Orlando Magic 111, Chicago Bulls 82: The Morning After
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The Orlando Magic pound the undermanned Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night, stretching their season-high winning streak to seven games.
Vince Carter realizes that the playoffs are near.There are 16 regular-season games remaining for the Orlando Magic. Although they haven't officially clinched a postseason spot, you can see the pending playoffs written all over Vince Carter's game face. [...]
"Been a while but I've been there [to the playoffs] and I know what it takes," Carter said. "You have to take the necessary steps to get there. Right now we're playing out best possible basketball and it doesn't matter the opponent." [...]
Carter looked invigorated. Maybe it was the playoff push. Then again, maybe it was something else. "I think had too much Red Bull before the game," he laughed. -
Orlando Magic are set to scout the teams they might play in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Brian Schmitz writes that the scouting staff for the Orlando Magic is going to start to scout possible first-round opponents as the regular season winds down.The club went into Thursday night's game against the Chicago Bulls positioned as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. If they held the spot, they would begin the postseason facing the No. 7 seed, which is currently a grab-bag of possibilities.
Toronto, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Miami and the Bulls are all in the mix at No. 7. The Magic might have to see how the season plays out before knowing their opponent.
"You just don't know the way teams are bunched down there," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We'll start watching them more and more intensively."
More after the jump.
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Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose injured his left wrist when he collided with Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard for the second time in the teams’ last two games
Dwight Howard wishes Derrick Rose, a fellow adidas-endorsed basketball player and friend, a speedy recovery. -
Magic vets to Derrick Rose: Be smart when attacking big men
Tania Ganguli gathers the thoughts of several Magic players, as they explain why Rose should be smart next time when attacking the basket against Howard or other big men in the NBA. -
Derrick Rose hurts wrist in 111-82 loss
Head coach Vinny Del Negro chimes in on the play that led to Rose's injury. -
Injuries play havoc with Chicago Bulls rotation
Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune notes that the Bulls' rotation is becoming slimmer with each injury to one of its starters. -
Sprained wrist sidelines Rose
John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times describes the uphill battle Chicago had to face against Orlando in last night's game.Entering their game Thursday against the Orlando Magic, the Bulls knew they would face an uphill climb playing without center Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis in left foot) and small forward Luol Deng (strained muscle in right calf).
But when point guard Derrick Rose went down with a sprained left wrist late in the first quarter -- courtesy again of a hard foul by Magic center Dwight Howard -- the Bulls' task went from an uphill climb to an uphill climb on a sheet of ice while carrying a piano. -
Howard says Rose injuries not his fault
One word: Classy.Before the game, Rose met a 13-year-old fan from nearby Kissimmee who recently wrote a letter to him detailing how he nearly died in a bicycle accident and how looking at a poster of Rose above his bed helped him focus on getting better.
Rose took photos with Isaiah Walter and his family and took him into the locker room to meet the rest of the Bulls. -
1. The Orlando Magic's One Major Flaw
Jon Barry of ESPN.com wants to talk about Hedo Turkoglu some more.While watching the Magic clobber the Bulls by 29 points on Thursday for their seventh consecutive victory, I started thinking about the differences between this season's Orlando team and the one that reached the NBA Finals a year ago. What stands out to me is the fact the Magic might struggle in the playoffs without Hedo Turkoglu around to initiate the offense. Yes, he is playing poorly in Toronto, but he was Orlando's top player in the playoffs last year. He was their best playmaker.
In the playoffs when teams crank it up on defense, you need guys who can create on their own. You have to be able to create off the dribble. I don't see many guys on the Magic who can do that. -
Bulls' nightmare comes true
Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago explains that the Bulls are having a rough go of it lately with injuries to three of their starters. -
Savage & Cohen: Magic-Bulls Postgame Analysis
Dan Savage and Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com provide analysis of the Magic's win. -
Behind the Box Score, where Portland is all over the place
Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don't Lie recaps Orlando's victory. -
Baseline to Baseline (last night's game recaps)
Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk "spares you the gory details" of yesterday's game.
