re now winning games right so if you’re at the front office you’ve seen enough you’ve seen who the core is and I think we can answer that for you like who’s the core we know who they are we’re not in the front office but I can

Tell you who those are right it’s paos France you can add jayen suck to that and you can add Co Anthony to that that’s pretty damn accurate right everyone else if you can upgrade you got to consider it so with that being said heading into the straight dead line let

Me first start by saying I don’t think we make a drastic move we may see another one of those oh we traded for James Enis who’s a three-point shooter a Defender sure um Michael Carter Williams back in 2019 like a small move like that that they think will be impactful we may

Make so it may not be that crazy you know like oh my God we traded for Buddy healed I don’t think that will be the case but we are winning games we’re in playoff contention Paulo France and Coach mostley my opinion deserve the help so if you’re at the front office

You have to really take a step back and say hey man we know what we got we know who we can count on and what is our biggest weakness not only this year but for the past five six seven years shooting the ball how do we improve why

Also addressing some of the weaknesses that we have so they have to make a move who the players are we can talk about over the next few weeks but just the idea of it they have to embrace it man I think that the team has earned the right

To be given a chance to compete every night and it’s hard to compete when you’re shooting two for 25 from three-point range and then you’re killing it on the defensive end but if you can’t score the ball man you can’t compete it’s that simple so what what do

You think do you think we actually make a move and do you think the front office is actually ready to pull the trigger on on upgrading the roster some way somehow I so I think we should I just think we won’t because it it always it always

Ends up with the same thing the the excuse the excuse is well we haven’t had a healthy team imagine what we would be at what we’re able to do if if we have a healthy team um I don’t I personally don’t think the magic really have the

Heart to part ways with uh Markel fols or or trade from I think that there’s there’s too much invested into Markel fos um I also think that there’s still a lot of upside to Markel folos um same goes with Jonathan Isaac it wouldn’t make sense to move Jonathan Isaac

There’s too much of his High um upside um and what he’s able to bring and and you know his his contract or whatever the case may be um but at the same time we have to be able to address the fact that we really can’t rely on Markel fols

It’s different with Jonathan Isaac because we’re not relying on Jonathan Isaac to be a star uh a starting caliber player you know he’s coming off the bench with Markel FS he’s your starting point guard like dude we need you and you know it’s not markel’s fault but

What do we do about it like there there at some point the magic have to decide all right if we’re really ready to take the step forward we need to be able to have a strong anchor right next to fron and Paulo like we we need that Anthony black is not

That yet we we were hoping that that would be the case and man what talk about a dream scenario right you draft a a big point guard that is able to come in and and play alongside France and and Paulo and if Marquel FZ works out then

Okay he comes off the bench if he doesn’t then you know Anthony black takes takes over but we’re not at that stage yet um so that that’s the only thing that you kind of have to be mindful at because you’ve already invested in Anthony black so okay let’s

Say that the magic made a trade for Ty Jones which in my opinion doesn’t make sense because he’s going to be unrestricted free agent next season but let’s say they did that right you you’re now what what do you give up for tus Jones he’s already an undersized point

Guard which I don’t agree with having a player like Cole Anthony and tyus Jones who are both Underside point guards but what what do you do who do you give up and I think that that’s the tough question that you really have to ask at the same time I don’t really think tyus

Jones would cost too much you know the Wizards are on a on a downfall they’re they’re I don’t I don’t even I have no idea what they’re doing over there but whatever it is that they’re they’re doing it looks like they’re doing nothing right so I I would imagine it

Wouldn’t cost much to be able to get a player like Ty Jones um so in my opinion if the magic were to do something it obviously wouldn’t be a big move like it wouldn’t be a a massive transaction it’s not it’s not like we’re you know trading

Aaron Goron and Nia vuich and Evan Foria for this massive Hall right we’re not doing that it’s it’s it would be small small adjustments so that’s that’s the only thing that I believe is where we’re at I don’t think we will make a move but

If we did it would be like a small minor move um would it be TI Jones I really don’t see the uh see that happening just because of his his contract um but I mean February 8th the magic I think the the most important thing is that no

Matter what happens the magic do have to be active they should be on the phones they should be making calls and and talking to other teams and trying to figure out at least what are what the value is of our guys and what we’re able to bring back and if there is an

