EP. 388 – All-Star – Orlando Magic Podcast

EP. 388 – All-Star – Orlando Magic Podcast

This is the sixthman show an Orlando Magic podcast with your hosts Luke Sylvia and Jonathan Osborne covering all things Magic Basketball by fans for fans go Magic what’s going on Orlando Magic fans you guys are back with the six-man show today is February 1st 2024 Jonathan Osborne here as always I am joined by my co-host Luke Sylvia Luke what is going on man how are you we did it January has come to a close the

Dreaded stretch that we’ve been talking about and analyzing since the with since the schedule release it’s over we made it and we get to kind of close that chapter and look ahead to what is supposed to be the easiest stretch of basketball for any anybody

The rest of the year so now is where you start stacking games I am just I’m relieved that we pulled it off tonight yeah you made it through the month of January the magic uh now sit at 2523 we’ll get into the state of the Magic in

Just a little bit here uh but they finished the month of January 6 and 10 not great but you you essentially did enough to stay above 500 through the month of January which is what we’ve been talking about the magic really needed to do so although it was rough

And it was incredibly frustrating at times Luke I’m happy with the with the the way that this turned out for the most part it goes back to what I had said recently which was being a playoff team feels different and when your aspirations are playoffs because you’re not so much analyzing

Like yes you’re going we’re going to break down the game and talk about what this team needs to do to get better but at the end of the day you’re just happy with the win a lot of times in the past we’ve you know just gotten caught

Up in or are we tanking and and when we do win it’s still been critical because it’s like this is the things this team needs still and there was a laundry list of things now is essentially clean up the turnovers and get some Shooters and get some flow in that offense when it’s

Stagnant but you got the win and that’s really all we can ask for when you’re trying to climb the standings like we are right now yeah if we go back and we take a look at that stretch essentially it was 28 games um starting December 6th versus Cleveland you know that really

Brutal stretch starting at the beginning of December really the entire month of December and the entire month of January it was 28 games the magic went 11 and 17 and out of those 28 games you had let’s see one two three four five six seven seven or eight of those

Games didn’t come against teams that were squarely in the playoff position and a couple of those games being or at least one of those games being against Golden State so the fact that you were playing really good teams night in and night out and the magic it got a little bit hairy like

There were some times where we’re like hey if Magic aren able to get a win here and other teams go on runs we might find ourself under 500 and luckily it it never came to that but uh yeah you just got to be happy with the way the magic

Were able to tread water over the last several weeks here as the injuries piled up as you had tough backto backs you’re again playing playoff teams almost every single night the last two months and here we are at the end of January you’re two games over 500 you’re still eighth

In the Eastern Conference and I think maybe at the end of the episode we’ll take a look at the schedule that’s coming up over the next several weeks as we go into the All-Star break and then come to the other side of that but again looking at the perspective if you go

Back to October and you were to tell yourself myself Luke you listening right now or viewing go back to October and say hey the end of January the magic are going to be 25 and 23 and pretty squarely in the playoff picture in eighth in the Eastern Conference we all would have been

Ecstatic to have that so it feels good to be where we are right now yeah and ultimately in that stretch too you talk about the the record you said it was would you say it was like 17 losses or 18 losses 11 and 17 you go over the

Course of those 28 games so two or three of those I don’t know the exact but it is two or three I I think were against non-playoff team teams those losses so whole lot of losses against mainly just playoff teams that’s who you’re really playing anyway but we obviously the most

Recent one being that Grizzlies game which was frustrating for sure Golden State Atlanta and Memphis three losses and you know loss to Golden State even though they’re not squarely in the playoff picture you’re in Golden State it doesn’t you know it’s it’s not as bad as

It sounds so it’s really like two the one to Atlanta jante Murray at the buzzer and then Memphis where again you had a chance at the buzzer to win that game yeah so I mean you lose that Atlanta game by two you lose the Memphis game by

One four points in those two games and you would have had one loss to a non-playoff team in that stretch and it would have been Golden State which came down to the final few possessions as well so 11 and 17 during that stretch isn’t exactly where you want to be especially

The way that we played in the month of November but you’ve got to remember you know had missed ji for a big stretch there when Dell was coming back Marquel was coming back Gary Harris has been out of the lineup you know fron missed eight games in that stretch as well all things

Considered I’m really happy where we are and I’m really happy the way the magic fared through that 28 game stretch which is the most brutal stretch of the entire season I’ve seen people talking about oh the magic have the easiest strength of schedule we’ve been saying that for like

The last week or two and people are like yeah show me where the schedule gets easy this is where the schedule gets easy so although we’ve had the easiest strength of schedule and we’ve still been losing games the last couple of weeks again we’ll talk about the

Schedule a little bit later in the episode here but this is the point where it starts to lighten up a little bit as you get into February and into to March and April so all right folks so a couple of housekeep in items here uh tomorrow if you’re listening to this on Thursday

Tomorrow Friday February 2nd is going to be our next watch party we’re going to be at Elixir downtown Orlando 9 West Washington Street to watch our Orlando Magic take on the Minnesota Timberwolves so make sure that you guys come out to that uh parking downtown always a

Challenge so if you can carpool Uber whatever to get down there uh you’ll probably have a much better uh experience uh commuting to an and from that so keep that in mind folks and Thursday Allstar reserves are going to be announced 7 o’clock on uh Inside the

NBA on TNT that’s when that broadcast is going to start so we’re going to be live on playback starting at about 6:45 and we’re going to react to the announcement to together hopefully Palo banero is going to be named as an Allstar Reserve Luke I think he’s incredibly deserving when you just look

At the context of this season how much better the magic have been this season palero has been the Magic’s best player he’s been playing really well lately he’s had to carry a heck of an offensive load with guys being in and out of the lineup and the fact that this team is

Even though they’re 25 and 23 maybe not where we thought they were going to be if we go back to November and we thought we were never going to lose a game but again if you would have asked people not just magic fans but the Magic’s over

Under win total for this year was 36 and a half wins so here we are Fe AR 1st and the magic are 11 wins away from reaching 36 already so by all accounts Luke exceeding expectations Palo banero absolutely should be an All-Star he should be I am getting nervous but he should