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65 comments
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Comments
espn won't shut up about hedo
vc is doing hedo’s role much much better.
barnes is helping a lot more on defense than hedo could at the 3
Barry needs to check the numbers.
Not sure if Jon Barry likes or knows about advanced statistics, but….
’09-10 – Vince Carter is assisted on 36% of his baskets.
’08-09 – Hedo Turkoglu was assisted on 40% of his baskets.
Looks like Carter is a 4% better creator.
Using 82games.com “Clutch category” Hedo last year created his own shot 75% of the time. Carter this year? 76%.
espn…..sigh
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
by magicfaninTN on Mar 12, 2010 4:01 PM EST up reply actions
Once again Jon Barry's analysis is more misguided than his basketball career was.
Smoke a turd in hell JB
Never trust a fart
by AB's triple double on Mar 12, 2010 9:20 AM EST up reply actions
Jon Barry < Barry Manilow
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Mar 12, 2010 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
So last year it was the falacy that we lived and dies by three.
Now, it’s that we lost Hedo? This guy is just a hater. Prove ’em wrong again, Vince…prove him wrong!
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
Stats from last seasons Finals
Game 1: Magic 10 Ast/ 8 TO. Hedo 2 Ast/4 TO. Jameer 4 Ast/1 TO.
Game 2: Magic 22 Ast/20 TO. Hedo 4 Ast/5 TO. Jameer 1 Ast/1 TO (‘Shard 7 Ast/2 TO).
Game 3: Magic 23 Ast/13 TO. Hedo 7 Ast/1 TO. Jameer 2 Ast/3 TO (’Shard 5 Ast/3 TO).
Game 4: Magic 17 Ast/17 TO. Hedo 3 Ast/1 TO. Jameer 3 Ast/1 TO (‘Shard 4 Ast/3 TO).
Game 5: Magic 20 Ast/12 TO. Hedo 3 Ast/2 TO. Jameer 4 Ast/1 TO (’Shard 4 Ast/2 TO).
Point is it seems as if Barry is looking hard (reaching desperately) for a reason to discredit the Magic since they’ve recently defeated the Cavs, Lakers, are on a 7 game streak & are winning by an average of 18.7 points. Barry didn’t put any thought into his article because the numbers show Ast was only an issue in game 1 and Jameer provided 4 of the Magic’s 10 Ast. TO’s were more of a problem than Ast were, in fact Hedo accounted for 25% of the TO’s in Game 2 while only accounting for 20% of the Ast. Hedo dished out less assists than Rashard in 3 of the 5 games (Hedo had more TO’s than assists in 2 of the 5 games). Poorly researched and poorly conveyed.
"It can be done, you can just crush somebody"
Rose
I’m not a Bulls fan but I sure hate it that Rose got hurt. Rose appears to be a good role model for anybody and to see him go down (twice) against Howard was OMG time. I wish him well because basketball needs more D. Rose type players.
Hedo is gone, gone, gone, gone, deal with it. Quit beating a dead horse. For better or worse we have VC. This “IF” crap does absolute nothing. Go back to the, “IF a bull frog had wings, he would not bump his $ss when he jumps.” I really hate being the one to tell that Hedo is GONE.
Huh? No Magic players able to create of the dribble?
Jon Barry needs more red-bull than Vince
Yeah the Hedo thing is dumb
I like Hedo’s play making ability, but people that obviously only watched the Magic a few times in the playoffs don’t realize is that Jameer was the Magic’s play maker until his injury. And that is when the Magic were dominant. So last year we had Alston, Hedo, AJ as our play makers, this year we have Carter, Nelson, and Williams. Is that even a comparable trio?
I wish we had been able to keep Hedo as well, but he earned a big paycheck and he cashed in on it. I would have been much more upset if the Magic had signed him to a contract like that.
Right. Before Nelson went down with an injury, he was the one that ran the offense. Not Turkoglu.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Barry continues to prove his lack of knowledge on anything that doesn't involve Cleveland, LA, or Boston.