Opportunity to be able to elevate this team then you got to do it yeah I mean that’s the thing if you’re really serious about making the playoffs you got to address the shooting issues like we’ve been talking about this for so long but if you’re real if you get to a

To February 8th and you’re saying to yourselves we’re still a fifth fourth heck six seed in the East and you’re doing well how do we help this team move forward right we cannot just stay put and think oh let’s just figure it out like I don’t know man you said it best

We can depend on Marquel unfortunately we all want him to succeed we all want him to come in and sign a new contract with us hopefully if he’s healthy and deserves that but unfortunately he hasn’t proven that he can stay healthy so I’m concerned about heading to the

Offseason like what do we even offer him for a contract um another name I’m gonna throw out there too which I like him as an individual as a person but we cannot depend on him and that is Gary Harris it seems like he plays five games and then

He misses three four games again you’re trying to be a playoff team he’s your vet he’s one of your best Shooters and he cannot play so what do you do about that you got to figure that out as well so in my mind you gotta address the

Marquel situation you got to figure that out Gary Harris is he that bench shooter that you can depend on heading into the playoffs address that because otherwise it’s a free agent heading into next year and that’s really the biggest question is starting point guard and shooting Off

The Bench if you can find a way to address those two you may be finding yourself heading into the playoffs with some positive mindset and again fixing and addressing some of the shooting concerns that we have today um but they have to do something to to your same

Vision that you have I don’t think it would be though a major major trade yeah we’ll find out still a lot of time before the NBA trade deadline um and and who knows man maybe we get maybe we get our back and this team is rolling

And then you know there there’s no need but we we need to be able to bring a point guard in that can really really help this team Anthony black he’s doing the best he can but man let’s let’s be honest we need more who knows man

Marquel folz he we thought that he was going to come back before wend Carter that didn’t happen he ended up being questionable and then it seems like there was a setback not saying that there was but that’s just kind of what it seems and we know how the front

Office is they’re very very cautious when it comes to Marquel fols they’re cautious when it comes to Jonathan Isaac I will say that I do um you know I I like what I’ve seen from the magic when it comes to Jonathan Isaac just because he’s been out but they still find a way

To bring him back in he hasn’t it’s not like he’s been gone for an extended period it’s just he’s missing more games more frequently um and I think that that’s more from a management standpoint because let’s be honest we’re going to want Jonathan Isaac you know up and

Available when it comes to the postseason um now kind of transitioning into allstar game voting do the magic really have a shot at bringing in Paulo or France who do both of those guys have a shot to making it as an allar of this season I think not both um I think for

Sure Paulo will be in the running um especially if the Magic in some way somehow hold on to that fifth fourth seat in the East I think he’ll definitely be in the the game um he won’t be a starter I know people keep talking about him being a starter that

That’s not going to happen he’ll be at replacement um and I’ll be super thrilled when that happens because again remember this is a kid that we drafted last year kind of out of the blue nobody really knew what was going to happen and we ended up picking him um people were

Shocked some people were not but at the end of the day it shows that we made the right move and I think if he can be an All-Star in year two and take us to the province land which is the playoffs to

Us that is a win in my eyes so as as we do that we’ll be fine and then as the team keeps getting better and better in the years to come that’s when you will see maybe France get added to the equation and now you have Paulo and France representing the Orlando Magic

But for now in 2023 24 I think Paulo will be that guy what do you think I think so too there there’s been a lot of um predictions and the predictions have been Paulo B Caro coming in as a reserve on the allstar representing the east side and France being a honorable

Mention um maybe a replacement for injury something along those lines so um it it’s going to be it’s going to be fun man I think Paulo definitely has a chance it’s really important that if you’re not voting every day get into the practice of doing that because it

Matters because we may not have you know you talk about the bigger names right yeah because even when you try going into the NBA votes it’s not like you have to search for Apollo banero it’s not like his face is just showing up you know a lot of times people vote they’re

Just selecting what they see and that it’s a little bit of a disadvantage so make sure that you’re voting every day it does matter the fact that we have representation on the allstar team uh would matter as well and this is somebody that you know he it’s almost

