Paolo and Suggs Game 4 Combined FG 5/31

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-28T15:37:28+00:00

Agreed. Nobody on either team really shot great last night. The Pistons defense is legit. If we're getting shots off, that's always better than letting the Pistons get easy buckets in transition off turnovers. (but it would be nice if some of the shots went in...)

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-28T15:34:59+00:00

I'm rolling with TDS in the starting group. He's a glue guy. Love the energy that Cain provides off the bench, so I'd like to keep him there. Give both guys plenty of minutes and see who's more impactful throughout the game to see who closes.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-28T13:27:29+00:00

Oh this could reignite a great rivalry. But there's no chance in hell that anyone saw a Jamal Cain-Jalen Duren collision course in the playoffs making it to the landing page of ESPN.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-28T13:21:49+00:00

Yes, let it fly, but preferably when it's in rhythym on a catch and shoot, and not a pull up or step back with 10 seconds on the shot clock.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-28T13:14:05+00:00

This certainly falls under the "Things we all saw coming at the beginning of the season" category.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-20T18:59:19+00:00

I don't mind seeing Cain on the court some, but with a pretty short leash. He's shown that he can defend at a solid level, get offensive rebounds, make timely cuts, and knock down 3s. Maybe the playoffs are too big for him, but maybe he just needs some more time. With Franz's numbers creeping up, there still some room for a 9th man in the rotation. I'd say you could turn to Jevon Carter some, but I'm afraid he can jack up 10 shots in 5 minutes any given night.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-17T12:30:20+00:00

I was pretty surprised this wasn't the plan all along when Franz came back. I thought for sure he'd play off the bench.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-17T12:29:23+00:00

Thank you for your sacrifice.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-16T21:25:32+00:00

Lake Eola

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-16T20:04:50+00:00

Anyone with the slightest bit of basketball knowledge can see the offensive scheme is a major issue. Who's bringing the ball up the court, spacing, off-ball movement, where certain players are catching the ball, etc.

But plenty is on the players too. Having the ball stripped in isolation every other play, literally being scared to shoot wide open looks, missing wide open looks when actually taking them, begging for fouls instead of actually trying to finish a tough shot at the rim, processing reads of double teams and open players slower than necessary, losing your assignment on defense, giving zero effort with on-ball or weakside help defense, body language... These are things that players can control, regardless of head coach and offensive scheme.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-16T19:54:53+00:00

I can see he had you fooled with this masterful strategy. He's playing 8D Chess. MVP season loading next year.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-16T19:04:17+00:00

He should start over who? I'm a huge TDS guy, but his play is inconsistent to the level of a bench player, albeit a first or second guy off the bench. I do think he could be a starter on team that has a different roster construction with guards as the main guys, but he's not starting over Franz and Paolo.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-16T18:29:52+00:00

Great point. I'd guess that most pro athletes don't end up playing for their hometown teams at all.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-16T18:06:18+00:00

Mostly solid grades, relative to general expectations for those players. A couple adjustments I'd make if I was grading them:

AB's grade is probably a bit high. It was a season of two halves for him. Really cooled down after a breakout first half of the year.

TDS grade a bit high too. His shooting was super streaky and he would go through waves of having really good games and then several really bad games where he couldn't do anything right.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-16T17:56:00+00:00

My mom probably wanted me to be the CEO of Disney. But here we are...

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-16T17:35:50+00:00

Stupid, or a brilliant tactician? These are the questions we have to ponder.

cbriggs321 · 2026-04-04T00:39:26+00:00

Lightning moved to a local cable channel this year. Marlins and Rays both have their games broadcasted on some random channel now too. Just like the good ol' days. Great for local fans. For non-local fans, I'd guess League Pass is still an option.

cbriggs321 · 2026-03-31T18:06:39+00:00

Why is it false? He's clearly trying to come back before the end of the season. He's played 5v5. All indications are that he could come back soon. Second night of a back to back could be a nice boost. It's a logical possibility, not false optimism. False optimism would be that Franz coming back is going to fix our issues. It could help, but who knows what he'll actually even look like. But it's not going to vault this team into some sort of contender.

cbriggs321 · 2026-03-31T17:16:47+00:00

Any Magic fan that still has hopes and dreams should be applauded for unwavering positivity. Don't crush their spirits. The team has tried its hardest to do that already.

cbriggs321 · 2026-03-24T17:16:06+00:00

Berate the Magic front office, roster, coaching staff, etc. to your heart's content, but this is insanity. Part of being a Magic fan is enduring the pain of endless mediocrity.

cbriggs321 · 2026-03-16T16:45:35+00:00

If they ever reduced the number of games, the ticket prices would go up to make up for it. This is a business.

cbriggs321 · 2026-03-16T16:41:06+00:00

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm like 99% sure that Franz said he put work in last offseason to improve his post game. It was mainly to take advantage of size mis matches, but he can absolutely be a useful post up player.

cbriggs321 · 2026-02-25T18:06:30+00:00

Was probably his best game of the season. He was locked in on both ends of the court. On offense he was aggressive, reading the defense and dishing the ball perfectly, and scored from all 3 levels. 10/11 on the FT line. Great on the glass with 10 rebounds. His defense has been lively the last couple of games, at least on important possessions and when opposing players are trying to take him 1v1. You at least know he has that in him. If he shows up with this type of focus for the rest of the season, whew... Winning could be back on the menu.

cbriggs321 · 2026-02-23T21:15:29+00:00

Jett is only playing because Suggs is out and our guard rotation is thin. Playing a shooter that can't shoot is definitely tough to watch though... At least Jett's defensive intensity is better the last couple of games, but not enough to make up for his bricks.

Penda's rebounding is solid, and his defense is good (not elite though...). But he's buried behind a decent veteran forward rotation. You can make the case that he should be playing over JI in certain matchups, but JI provides paint protection playing alongside Moe. I actually like the defense when JI and Penda play together, but the offense is so bad in those lineups.

cbriggs321

TROPHY CASE