Be and I I’m just getting nervous because yes I know what TNT is saying right like all of their anchors Palo B Caro unanimously but then I listen to also people that I do respect in Media like JJ reic and he doesn’t have Pao on there as

His pick uh nikayas who also does that pod with him didn’t have him on there right so like I am a little nervous and I can be like oh I can I could see how maybe you got there and I’m nervous that these coaches are going to do a lot of

The same but let me let me jump in here and just try to put your mind at ease really quickly as those guys are talking about like oh the onof number why are the magic rated better when pao’s off the floor one it’s because we’ve had one

Of the best bench units in the entire league all season long NBA coaches who are voting on NBA All-Star reserves aren’t saying oh I think I’m going to vote for pao what are his onoff numbers like what what what are his shooting splits I I really don’t think they’re doing that obviously they

Care about what’s going on I’m sure they’re looking at the counting stats but they’re worried about the guys that they are game planning for on a night in and Night Out basis and every single head coach around the league when they talk to you our media before games

They’re talking about Pao banero and the assignment of trying to slow that guy down on a nightly basis and not to mention the fact that the player vote Palo ban Carol finished fourth in all uh Eastern Front Court voting so to me that goes a lot further than oh what are his

On off S splits right yeah I don’t think they they’re they put that much weight into that I ALS will say the only guy that voted Palo banero on that pod was a former assistant coach and Steve Jones Jr and he said that he was the one doing votes for

The coach uh for love that but yeah that’s that’s what I’m saying too there but uh but hey who knows maybe maybe Steve Jones him being a coach and everything he knows how they how they do it and how they vote but yeah and he framed it in the proper context of all

The injuries and everything like that so that the efficiency numbers with Pao doesn’t nearly tell the entire story yep so I I am still very optimistic but I’m also not like just assuming I would love have my riot gear waiting here in the case that PO I would

Love to uh to assume I just I just don’t want to be hurt fair enough we we’ve been there before I just I I think the lack of national media attention that he’s gotten is going to pay off with like oh we haven’t talked about this guy a ton

He hasn’t been on national TV magic are playing really really well he’s been their best player they’re exceeding expectations like Trey young playing on the now 20 win Atlanta Hawks who are four and a half games uh behind the magic and are barely in the playin 20

And 27 like if your team stinks I don’t care what your numbers are you shouldn’t be an All-Star you just shouldn’t if your team is garbage you shouldn’t be an All-Star you don’t like that win games that’s how I feel I saw something that said and I forgive forgive me for not

Giving credit I saw something on social media that said Pao banero will have been named an All-Star before he had a game on National Television which just insane and’s first game on National Television will be the All-Star Game yeah it’s true pretty wild to think about yeah because right now I’m yeah

When when what’s the what’s the date of of that is thear game yeah the O the OKC game oh yeah so yeah you’re right the OKC game is first cuz that’s going to be the 13th and then the All-Star Game will be that Sunday that’s the so all right

So his second still his second nationally televised game being on being the All-Star game is pretty solid so all right um let’s go ahead and talk about the state of the magic Luke so this week so far The Magik are one and one on the week a loss to the Mavs on

Monday and a win over the Spurs on Wednesday they currently sit eighth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 25 and 23 they’re now 12 games back of Boston 7 and a half games back of Milwaukee six games back of New York five games back of Cleveland five games

Back of Philadelphia two games back of Indie they are tied with Miami two and a half games up on Chicago four and a half games up on Atlanta five and a half games up on Brooklyn seven and a half games up on Toronto on the season the

Magic are 24th in the NBA and offensive rating with a rating of 112.5 they are fifth in the NBA and defensive rating with an offensive rating of 111.6 they’re 14th in the NBA in net rating with a net rating of 0.9 taking a look at the injury report still just Gary

Harris uh sitting there with the the calf strain who has now missed the past 14 games and is starting to progress in his onc court work per Jamal Mosley uh but is not yet graduated to start doing any type of real contact work so he’s slowly progressing they’re going to take

It day by day we sort of know the protocol with the magic when it comes to injuries uh so that is going to be something to pay attention to hopefully we’re not without Gary Harris for too much longer uh but it would be a welcome return to get him back into the

Lineup let’s go back to Monday against the the Dallas Mavericks which was definitely a bit of a uh a roller coaster if you will so second night of a back to back no Marquel faults as they continue to you know have the maintenance with him returning from the

Injury but Jonathan Isaac inserted into the starting lineup with one of the alltime teases in the history of the Orlando Magic like you see Jonathan Isaac in that lineup you saw him you know the the game before against Phoenix looked incredible defensively that lineup of Jaylen Suggs Palo ban Carol

Fron vogner ji and Wendell so that’s how we’re starting the game so it’s like we are just pushing this you know the magic version of the death lineup just right out of the gates magic go down 7 to2 a few minutes into the game then they go

On a 16 to nothing run Luke to take an 11-point lead in the first quarter magic uh you know MAV start coming back a little bit and then uh ji checks back in to end the Half Magic going a quick I think it was a seven or or eight to nothing run

And then magic are up 77- 61 in the first half half and this is where the story takes a turn magic are outscored 12 to 35 in the third quarter they shoot 20% in the quarter to Dallas’s 63% in that quarter and then in the fourth fourth quarter sort of went back

And forth but what I want to turn to Luke is the twom minute and 3 second Mark uh Lively is fouled by Cole Anthony but the the refs don’t blow the whistle quick enough I guess and Wendell Carter sort of swiping for the ball catches Lively Square in the face he’s bleeding

All over the place from the nose so they get the initial foul call on Cole Anthony they hit Wendell Carter Jr with the flagrant one so something that I don’t recall ever seeing was they gave drik Lively four free throws for the opportunity to make three of them so the

Magic were up one at this point and in one possession because uh Derrick Lively ends up missing the rebound and then uh Tim Hardaway Jr ends up with the rebound gets fouled so the magiker up one and in one possession go from being up one to down three in the

Span of about 10 seconds uh Josh Green hits a layup about a minute later to give them a five-point lead poo banero splits free throws it’s a four-point game with 54 seconds left and then Luca finds drik Lively with 36 seconds left for the alup to make it a six-point game