Considered he was being consider last season right there there was at least talks about it so from getting talks to to actually being able to have a real opportunity a real shot at it um it’s it’s going to it’s going to be huge it’s going to be fun because our last

Representation was V you know so it’s it’s you know it’s it’s a different it’s a different it’s a different selection you know it’s it’s Vu and then you got Paulo like as much as I love Vu Paulo Paulo’s that guy and to be able to have him represent your team at the All-Star

Game uh would be would be huge definitely it it’ll hit different once you hear pao’s name and the allar game or see him you know doing things on the court um cuz not for nothing Vu was out there but he was just jacking up three

Kind of just on the court I think Paul will put on more of a show uh and again bring that attention to Orlando mind you year two that’s the biggest part it’s only year two so it’s only going to get better it’s only going to be a repeat

All-Star in years to come so it’s the start of a great journey here for him and his career and also for the Orlando Magic yep so as we close the chapter of 2023 um and enter into the new 2024 um what would you say is your New Year’s resolution for the Orlando

Mag I have a few that I kind of prepare ahead of time knowing this topic was coming but uh I’ll break I’ll bring it to simple two two of them I’ll bring it to down to two that is CH a shooter that’s number one I think again we’ve

Been waiting for so long I still think the off season mind you 2024 means January to December right so it could be any time between now and next December give me a shooter that will make a difference for Paulo and France so whether that is Buddy heeld in fre

Agents whether that is I don’t know you make a trade for Donovan Mitchell in the offseason whatever you do just give me a guy that can put the ball in the hoop and needs to be guarded behind the three-point line whichever way that is free agency trade whatever that is um

And the second one is make the playoffs I have plans in my head to be at mway Center come April 15th and on Kia i w Kia Center Kia damn damn just remember that KIA Center I want to be Center For the First Time heading to a playoff game

It will so magical right this pun in there to be there in 2019 watching the game three against the Raptors unfortunately we knew we had no chance we knew we couldn’t win that game we knew we couldn’t win that series heading into this year though we kind of

Have bigger goals and I think we can win a game two perhaps at home so for me get me a shooter and you know bring the playoffs to Orlando I think we’re ready for it how about you um two so obviously Health um and not necessarily uh Health from yeah you know

You you want to see Marquel folz get back right but when I say health I mean health for three guys in particular jayen Suggs Paulo ban Carroll and France vogner keep these guys healthy the whole second half of this season and to me that is really really important because

You know we we can we’re making we’re getting by uh without Mark H folz we’re getting by you know without Jonathan Isaac here and there we’re getting by without Joe Eng Les kind of sort but you think about how drastic um or how impactful would be if

Either fron or Paulo went down and Jaylen Suns as well you know it’s not it’s not I I don’t want to see that type of basketball like I I want to make sure that those guys are healthy so that that would be my New Year’s resolution keep

Those guys healthy um and then the second one would be man find a way to get Jay Howard on the basketball court yes really no details there it it’s it’s exactly what it is we Jet Jet Howard should should be there somewhere the fact that chumo KK is getting more

Minutes than Jay Howard just doesn’t make sense to me I mean you drafted him 11th right so you you had a vision for him I I wonder and again we don’t want to expand too much on this but I I do wonder if this is kind of like a

Recovery year for jet Howard and I say that because we know he was hurt last year at Michigan again we don’t really know the extent of that injury how bad it was or how bad he’s still dealing with it to this day so I wonder if this

Is kind of like a red shirt year for him where they’re kind of just babying him watching him developing his body and maybe next year they unleash him but it would be nice to know that because to your point like not for nothing that game last night against uh Philly

Perfect chance to say hey let’s go out there and play Jet Howard because they’re letting us shoot the ball they’re letting us you know they’re giving us a three-point shot let’s put some Shooters out there we didn’t do that and again you didn’t have Gary

Harris Joe Eng Les ji Mark Kel if that’s the case when is he going to play then he’s not so it’s weird it’s a weird situation we always knew that bringing in two rookies was going to be tough to a team that already had a lot of young talent but

You did it you made the decision play him we need shooting he can shoot that’s all I can say yeah so again keep frons Jaylen Suggs and Paulo Napoleon James B Carol as healthy as possible and try to find jet hours and minutes so let’s make