I used to get frustrated but now its just expected. The guy just doesn’t watch Magic games, plain and simple.
As good as Hedo was for the Magic, a healthy Vince Carter is even better.
Also, I don’t know if I agree that he was THE best Magic player in last year’s playoffs. He had some game winning shots, but so did Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard is, well, Dwight Howard.
I bet that even if the Magic win the championship, there will be idiots out there saying: “Oh, but imagine if they had kept Hedo! They would’ve swept all the postseason series!” Bah.
Magic Fan since the 1992-1993 Season.
by North of the South on Mar 12, 2010 10:13 AM EST reply actions
Jon Barry is a waste of money for ESPN.
Really, he has never offered any bit of insight for anything that I have seen. Another example of “Just because you did something doesn’t mean you know how or are qualified to talk about it”. Whatever. Again, I just try to laugh about the timing and how predictable it is. Reggie Miller (Man, he’s dumb) was harping on the change from Hedo to Vince after an interview with Vince talking about how he’s “willing” to take the last shot instead of, uh, saying “demanding” I guess. He hasn’t watched the several games where Vince has, y’know, taken and hit clutch shots throughout the course of this season. But I guess some interview with TNT is more telling than the actual production on the court.
As everyone has gotten healthy (and I hope that continues) and have had a chance to play more with each other, VC has fit in extremely well. He’s finding open shooters, he’s finishing, he’s getting to the foul line, he’s posting up, he’s taking open jumpers when they’re there. You can tell his confidence (and health) is back, because he’s even squaring up and hitting those shots that look so difficult but for him are just normal. Some of those fade-aways last night in the first half were just sick.
On another note, I really was disappointed that Rose got knocked out. He’s one of my favorite players to watch in the league right now, just because of his sheer athleticism. I usually enjoy even the blowouts for the Magic, but this one just didn’t seem fair after Rose went out. Hope he’s alright.
I hate Varejao.
They talk about Hedo because VC is an easy target.
Let’s face it, many of these national writers aren’t interested in actually doing their homework about the Magic. They know VC’s history and he’s easy pickings, even if their “expert analysis” is completely off given how he’s jelled with the team and picked it up over the past month and a half.
Additionally, people like Barry continue to talk about the team as if the only move we made was VC for Hedo. So we ignore Ryan Anderson, who proved to be a more than capable fill-in for Shard early in the season? We ignore Bass, who’s come on as a great sixth man? We ignore Barnes, who’s brought an edge and attitude to this team that no one — especially Hedo — did last season? And we ignore Jason Williams, who’s gone from resurrecting his career to being the backup PG every team wishes they had?
The irony is that Charles Barkley, of all people, has our back. He’s not backing down from the fact that we do in fact have the deepest team in the league, and while VC will have to step into the “Hedo” shoes come playoff time, ultimately Nelson’s health and ability coupled with our depth will determine how far we actually can go.
Chuck now believes the Cavs are better with Jamison.
He called the Magic the new Knicks, referring to how they had some great teams but never won because of MJ. Dude’s entitled to his opinion, at least he’s basing it off something tangible.
I hate Varejao.
what's funny though....
is that lebron hasn’t actually won anything yet.
He said four months ago that the Lakers would steamroll everyone.
Now he’s talking about the Cavs like they’re the new 1997 Chicago Bulls. Just because they added Jamison. No mention of the fact that their starting center and point guard will have battled serious injuries throughout the regular season.
I’m not sure how much credence Chuck deserves on this.
by Zach Attack on Mar 12, 2010 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
Good points
although, I’d like to point out that Chuck is officially off the Magic bandwagon. He said that since the Jamison trade went down, Cleveland is the best team in the East and will come out on top. He also said that when (not if) they meet the Lakers in the Finals, they’ll NEED Shaq to beat them. It broke my heart to hear him saying these things but whatever. I still believe in Magic…just gonna wait and see what happens.
it's not that he is off the magic bandwagon
he still thinks we are a good team (unlike most of the other national broadcasters) just that he thinks Cleveland has fixed its matchup problems with us. I still think it will be a great series to watch with a good chance for us to win.