Pao banero makes a dunk with 30 seconds left that uh you probably could argue that he was fouled on that they just decided not to blow the whistle on to me it definitely looked like um uh no this was the the dunk a couple of possessions later but looked like

Palo Banker was fouled on the arm by Luca donic no whistle of course even though every time you breathed on LCA donic he was heading to the free throw line in this game game basically it comes down to a final possession they’re playing the free throw game back and

Forth the magic are down uh three with six seconds left and you just know that if the magic get the ball back you’re going to end up fouling pal banero goes to the free throw line misses the first one misses the second one on purpose down two fron vonner ends up with it

Throws up a 35 foot prayer doesn’t go in Magic lose 131 to 129 one of the more frustrating losses of the season Luke because they were playing so well they had a 25-point lead uh or I’m sorry they had a 16-point lead the 25-point lead was tonight against San Antonio which

Again San Antonio almost came back in that game but he had as much as a 16-point lead in this one in the third quarter and then just little by little Dallas started to chip away at it Luca was getting to the free throw line Tim Hardaway Jr was getting pretty hot he

Had three threes in that third quarter all of which were wide open and the magic just forgot to Def defend or forgot how to defend offense goes cold for the entirety of the third quarter picks back up a little bit in the fourth quarter but it just wasn’t enough to to

To bring you all the way back in the magic end up losing what really should have been a very winnable game there in Dallas I think that everybody shares the same sentiment about this game which is Jonathan Isaac not playing the second half was the difference and you really don’t need to

Look any further than just his Plus minus in just basically 8 minutes he was a plus 15 in 8 minutes and he only had a field goal he was one of two but when Luca would actually shoot the ball I think he went 0 of two against ji when he attempted to shoot

With him on him but in large part it was just due to the fact that Luca couldn’t do anything with Jonathan Isaac there was a few different possessions where ji got matched up onto him and you could just see Luca would try to drive couldn’t make it happen pull it

Back out try to get a screen ji would fight over it he would try to penetrate the pain again couldn’t get past ji I was just laughing just watching Luca try to get past Jonathan Isaac so for that to be the case and for him to make such

An impact I was don’t get me wrong I was thankful he was playing a back to back but 8 minutes was not what I anticip ated I was hopeful for like 12 to 15 so for him to just play eight I get it they’ve those Powers higher than

Jamal Mosley have instructed for him to be on the minute restriction there to to as he’s still rehabbing but super frustrating that’s what it comes down to and it sucks because the loss then overshadows the game that poo banero had in this one Pao was Sensational except in that third quarter

Again aside from the third quarter which is becoming somewhat of a trend and which we’ve started to keep tabs on but you know he finishes the game with 36 369 and 7even 52% shooting 13 of 25 from the field so it stinks that that’s this game is a loss right and it’s just

Unfortunate in a waste of a poo Bank Hero game again thankfully he’s giving them to us so of and that we’re we get some wins and great Palo B Carol performances still but also like you alluded to Palo Ben Carol going 04 in that third quarter a minus 18 he played 10 minutes

And 30 seconds just not going to do it especially when you’ve got Luca donit on the other side of the ball or in this case also having Tim Hardway Jr who conversely he played the entire third quarter was three or four from three had 15 points five of seven from the field then

Luca had 12 four of six from the field they and five assists Luca had alone in that third quarter it it was it was ridiculous and it felt a lot like the beginning of the Season where you were struggling your offense was sputtering in the third quarter and the other team was

Capitalizing on it Tom Hardway Jr and luuka donic capitalized alone in that quarter and did to you what you did to the Phoenix Suns the night prior scheduled loss all that kind of stuff and it doesn’t matter because it just was so frustrating down to the end it was such a winnable

Game the magic should be looking at a three-game win streak right now so I don’t know I don’t know I this was a super super frustrating game that you didn’t really expect to win you go into it you have an incredible first Quarter and then that second half was just a nightmare specifically the third in the the postgame video that I I posted immediately after that game I went on like a little rant of like the lesson that this team needs to learn is night in and night out it has to be the

Defense for 48 minutes that carries you if the offense is clicking that night as well and shots are falling then congratulations it’s an added bonus Pao and the rest of the starters get to sit the last five six minutes of the game and get some rest before the the next one right

But sometimes what happens with this team is the shots aren’t falling they let it affect the defense and they lose the energy and the attention to detail on that end because they’re so frustrated this was sort of the opposite where you score 7 s points in the first

Half and everything is going in and you let your foot off the gas defensively because it’s like hey if we don’t get a stop we’re going to get a bucket on the other end and we’re up 12 13 14 15 for the majority of that you know second quarter and Dallas isn’t really

Threatening and you come out in that second half in that third quarter and all of a sudden now the shots aren’t falling and Dallas is are and the defense is just super unorganized and all over the place and again all three of Tim hard three-pointers in that third quarter you

Go back two of them were completely wide open and the other was wide open because of a mo Vagner Blow by that Hardaway Just Hits him with the pump fake takes one dribble to his left and nobody’s within six feet of him and knocks it in

The other part of this game that was incredibly frustrating it’s not the reason that you lost was the officiating and Dallas shooting what was it 43 free throws in this game Luca donic shooting 21 of them I know there are a lot of people out

There that are big on Luca he puts up a lot of numbers so on and so forth I don’t find Luca donic fun to watch play basketball Cher HS some nice shots he he makes some nice passes but his constant complaining and crying to the officials after every single Miss shot attempt of

His he really believes if I didn’t make it I must have been fouled and he lets the referees know about it and the way that they just let this guy parade to the free throw line part of it were the magic were step late you know making

Rotations and and just not getting to the ball soon enough and and fouling they did foul a lot in this game but then you go down the the other end Pao had a a late jump shot uh from the the Baseline where the defender Falls underneath his feet Pao can’t land

Safely no call fron vogner is driving to the Lane makes the layup but is clearly bumped on the attempt no call closing seconds of this game Poo banero drives to the Lane in the last two minute report they acknowledged that Luca donic made contact with Poo’s arm but they

