Official Game Thread: Hawks at Magic (6 PM Tip!)

[lethalweapon3]

“All this, just for getting Krispy Kreme on Ponce back open?”

 

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 2016 inductee, and NBA75er, Dr. Shaquille O’Neal will have his #32 jersey elevated into the rafters at E-Z Car Theft Center next month, in Orlando, the city’s NBA team announced on TNT this past Thursday. News to which I offer, to Shaq, “Congratulations!” And to which I say, to the Magic, “What took you guys soon friggin’ long?”

It’s not like people never abdicated small markets for the glitz and glam of big-city teams before. Aside from tanking in hopes of getting a shot to draft a lottery stud like Chris Webber (say, who wound up winning that guy, anyway?) or at least Vin Baker, the Bucks had nothing of significance going on by the time of their home finale in April 1993.

That was when Milwaukee chose to hoist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s #33. It was barely four years after their three-time NBA MVP and one-time NBA champion (all while with the Bucks, who won his services on a coin flip over Phoenix) hung up his Lakers uniform for the final time.

Vince Carter won no chips anywhere. But even as his NBA tenure was abruptly reaching its end with the Atlanta Hawks, the Toronto Raptors were already warming to entreaties to get Air Canada’s iconic #15 into retirement. “Soon,” an appreciative Masai Ujiri has intimated at every turn.

We’re heading to three-digit uni numbers soon enough in most pro sports, anyway, so there’s no reason for palms to sweat over running out of jerseys to hand out. Certainly not pro teams rocking just 15-to-18 man rosters year-over-year. Definitely not the Madge, who have only numbers 6 (for Bill Russell, league-wide) and 49 (honoring 2016’s Pulse victims) on lock.

During their brief NBA tenures in Central Florida, Jeremy Richardson, Justin Harper, and C.J. Watson all asked for #32 to be sewed into their jerseys during the past decade-and-a-half, and the Magic brass didn’t bat an eye. Richardson, who wore #32 when he debuted as a Hawk in 2007, was wearing that jersey for Orlando while The Big Aristotle was twilighting with the Suns, still two seasons away from his merciful retirement.

By my math, it took four years for Kareem, by then the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, to get his Milwaukee number mothballed. It surely won’t take 13 years, the time Orlando had O’Neal waiting, before Toronto does the same for Vince.

Yes, Shaq was only around O-Town for four seasons before bitterly bailing. But he was the centerpiece in elevating the still-minty-fresh Magic from a fun lottery laughingstock to nose-to-nose-with-MJ-level heights, with off-court exploits that made Orlando 90’s Cool, for a hot minute. You don’t think much about Fu Schnickens, but on the occasion you do, you’re not thinking of Brooklyn. How much time does an NBA official let go by, like the Magic’s longtime hanger-on Alex Martins, before letting bygones be bygones?

Perhaps I’m just answering my own question. The Magic, unlike the Bucks but probably the Raps, simply have been waiting for something of significance to transpire, after these future Hall of Famers formally retired from the league. It’s just that in Orlando’s case, nothing much has been going great, not since Dwight pulled a Shaq on them in 2012. Perhaps, that is finally about to change. Thus, the sea-change.

2022’s first-overall pick, peering around his new NBA home arena, probably felt a bit discombobulated upon realizing that 1992’s first-overall pick is commemorated only in the stands, on a Ring of Honor that risks running out of room once Nikola Vucevic makes his way onto it. Paolo Banchero realizes he’d have to do an awful lot for this franchise before a bigwig tells some future ten-day contractor that, sorry, #5 is off-limits.

An awful lot Paolo is doing, indeed. Following up on a career-high 43 points, in a double-OT SEGABABA defeat at Sacramento this past Wednesday, by Friday he and his Magic took the steam right out of Nikola Jokic’s engine. Banchero’s first career triple-double helped Orlando escape Denver with a 122-120 comeback win, reinvigorating a slip-sliding team ahead of their return home today (6 PM Eastern, Bally Sports Southeast and 92.9 FM, BS Florida) to face the slop-sloppy Hawks.

A 3-8 stretch for the Magic cooled the jets of a team that appeared ready for takeoff since these teams last met in Mexico City. They returned home from that trip to dust the Lillard-less Bucks, and shortly thereafter rattled off nine impressive victories in a row. But big losses to Brooklyn, and subsequent defeats against some tough teams, were made tougher for coach Jamahl Mosley as the injuries and illnesses piled up.

Mosley entered the Kings game without the services of Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz (questionable, knee tendinitis), Joe Ingles (out, sprained ankle), Jonathan Isaac (out at the ATM, strained hammy), and others. Those others didn’t include Banchero’s frontcourt co-star, but just over five minutes into that game, the Magic lost Franz Wagner (out, sprained ankle), too.

By Friday’s tipoff, Mosley would discover there would be no starting center in Goga Bitadze (questionable, illness), and no backup big in Wendell Carter (questionable, knee tendinitis), with The Joker looming fresh off his Warrior-killing, Curry-style buzzer beater in San Fran from one night before.

Anthony returned and added a team-high 23 bench points in the win at Denver, but teeth-cutting rookie guard Anthony Black (questionable, illness) exited less than five minutes into that game. Still, unlike some teams we know, Mosley’s defensively oriented Magic (5^th in both D-Rating and D-Reb%, 4^th in opponent TO%) took advantage of the Nuggets’ tiring legs in the second half. They limited the hosts to 53 points in that half while holding Jokic and his teammates to 9-for-33 from three-point distance for the full game.