If Cleveland and Orlando end up facing each other, Orlando's strategy should be simple.
Pick and roll with Dwight as much as possible. Shaq has always been lousy and defendig it, but now he’s not much more mobile than a stroke victim.
After the game, the Suns announcers asked Lopez what he was going to do to celebrate and he said, "I'm going to kill Bart Simpson."
by Diosnomeama on Mar 12, 2010 11:14 AM EST up reply actions
*at defending.
After the game, the Suns announcers asked Lopez what he was going to do to celebrate and he said, "I'm going to kill Bart Simpson."
by Diosnomeama on Mar 12, 2010 11:15 AM EST up reply actions
Screw that.
The Magic’s strategy should be to keep Howard on the floor. If Dwight gets into any type of foul trouble, LeBron is going to have a field day against Orlando. The on/off numbers for Howard against James are absolutely mind-boggling. Dwight needs to stay on the court. Has to.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Screw what? I didn't say anything about him being off the floor.
After the game, the Suns announcers asked Lopez what he was going to do to celebrate and he said, "I'm going to kill Bart Simpson."
I know. I'm just saying him being on the floor is of the upmost importance.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Of course.
My only point is, there’s no reason Nash/Stoudemire can’t be replicated with Nelson/Howard.
After the game, the Suns announcers asked Lopez what he was going to do to celebrate and he said, "I'm going to kill Bart Simpson."
I agree.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Understandable, and if you want to think the Cavs are better because of Jamison, fine.
He just has much better perspective then the rest of these yahoos.
Chuck also said this at the beginning of the season:
“Ain’t nobody gonna beat the Lakers.”
Funny, he’s not mentioning that one so much anymore.
by Zach Attack on Mar 12, 2010 12:06 PM EST up reply actions
When do the cavs expect to re-sign big Z?
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Mar 12, 2010 12:08 PM EST up reply actions
Gracias
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Mar 12, 2010 2:25 PM EST up reply actions
Adonal Foyle
Maybe this showed up in the game thread….I missed it.
D12 said postgame that Foyle didn’t want to go into the game when the fans cheered for him. That kind of stuff doesn’t help you extended your career a the same week you say:
’I’ve been very fortunate to be around this game for as long as I have,’ Foyle said. ’It’s been fun. I really enjoy it and I still do. It’s wonderful.’ He later joked that someone eventually will have to rip the jersey off his back. ’I’m not giving it up," he said, grinning.’"
If it is true that Foyle was the reason rather than SVG, then I’m disappointed.
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
Morons.
Last year, espn said “the Magic shoot too many threes! The untraditional play won’t work!” now we have Vince and it’s “they need Hedo back.” please, spare me.
by The Stan 'Stache on Mar 12, 2010 11:14 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Who cares what people say?
The Magic should limit their saying to actually doing stuff. Facts people, facts.
That's pretty dumb, but the worst dis jobs I've heard on the Magic have come from Jeff Van Gundy, though.
That dude is just constant negativity. I don’t know whether he’s just trying to compensate for the fact that his brother is the team’s coach, or what. But he’s the biggest Vince-basher on the planet.
Does Jon Barry have an email?
I’m sure we’d all looooove to write him a little letter.
NBA's Present: Dwight, Lebron, D-Wade...
Future: KD, D-Rose, Tyreke...
Past: Shaq, The Boston Celtics, Greg Oden...
I'm so sick of the Hedo/Vince comparisions.
John Barry just needs to shut up. People need to get over it all ready. It’s been how many months now? We have our PG to make the plays for us. Even if Hedo was still here, he wouldn’t be the playmaker.
Last night’s game was really good. It was kinda boring though, because at halftime we knew it was over. More than half of the arena cleared out during the third and fourth quarters. The best part was the “We want Foyle” chant. We did want Foyle out there! Poor Bulls though. Derrick Rose should now by now that the paint is DH’s sweet spot and if he wants to play with the big dog he’s going to get hurt. I really hope he isn’t seriously injured!