Deemed it as being a brush it was marginal contact it was enough for poo banero to notice it on his way to the rim and it’s not poo Banko’s fault that he’s 610 250 pounds a foul is a foul just because it doesn’t affect one guy

The way that it would a Trey young doesn’t make it a foul and we know you would give the whistle to Trey young because we’ve seen that plenty of times so the consistency in the way that the magic are officiated compared to just tons of other teams will always drive me

Crazy not the reason that you lost this game heck when you look at the magic they were 21 of 28 from the free throw line you make a few more free throws and you end up winning this game the ji thing was definitely weird you know 7 Minutes 53 seconds after starting the

Game and everything that was said in the postgame our guy fison was in San Antonio tonight pregame asked Jamal Mosley about about it again whether or not the plan going into the game was for him to play eight minutes and basically it just seems like they were going to

Play it by ear he played the first half doesn’t seem like he was injured because doesn’t end up on the injury report he was a full go tonight played really well was a big part of the win but I think what happened was like hey this is the

First time this guy has played a back toback in two plus months had to go at go to him at halftime like hey how are you feeling and he was probably pretty winded I would guess and it’s just crazy that not maybe not crazy but it’s unfortunate that he isn’t able to give

You three or four minutes at the end of the game because like you said we all sort of feel that if he’s able to give you just another few minutes in this game against Dallas you’re able to pull out the win I mean what you just need a

Stretch in that third quarter anything’s better than what we saw in that third quarter and you end up losing the game by two you can’t tell me Jonathan Isaac doesn’t make the difference in this game in that second half you just can’t like just just three points better of a third

Quarter in that the plus 15 in 7 minutes 53 seconds is mindblowing and and all you need is another Jonathan Isaac stent even a five minutes and you probably make it have a great enough impact obviously it’s hypothetical might not be true but it’s still possibility he showed us in the

First half that it’s a real possibility he showed us every time he stepped on the floor that he’s going to change the game now I also will say the free throw thing I’m conflicted about it because I know that you and I are going to be benefiting from the Superstar

Whistle well they need to hurry it up couple years they need to hurry it up I’m ready I’m waiting for it we had a decade of being on the other end of it it’s our freaking turn it’s my turn you said it was my turn it is absolutely the case of what you

Mentioned a couple months ago maybe well I think it was when we played the Celtics that when an incredible Defender is defending and they basically try to make a play um what was was the comparison you make that basically like they’re not they’re going to get the benefit of the whistle

Because they’re they’re so incredible right oh it must not be a foul cuz they made a play similar exact same situation actually with scores in the NBA LCA donic is that good that you do find yourself lacking you know maybe not being able to keep up with him slide with him get you

Your hips around on him those things happen and then you’re caught in a bad position where you’re swiping down or you’re you know get called for a blocking foul whatever it might be that happens because Luca is that good so he is also given the benefit of the

Whistle when he gets brushed and he reacts it’s just easier to bait because it’s like oh this guy gets fouled all the time actually so it must have gotten fouled then I do think that there is definitely a concept to that and and a theory to it that is proven to be true

But I also do know that Palo B Carol is going to be getting the benefit of the doubt I mean he shot 11 free throws in this game pao’s going to Pao still gets a little bit more than me I’m not lying I’m not going to hide that yeah well

That’s what I’m saying my opinion Chang when it benefits us well yeah unashamedly yeah you wouldn’t be a magic fan you wouldn’t be Jonathan Osborne of The six- Man Show and I wouldn’t be luke Sylvia at the six-man show if we didn’t uh acknowledge the homerism what really

Annoys me is the magic are third in free throw attempts a game and 27th in free throw percentage hey you can’t make him that just blows yeah make your free throws like the the magic have probably lost four or five games this month Alone by Miss free throws

Yeah what did I say we went 6 and 11 or 6 and 10 this month maybe maybe you’re able to flip that if your free throw shooting is a is a bit better over over the course of the last couple of weeks it’s it’s been an issue all season long

Going to be even more important as we get into the playoffs and yeah this this Dallas game was incredibly frustrating because you saw like both ends of it like the as good as this team can be and as bad as this team can be all in one game and

Then you have just people that are annoying like LCA donic and him you know talking trash and taunting down the stretch of this game well is just super annoying it’s like bro you all you do is cry the entire game and then you you just get every call anyways like it’s

It’s it’s pretty crazy but yeah this was an unfortunate game like you mentioned Palo ban Cara was incredible the 36 points 13 of 25 four from eight from behind The Arc nine rebounds seven assists two steals this is like Paulo’s last audition you know to the to the

Coaches around the league making his case to be an All-Star and I just don’t know you know how you make a a better you know like final statement to those guys in terms of hey this guy needs to be in the All-Star Game another thing that was spoiled in this one Anthony

Black 20 points 7 of nine from the floor four of four from behind the arc three rebounds a uh an assistant a block playing in the hometown in front of his hometown crowd Anthony black shooting the lights out when he hit when he had that one that he was like falling like

Off the glass and it just kissed off the glass went right through the net like this kid is just absolutely on fire and the fact that Anthony black is willing to take threes and is making them right now although low volume at a pretty good

Rate if this kid can figure out how to organize an offense and improve as a playmaker we’re we’re going to be really good for a long time I I I really like Anthony black I like what we’ve seen at him him this year and uh when he had it

Going especially in that first half against Dallas I was like all completely on board the Anthony Black Train here’s what I’ll say is that it’s hard to it’s hard to really with like game by game like you and I obviously and magic fans who watch every game are able to see

Anthony black has great potential but I think it’s hard to lose side of it because he doesn’t have as he doesn’t get as much shine and especially in that starting lineup have to get minutes to do that exactly so he doesn’t and that’s my point too is like even

When he was starting he wasn’t getting a ton of shine he was just kind of staying in his Lane which is what I appreciated about him as a rookie just being happy with the opportunity and doing his thing I would encourage you guys to find or just go watch like highlights of Anthony

Black to this point there’s been some floating around on social media as of late especially after that Mavericks game but I would encourage you to go watch it because I watched it today already liking Anthony black and the prospect that he is with his potential