Having made no significant offseason transactions, unless one counts them picking up former Jazz coach Quin Snyder’s old chap Joe Ingles in free agency, the Magic banked on internal growth among its nine draft picks retained since 2017, and Mosley, charting the path forward. Orlando’s backcourt, though, needs to begin making the strides that Banchero (team-highs of 22.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.9 APG), a potential All-Star reserve, and Wagner have made, particularly on offense.

Through 20 starts, albeit just over 20 MPG, Black has averaged 1.8 APG and 1.6 3FGAs/game. No one on Orlando’s roster clears 40 3FG%, except for Ingles, whenever he plays, and Carter (10 starts, 13 appearances), whenever he can play.

Selected three picks before Wagner in 2021, Jalen Suggs’ career-high of 27 points in this weekend’s shorthanded road win over the reigning NBA champs suggests the Magic (42-40 in 2018-19 breaking up 10 under-.500 seasons since 2011-12) might indeed be ready to make a meaningful leap.

Celebrating their 35^th season in existence, the Magic’s owners probably felt a need to show the home fans this stale franchise is finally willing to make changes, which would explain the sudden switch from the Multilevel Marketing Arena name. Mosely, the Magic coaching staff, and the young players are doing their parts to ensure any major transformations don’t involve them anytime soon.

I believe it won’t be long before a future BIG3 Hall of Famer, and a current trusty backup big in Boston, get to see jersey retirement ceremonies in Atlanta’s basketball arena, either the current or the next one. Just keep one’s nose clean and don’t, like, get drunk and run anybody over or something along the way, and commemoration of your contributions in defining a decade of Hawks Basketball, for better or worse, will happen while you’re still standing.

This goes for The Trae Young (41 points, and one useful assist, to Dejounte Murray, among 8, vs. ORL @ CDMX on Nov. 9), too, no matter how long #11 endures interorganizational dysfunction, and absorbs the team’s arrows for wholesale defensive disarray, before vocally seeking greener, or purpler, pastures. Maybe not right away, but not over a dozen years after his storied NBA career is a wrap, either. A statue? Well, we’ll see.

Lingering pettiness over retiring a jersey number, for just a few years, after an NBA legend spurned your desired long-range expectations? I can dig it. Still, who did these Magic folks think they were? Washington (North Carolina) High School?

 

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3

[HawksNWaffles]

We gonna win today and imma show you why .....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bird_dirt]

10 minutes ago, HawksNWaffles said:

We gonna win today and imma show you why .....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cause we’re washed?

[kg01]

Offbrand tip time, baybee, you know what that means.... we gettin blowed out. 

[lethalweapon3]

His fiery December shooting has come to a smoldering halt, but Bogi's eagerness to Just! Get! One! Three! To Go! keeps his Threak alive at 43 in a row (3rd-longest in The Association as it stands; 33.3 FG%, 26.3 3FG% over past 7 games). His paltry made three against the Pacers was also enough to move his franchise Threak rank to 3rd all-time, just ahead of Mookie's 42 games.

Conversely, and also according to Hawks GameNotes, Dejounte (58.6 FG%, 50.0 3FG% in last 3 games) joins Jayson Tatum as the sole NBA'ers averaging 28+ PPG on 50/50/80+ splits since New Year's Eve.

According to Magic GameNotes, The Piano Man's earworm couldn't escape players' heads on this day in 1996. A snowbound team headed for Philly from Cleveland for a game was forced to wait there in Allentown, PA while the Sixers game got postponed.

We wouldn't see him in the second round, but on this day in 2013 Jameer Nelson became the Magic's all-time franchise leader in assists. In 2009 OTD in Atlanta, Dwight passed Shaq to lead the team in made free throws (whether he still had room to go on missed free throws is unknown).

Not that they ever know what to do with it, but the Hawks have an obvious health advantage with everyone aside from Dre Hunter (inflamed knee) and Mo Gueye on the mend. As of the 12:30 PM Boo-Boo Report, starters Goga Bitadze and Anthony Black remain Questionable with illnesses, Wendell Carter and Markelle Fultz are Questionable with knee tendinites, and Franz Wagner, Gary Harris, Jonny Isaac and Jingles all are declared Out.

 

~lw3

 

[Gray Mule]

WOW!!  ESPN has the Hawks favored in this one!  Our opponent has too many players unable to go.  Hunter is our only starter not available.  

GO ATL HAWKS!!

[JayBirdHawk]

5 minutes ago, Gray Mule said:

WOW!!  ESPN has the Hawks favored in this one!  Our opponent has too many players unable to go.  Hunter is our only starter not available.  

GO ATL HAWKS!!

. 

[lethalweapon3]

Go Gadget Go!

~lw3

[Diesel]

You think #11 will ever be hanging from the Rafters?

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Diesel]

2 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

And his FT% is up.

You won't appreciate what you have until it's gone. 

 

[kg01]

Anybody got proof of life on smHunter?  

[JayBirdHawk]

2 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Anybody got proof of life on smHunter?  

We should get an injury update tomorrow, the 2 week mark.

[GameTime]

Dejounte Murray's last game as Hawk?

 

[kg01]

5 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

We should get an injury update tomorrow, the 2 week mark.

So that's a 'no'?  

[ABH]

I think we should move the whole team to the g league..we may win a few

[Vol4ever]

Dj showing out.  

[thecampster]

On that drive, JJ used the simultaneous hop dribble and did not get called for a travel this time. That's new, that's different and a good sign.

[SalvorMallow]

OO3!!! 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Murray is on it tonight.  No 3s.  Straight attack mode.

1 hour ago, Diesel said:

You think #11 will ever be hanging from the Rafters?

 

He's going to own the franchise record in assists and possibly be 2nd in points.

And he was the leader of a team that got further in the playoffs than any other star player not named Bob Petit.

No doubt he'll be in the rafters.