It happen um this week ahead man it’s going to be tough we got the Knicks tonight followed by Phoenix on Sunday Golden State on Tuesday and then Sacramento on Wednesday so you you have Nicks at home but then you go on a road trip and you’re playing Phoenix going

State Sacramento away we already know how the Knicks is going to be man you you at the Kia Center is going to be filled with Knicks fans you need to be able to finally get that win at home like that that needs to happen we have

To be able to get a win at home with the new name change we need to be able to get that bad juju out of the way but what are your what are your predictions I’m going to go two and two which would be ideal I think if we can

End January with a 500 record in that month and maintain that five to six games over 500 heading into the the February and and the rest of the year that’s a huge win for us so I’m going to say two and two I’m going to say we beat

The Knicks tonight which was going to feel amazing and then I’m going to say man I think we beat Golden State I think they’re a team that they are figuring things out a little bit but if you can control Klay Thompson or Steph a little bit they don’t have depth it’s that

Simple so if you can control you know Jaylen sucks on Steph or Jaylen sucks on clay and they can kind of control their three-point shooting a little bit we have a good chance there so I think if we go two and two this week that’s going

To be a huge uh win for us what about you I don’t want to be negative I I have I have a gut feeling that we’ll go one and three I would love to go two and two two- two would be an absolute success um

I think that we do get the win against Nicks I think we struggle against Phoenix going to State Sacramento maybe maybe Phoenix maybe we’re able to pull the win Phoenix there’s a lot of um lot of turmoil over there that maybe we can take advantage of um same with golden

State Golden State isn’t n the the same going to say Warriors that people are afraid of so you know may maybe you take advantage of those circumstances but um you know that this this road trip is going to be tough and the magic need to be prepared for it um because we we’ve

Been struggling so hopefully we’re able to get some reinforcements that kind of help us out in the way I was going to say one good thing is that magic do practice on Saturday before they head out to Phoenix and based on what Mosley had said he wanted to see marel one more

Time hit practice before kind of decides what to do with him so imagine how huge it would be to say hey we’re heading into you know this road trip with Marquel New Year and Marquel is back on the court that would be huge so hopefully that happens and then we get

Joe Engles back I mean we never heard that it was such a bad injury that he was going to miss months or weeks they’re being careful I get it but it’s been a little while so hopefully Joe Engles and Marquel can see the court that would be huge for us if our death

Can be what it used to be a few weeks back man any of those games we can win but if we’re going to those games with three four five bodies down down no chance yep so we’ll we’ll see tough tough games coming up but um I did read

Somewhere that the second half of the season the Orlando Magic have I want to say the top three easiest schedule um kind of finishing off the rest of the way so uh still a lot of opportunity for us to be able to either maintain or or

Rise um in the rankings so man I don’t care where we’re at as long as we stay I want to stay as far away from the playing tournament is possible if we can get into the postseason without having to fight our way in you know that’s that’s a bonus and on that immediately

Gets us the respect that we want and then when free agency comes around man you’re you’re going to be able to have a different type of conversation with uh players in the offseason but think about that think about you saying you know to someone a free agent hey man we got

Paulo we got France we got Wendell we can have you you can be that missing piece that that person can take us from the sixth seed or fifth seat to now third or second in the ease like it can happen so to your point that’s going to

Be the key for us this this next four months is how do we stay away from the play in again we have a ton of money to spend we’re not committed to anybody right we’re not committed to Marquel because of health issues yeah same thing so we may have close to two Max

Contracts available you never know it might be scary might be scary on that note is a wrap I appreciate you for everyone for listening um and the show is presented by B online catch you guys next week for all the latest Magic news and updates visit orlandomagic hq.com and

Follow us on Instagram at Orlando magicq and on Twitter at om magicq also remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel And subscribe and leave a five-star review on your favorite listening platform

In this episode, Al and Ant discuss the Orlando Magic’s performance in December, the impact of injuries on the team, and the upcoming NBA trade deadline.

They also talk about the team’s shooting struggles, the need for a shooter, and the possibility of Paolo Banchero making the All-Star Game. They share their New Year’s resolutions for the Magic and make predictions for the upcoming games.

The episode concludes with a discussion on the importance of making the playoffs and the potential for the Magic to attract free agents in the offseason.

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