And I watched it and I was like I totally forgot like all these tough finishes he does super well with contact at The Rim he usually just bounces off and readjusts in the air and is able to bank in or whatever he needs to do he’s super

Impressive and you lose sight of that when you don’t when you really are just getting him in small spurts but if you watch his highlights and at least just like made shots from this season like the kid he’s got great great potential and that’s all you will find by watching

That like his ability to make tough shots so many of them are tough I think that we want him to obviously get to the point where he can take guys off the dribble a little bit more but but I think he’s even shown Improvement in that area on the Baseline

His three-point shot is well respected enough a lot of his Corner threes or like when he drives Baseline a lot of those Baseline drives are derived from people just biting on his like slight pump fake from the three because he’s made it enough and he’s gotten the respect and it’s just super impressive

From him to already be adapting and learning as this young into his career and the fact that at least for the last fews hasn’t gotten consistent playing time and I I just find myself like a rookie that gets inconsistent minutes you would think when he’s out there

You’re like well see this is why you’re not getting minutes and that doesn’t happen with Anthony black when Anthony Black’s on the floor I’m like this is why you need to get minutes this is we need to see more from this kid don’t get me wrong there are times where you’re

Like oh that was a very rookie mistake there’s just times where like his timing is wrong or his shot selection isn’t right or he doesn’t know the defender like he doesn’t I don’t know what it is as far as like I’m I’m sure it’s part of

The game being fast and it needing to slow down and things but like off a pump fake or if he does lose a Defender not understanding that that Defender has recovered already and is probably going to block your shot from behind he has that happen a couple times where he

Tries to pull it from the elbow and it gets swatted from behind just things like that you’re like oh you’re you know this is where I remember you’re a rookie you’ve been so great in the the opportunities you’ve been given there are some rookie moments to be expected

He’s he’s even Pao banero who had the greatest rookie season since Blake Griffin was had his rookie moments so Anthony Black’s got him too but he is just really really good already and I I like was in my mind debating whether or not I was going to say this because I know

Some people aren’t going to like it but I’m just going to say it anyways Anthony black and the potential that we’ve seen from him further cements in my mind that Markel fols is not here Beyond this year whether that’s at the tread deadline or if the magic decide to move on from him

You know and let him walk in free agency like Anthony Black’s ceiling right now to me is exponentially higher than Marquel foltz’s is going to be just unfortunately for Marquel it comes down to his health but I just I see if you’re asking me who has the better chance of

Being here long term and being like the F part of the future of this team when we start to really compete it’s Anthony black and to me it’s not close yeah I I I definitely agree um I I think that people will be a maybe a little bit either

Partial towards faults which I get it’s a it’s a great story in in the sense of him coming to Orlando Orlando allowing him to rehab and then him being what he was for us and recently he has been what I about to say I I want to throw that

Out there he’s been more good than bad I don’t I don’t think don’t get me wrong I do also I do as a sidebar I do love the fact that Mark Al falz is willingly taking more mid-range elbow pull-up jumpers free throw line jumpers now where we weren’t getting that at all in

His return he like wasn’t even looking like it wasn’t like he just knocking the rust off the dude there was he didn’t even attempt you have to attempt to knock rust off and he didn’t but now I don’t know if it’s it’s a rehab thing if

It was or is to or whatever who knows he has a massive bandage on his shoulder and he still has a very noticeable hitch even in those mid-range attempts that he is taking right something has changed there yeah yeah that definitely safe but he has taken some more of those but

Regardless I in 2024 I I do want everybody except maybe the big man to be able to at least attempt a three or be so Elite such as Jonathan Isaac who I’m on board with you I want to see Jonathan Isaac be the fiveman for the long term so I don’t

Know what that looks like for Wow Carter Jr he’s been good too as of late so I don’t know what that looks like but anyway I just went on a different a bunch of different tangents because I just there’s a lot to to talk about with this team right now

But yeah with with Anthony black and Marquel fultz for me it’s not even so much about Marquel it’s just like I’m also looking at what the future could look like and Anthony Black’s got to be a part of it I I I don’t know that I don’t know for

Certain that he’s going to be a facilitator per se hopefully he can and he’s shown potential but I I don’t know what that’s going to look like but his scoring and his shooting ability is already impressive enough the the improvements that he’s made from you know like Arkansas and summer league

Like shooting the ball he’s made like Leaps and Bounds in in terms of improvement there and now on the season he’s shooting 38% from behind the ark now that’s on 1.4 attempts per game but when you’re looking at the scou report you see a guy shooting 38% from behind

The ark you pay attention to that a little bit and I don’t know that I’m willing to go as far as like saying Anthony black absolutely is the future of the point guard position for this team but if you’re asking me if it’s Anthony black and it’s marel folz to me

It’s Anthony black and I’m I’m not even really thinking about it just because Marquel fultz is is still the the superior basketball player by a wide margin but to me Marquel fultz is at his ceiling and Anthony black is at his floor and you give Anthony black two or

Three years and he can figure out how to be more of a facilitator and uh be able to get the offense organized and I think he’s going to be a much better player than Marquel f is right now and because like defensively I think they’re really really close and you just give Anthony

Black the extra you know two or three inches in height and size that he has over Marquel is just going to be a little bit more versatile on that end they’re close defensively but am I like Anthony black has plays that jump off off the page too

In terms of just he does but Mark H fults is the more experienced and more like Savvy Defender where the mistakes that you mentioned that Anthony black makes from time to time Markel folz like is like the ceiling sure defensively but like where their floor is right now like

Marquel F’s like you know what you’re getting from him every play he’s not going to have like those mental lapses and a year from now Anthony won’t either but like that’s the only like I don’t feel like we lose a ton defensively going from Mar like Anthony to Marquel I

Guess is what I’m trying to say yeah I just think about Jaylen Brunson with Anthony black on him that was ridiculous obviously his length was the issue for him but that’s who Anthony black is going to go against most of the time is like ones and twos and with his

Length he’s going to disrupt a lot of guards especially smaller ones like Jaylen Bronson that’s what sticks out to me and the performance I think about defensively of like what can he be when he learns how to use all of his length that’s that’s the type of Defender that

I think he could be and the fact that you can switch him on to threes you know pretty comfortably and him not being in no man’s land so yeah we’re all aboard the the Anthony Black Train still love Marquel fultz don’t take that the wrong way playing very well um definitely is

Is I I don’t want to say put our concerns at ease but it’s not nearly as as bad as as what it looked like when he when he first came back and the fact that he’s taken those mid-ranges is is super um encouraging all right enough about the

Mass game enough about Anthony black let’s talk a little bit about patreon so our patrons are the individuals that help keep the lights on here help us you know be able to make time in our lives to watch Magic games and record podcast and do different events help us do all

The things that we do we cannot thank our patrons enough if you’re a a new or a longtime listener or viewer of the podcast uh and you want to know how you can get involved and help us uh do what we do now and and maybe then some help

Us do even more than we’re doing right now the patreon is a great way to be able to do that you can find us at patreon.com the6 man show we have uh different levels of tiers each with their own uh different varying levels of benefits so you can find what works best

For you and uh subscribe to that and again help us do what we do each month part of our Elite tier in Hall of Fame tier benefits as we give them a very special shout out each and every episode I’m going to start that now and start

That by shouting out the court cousins and then Drew Gooden Armen Carson tulo Jonathan borgas normal magic player history Gabe Gaines Whiffle Michael Martin Jamal Miller Michael salap pong Donkey Punch Dave Pao and Frances Warth Pier a Dylan Holden Mr Mikey Eduardo Sanchez danal doto 15 Bobby Skinner go

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Patreon.com the6 man show Jonathan you know I’m going to Orlando tomorrow or on Friday as you know as you are as well do you know what that means I’m making time for because you make time for things that are priorities you know what I’m making time for on Friday

Jam Hot Chicken Jam Hot Chicken so I’ll be going to 400 West New England Avenue sweet 13 in Hannibal Square I’m going to go to jamhot chicken.com to access the menu Order ahead so that it’ll be ready for when I get there and uh if you guys aren’t familiar already Jam Hot Chicken

Is Nashville and La inspired Hot Chicken Shack locally owned and operated in Winter Park Florida and you guys can go find them on social media at jamot chicken go check them out tell them we sent you Luke you are very brave ordering ahead when you got to take the turnpike

To get to Orlando cuz you just never know what’s going to happen on the turnpike I did that once and I was literally messaging Jam Hot Chicken on Instagram while I’m stuck in traffic on the turnpike like I swear I’m coming I’m GNA be there if I don’t get there in

Time you guys can just throw up my food I’ve already paid for it uh but luckily I got there like 15 minutes before they closed and my food was still hot and fresh and ready to go so you’re you’re you’re a gambler I feel good about it I

Feel good about it because Jam HOT chicken’s food not just spice level but Readiness and hotness stays hot for a good 10 minutes after I get it so cuz they’re they’re preparing it on order I got no problem ordering it and uh and rolling the dice there cuz I still have

A feel have a really good feeling as long as it’s in that box I’m going to open it it’s still going to be hot and ready to go awesome my mom has never been to any of our events in the 5 years that that that’s not true my mom has was

At like the OG watch parties that I used to do in Old smart Buffalo Wild Wings but since we’ve been doing things a little bigger a little better a little extra if you will she hasn’t been to any of our you know bigger events so she is

Coming out to the watch party so if you all see my mother Friday at the watch party don’t be disrespectful because I will kill you I will murder someone for my mother don’t get it twisted thank thank thank thank her for the birth of her son Jonathan Osborne for uh got to

Talk about conception at all don’t be disrespectful you want to thank for giving birth that’s totally fine you don’t have to get you know with the extracurriculars be respectful to my mother or I’ll stab you in the neck with a soldering iron but hopefully my mom is

Going to have jam hot chicken for the first time on Friday so looking forward to that all right let’s talk about this Spurs game always good to record after a win Marquel folz back in the starting lineup Jonathan Isaac coming in Off the Bench was somewhat of a somewhat of a

Rocky start you know for the magic they got down by as much as 11 in the first quarter uh then Jonathan Isaac checks in starts checking up wemy Magic on a nice little seven to nothing run like almost immediately and pretty good uh second quarter for the magic as they were able

To take the lead into the half and then they blow the doors open in the third quarter Pao vano starts to get the you know ball rolling a little bit to make a few buckets papovich says all right we’re going to throw a double team at

This kid and see how he does well he started dishing out to Jaylen sugs to fron vonner they start hitting threes and the magic blow open this game took as much as H I believe it was a 25-point lead in this one and all of a sudden I’m

Feeling pretty good I’m texting people I know I’m like man we really needed this win this is great I’m so happy we did this and then about 20 minutes later I was feeling like man I really jinxed us we’re going to lose this freaking game because the Spurs come all the way back

They make it a three-point game with a few minutes left uh but Marquel Foltz Pao banero those guys were able to make big plays down the stretch and the magic go on to win 108 to 98 Victor web minyama this is the first game that we

Really got to take a look at him obviously you’ve seen all the highlights maybe caught a national game or two where you were sort of half watching you’re on Twitter whatever OMB just did that that’s kind of crazy but this is the first game that I sat down in quite

A while you know last year when he was playing in France I watched a few of his games there but this was like the first Wy game this year that I really got the chance to sit down and watch first few minutes of the game it was very apparent

That the magic had no idea what to do with this guy he’s so big so tall arms are so long it’s like no matter where you are on the floor he’s able to make an impact defensively and it was really apparent the first few minutes then Jamal Mosley calls a timeout guys start

Going right at him trying to use the rim as a deterrent so he can’t just come over the top and keep blocking these shots and pal even had it going a little bit offensively to start the game but then Jonathan Isaac checked in and just does what Jonathan Isaac does like pal

Not Pao wemi had nine points in the first quarter and then Jonathan Isaac comes in and I’m like as good as ji is like this dude is supposed to be the second coming of Jesus Christ apparently the the amount of hype that this kid has received deservedly so not maybe not the

Jesus Christ comparisons but the basketball hype that he has received th like he is as advertised he moves in a way that a man his size should not be able to move he is so skilled he is so intimidating defensively has so much touch at the same time but Jonathan

Isaac came in and I was like all right let’s see how this is going to go and Jonathan Isaac did what he does to everybody being able ble to take the other team’s best player and effectively cutting their impact in half while ji is on the floor is a massive Game Changer

And that’s what Jonathan Isaac did in this game and the magic uh you got a little hairy there in the second half but being able to pull out the win on a road trip game that you desperately needed to win I I went as far to call

This a must- win at of this game and yeah magic at the W and uh little concerned but I’m feeling pretty good about it poo bankera after the game said that Jonathan Isaac and and regard who’s asked about his defensive performance against wimy Pao just described it as

Another day of the office they said quote there’s no matchup that I think he hasn’t won this year that’s what Jonathan Isaac does every game it’s true I I’m there was a part of me that was like oh I don’t know about Jonathan Isaac at the five or just like

Guarding seven-footers with whatever it might be but tonight against wiama I was like yeah if you can if you can D up wiama you’re you’re just fine and uh and he did he had the block on wimy when wimy thought he had him beat wm’s not maybe not used to playing against guys

With length like Jonathan Isaac and gets past ji recovers smacks it I believe off the backboard so just Jonathan Isaac he’s just incredible again just another one of those nights where I feel like this is me every night now just chuckling at Jonathan Isaac playing defense when he’s in the

Game I just find myself wanting the offensive possession to be over so we can skip to the defensive one so I can see what ridiculous thing he’s going to do and it’s wild but I can’t can’t help but just watch him the entire time I find myself like not even ball watching

Sometimes and I’m like I’m just locked into what ji is doing and it’s just you see just like his mind working in real time on the court his instincts just through the roof I just I need it a little more offensively but defensively don’t don’t you really

Though like if this is as good as it gets offensively with ji you still won’t take everything else I I’ll Take Everything be nice but do you need it do I need it but no but I’m a selfish man I I would I would love a little more I

Would love for him to be able to take that corner three I me not think this is going to Clank the side of the backboard you know what I mean so unless you’re going to tell me that everyone else in the lineup can take and make a three

Which is where the whole Anthony black or just like any capable shooting point guard comes in because for the long term I would love for Jonathan Isaac to be the five we all need a little bit more games played out of him to be like that’s our future

Five Buton it lightly but yeah it’s a fair point we’re we’re just it would suck if we don’t get to see Jonathan Isaac full strength for at least a few seasons oh I don’t know makes me sick the crazy thing to me is like this dude went three and a half

Years without playing basketball regularly and we were talking about him maybe missing a step like he’s as good defensively as he’s ever been like you go back to December of 2019 in in young Jonathan Osborne’s mind of like how good Jonathan Isaac is defensively and given the muscle that

He’s put on he hasn’t lost any speed or agility or lateral quickness like you talk about guys who were like insensual shot blockers Jonathan Isaac is that but just his defensive instincts and the way that he navigates around the other team’s offense to get in a spot to help

Or cause a a a a a change in someone’s shot or get a deflection or make the block or often times guys get lined up on ji they have the ball and they’re like I’m just going to get rid of this cuz I’m not going to do anything with it he’s

Just a special special Defender man and by any metric that you look at he by minute by game by 100 possessions is by far in way the most impactful player for for the magic like it’s a legitimate question is Jonathan Isaac our third best player right now

I think the answer is yes to that we need him on the floor more we absolutely need him on the floor more but if you just like in a Vacuum taking everything that each guy gives you is Jonathan Isaac our third best player right now I think the answer is yes I still value Jaylen Suggs I know that he is taking threes right now at a high volume and such as tonight maybe not converting

As as much right he shoots four tonight which is with ji and jayen it is close it it has to be because Jaylen is and availability is a big part of that and an incredible incredible perimeter defender on ball Defender all of the things and he’s still at the end of the

Day he’s still shooting 38 and a half% on five threes a game so it’s hard for me to say there is an argument as far as impact third best player though I still give the edge to jayen Suggs I think that jayen when he had it going you know whatever that was

A few weeks ago you couldn’t convince J had it going the entire season until the last you know week or so right and that’s what I’m saying like it’s easy right now to be like Jonathan Isaac’s the third best player but as soon as Jaylen Suggs is

Back in it I I don’t think that ji is the third best but he’s incredible for someone that by all accounts and people that cover this league and cover this team that see how special of a Defender jayen Suggs is I don’t know if anybody gets less respect in terms of

Their defensive reputation than Jaylen Suggs jayen Suggs fights his butt off every single night on that end gets the most disrespectful whistle out of any Elite Defender I’ve ever seen in my life like people can and do whatever they want to jayen Suggs run him over throw

Him to the floor crash into his knees whatever not a whistle jayen sugs breathes on Luca donic or on Trey young and those guys are going to the free throw line I think after like this year if he makes like a you know all defensive team in the entire league like

Just can no longer ignore the fact that he’s a great defender maybe then he’ll start getting a bit more respect but Jaylen sug as a Defender gets one of the absolute worst whistles I’ve ever seen in my life he touches a guy you can cash it bring

It to the bank somebody’s blowing the whistle it doesn’t matter what is what the context is he makes any amount of contact with with an offensive player they’re blowing the whistle every single time I do think it has a lot to do with the physicality he plays with not that

It’s right as far as how he’s how he’s officiated but I think they just they know that jayen sugs has the reputation of being the bull in the china shop great defender but maybe sometimes a little handsy and he’s still learning too what he can do and what he can’t do and these

Rules I mean they’re changing all the time it feels like as far as what the officiating does and and and what they’re changing but it it’s hard to be a perimeter defender in the NBA right now especially but also as a note to the Spurs game jayen Suggs had four steals

Tonight Jaylen Suggs has four steals also another thing I don’t want to be overlooked he had five assists and one turnover tonight he was very good on that end one more three for my parlay but I’m I’m not the I’m not going to be in his

DM damn it j y uh and then Jonathan Isaac four blocks so they combin for eight stocks steals a block that’s hot not not bad for your your two best defenders on your team they were both Sensational is is top 10 in NBA guards in personal fouls per game part

Of that though is he’s always match up on the other team’s best perimeter player right who happens to be the best player on the team at drawing contact and drawing fouls so yes yeah but could also get a a better whistle I’ll just say that

All right back to this Spurs game I mean just overall good performance for the magic you know outside of that you know spurt in the fourth quarter where um it wasn’t even so much the the Magic’s U defense as it was the offense just went completely cold San Antonio went on like

A 19-2 run in that fourth quarter to make the game pretty close apart from what I talked about with the Dallas game where this team has to realize that they have to defend every single night for an entire 48 minutes and not letting their foot off

The gas which I do believe given the talent and the potential they have defensively that eventually they will get there it might not be this season but eventually they will get there we have to get away from these six seven minute stretches where we cannot get a bucket like something has to change

There I don’t I don’t know if it’s Pao and Fran just saying hey we’re just going to put our heads down and get to the rim no matter what I don’t know if it’s more shooting I’m not entirely sure of what the answer is but it is just you

Are losing games because of it you lost the Dallas game as bad as the defense was if you can get a few more buckets in that third quarter you you might win the game you get a few buckets you know during that stretch tonight against the San Antonio

Wy doesn’t come in the the last few minutes the starters don’t have to play the last few minutes in that game and you just went outright you know pretty comfortably so for me that’s going to be the the next uh the next step for the magic is 48 minutes of defense and then

Sure you can have you know two or three minute stretches four minute stretches where you can’t buy a bucket but these six seven minute stretches of just the offense being non-existent we got to find a way to to cut down on that you can even have it once every whatever 20 games

But as often as they’ve been having these scoring droughts there’s a there’s a common an nominator somewhere and I don’t know if it’s like just late to coaching change like adjustments or just not an urgency coming out of the half I don’t know cuz we’ve seen these guys play with urgency

Out of outside you know coming out of the end the second half but it it’s weird man and and Pao just like I really want to sit down and look at his shots from the third quarter in a lot of these games cuz he’s going 06 04 one for six consistently right now

During the third quarter all right let’s talk about the the schedule that is is coming up here we’re we’re a little you know over an hour into this now we’ll we’ll close with this so we’ve been talking about you know the magic have the the easiest strength of schedule you know the rest

Of the way here as I pull up tank ofon I’m going to go to the uh remaining schedule strength and the magic still do have the easiest remaining schedule left uh with their opponents for the rest of the year having a 44.8% win percentage you still have three games against Detroit a game

Against Washington another game against the Spurs three games remaining against Charlotte a game against Portland and two games against Toronto your toughest games left on the schedule you got one game against Minnesota one game against OKC two against Milwaukee one against the Clippers two against the Knicks one

Against the Cavs so we talked about you know that 28 game stretch Luke starting December 6th and basically running until today you as we’re recording this the 31st of January this is where the schedule starts to lighten up so Friday obviously you’ve got Minnesota but then you’re at Detroit winnable game

You’re at Miami winnable game you’re home for San Antonio you have to win that game you’re home for Chicago winnable game you’re at home for Oklahoma City and you’re at home for New York those are a backtack you have to split one of those right like you can’t

You can’t really lose both of those games you got to find a way to to win one of those then you’re at Cleveland you’re at Detroit have to win that you’re at Atlanta winnable game I want to say Brooklyn is a winnable game but they’ve killed us so badly this

Season I really don’t know what to think of it but you should win that game we haven’t played well against them so far but you should be able to beat Brooklyn then your home for Utah winnable game you’re home for Detroit winable game you’re at Charlotte you’re at

Washington can definitely win both of those you’re at New York we’ve played really well against New York so far this season but they’ve you know undergone some changes immed mediately after the last time that we beat them and they look great right now then you’re home for Indiana you’re home for Brooklyn

You’re at Toronto then you’re home for Toronto then you have Charlotte again like I just went through the next like 16 17 games and 75% of those upwards maybe 80% of those are like games that if you had to just pick on paper you would probably bet the magic to be

Favored and and should win a lot of those games so this is the stret stretch of the Season where it’s time to to pick up wins it’s time to put some winning streaks together if you’re going to make a run at the five six seven seed whatever this is the part of the

Schedule where you’ll be able to do that Luke yeah yeah this is It’s favorable got to start stacking wins and I’m I’m optimistic that they’ll be able to do that keep Jonathan Isaac healthy at all costs hopefully not at the cost of eight minutes a game on backto backs but might be the

Foreseeable future we’ll take back Tob backs while we got them though keep everybody healthy maybe get Gary back just throw another shooting wrinkle that’ll be fun keep it rolling or you know some of these guys might be moved who knows we have it’s exactly a week um from today is the

Trade deadline so this team uh could look very different by the next time that we release a Thursday episode folks so uh don’t forget for Friday is going to be our next watch party at Elixir downtown Orlando at 9 West Washington Street magic are taking on the Minnesota

Timberwolves be sure to come out last year at Elixir was a lot of fun great atmosphere great food uh watch party is going to start at 7:30 tip offs at 8 o’clock make sure that you don’t miss that say your prayers today whatever you got to do make sure that we’re getting

Palo Bay car to the all-star game that’s going to be announced Thursday night on TNT we’re going to do a playback at 6:45 we’ll put out the links on Thursday on our social media accounts so be on the lookout for that and yeah as always let’s get some wins Luke that’s going to

Do it for this one for Luke Sylvia this has been Jonathan osbor you all have been listening to the six-man show and we will catch you guys next time see you thanks for listening to the Sixth Man Show be sure to subscribe on iTunes and Spotify to get new episodes

Downloaded directly to your phone if you enjoyed the show please take a minute to give us a five-star rating and a review it helps out the show a lot follow us on Twitter Instagram and Facebook @ 6man show we’ll catch you guys next time go magic let’s go magic go magic go magic

Today is the day that Paolo Banchero should be named an All-Star. We discuss the loss to Dallas, the win over San Antonio, Jonathan Isaac’s impact, Anthony Black, and more!

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0:00 – Intro
13:13 – State of the Magic
14:44 – Magic at Mavs
32:17 – Anthony Black
43:05 – Patron Shoutout
45:04 – JAM Hot Chicken
47:45 – Magic at Spurs
1:03:14 – Remaining Schedule
1:06:52 – Outro

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