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the "hard foul" quote
Looked to me like Dwight went straight up and Rose initiated the contact and pushed off with his forearm and unbalanced himself. That was not a foul on Dwight at all, as I understand the rules, much less a “hard” foul. Rose was hurt by his own play, not by Howard’s.
University of Tennessee : Where Schadenfreude Happens
that's what I have been saying
On another blog, it seemed like an offensive foul to my eye, but regardless it was just unfortunate that Rose got hurt.
OT - Gilbert Arenas filed to change jersey number to 6 next season
Agent Zero goes away? New nickname……“Six-shooter”?
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
Bah, I just saw that somebody already said it at Ball Don't Lie
Must’ve been too obvious.
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
Just some numbers I'd like to point out to you...
Magic are currently:
- in Hollinger’s Power Rankings (107.7)
- in Playoff Odds for reaching NBA Finals (38.8%) and winning (23.4%)
- in Defensive Efficiency (99.4)
- in Opp. FG% (.436)
- in Def. Reb% (.775)
- in Point Differential (6.8)
That point differential is higher than last year’s 59 win team by the way.
The real "Masters of Panic" are commenting on this blog.
by ben_gleicher on Mar 12, 2010 1:59 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
OK it screwed up my numbers...
should read: #1, #1, #1, #1, #1, #2
The real "Masters of Panic" are commenting on this blog.
by ben_gleicher on Mar 12, 2010 2:01 PM EST up reply actions
That's us missing Hedo.
I hate Varejao.
by slickw143 on Mar 12, 2010 2:58 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
LMAO
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
And #1 in Stein's Weekly Power Rankings
Life is a series of serious choices, theories are formed from experience, never mysterious forces. - stic.man
"I'm not impressed by your performance" - GSP
I think they are basing their opinion on the team's play in January instead of its play in February and March.
Or they just want to have to hate, or something like that. If it’s LeBron, Kobe, or the Celtics, they can’t show any love. We seem to be in a similar boat as Denver in the West.
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
Jon barry was hating on the Magic last year too
He just doesnt seem to have much positive to say. I guess he likes to rag the Magic because of all of their 3 point shooters since he was a 3 point specialist.. Thing is, he was little more than a journeyman during his career, playing for 8 different teams in 14 seasons – scoring barely 5 points a game (career high of 9) in an avg of 15 minutes. Much of his resentment and bitterness probably comes from the fact that he got traded out of detroit the year before they won a championship..
Journey can be good commentators. It's possible.
Barry is just off based here. His opinion doesn’t match the data.
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
by magicfaninTN on Mar 13, 2010 10:04 AM EST up reply actions
I just want to applaud everyone here.
I never read so many articulate & thoughtful comments in response to a writer’s criticism of Orlando. Well done.
I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.
"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat
Well, these are facts
Like it or not, Jon Barry, that is.
Hopefully the Magic continue to play like they’re doing and shut those mouths up. But to me personally, I don’t really care what people say. It’s just a matter of the Magic doing what they have to do.
We try.
In all seriousness, it irks me this year more than last year. We got to the Finals and had a competitive (albeit short) series with LA. I figured that would generate some respect. What bothers me more is how we end up almost demonizing Hedo in our defense of the team this year, which I hate. I loved Hedo, even with all of his flaws. But the Magic made the best move for the team. Even if one doesn’t believe it was the best move for this year, it was certainly the best move for the franchise’s future. Vince hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves for bouncing back from the worst month of his career, and now Hedo is getting dogged sometimes just because we have to show how the team has improved this year.
Everyone talked about how last year against LA we lacked a go-to scorer. We get that, and now we “lack a 6’10” playmaker". Well, with Hedo and Lamar’s production on the downslide, I would say that the only team that has something close to that is Cleveland, except he’s also their go-to scorer, best rebounder, possibly best defender (I don’t consider flopping to be defense), and just about anything else on the team.
I hate Varejao.
The problem is they simply don't know wtf they're talking about
Jon Barry has been harping on the Hedo move before the season even began. Like others said, Hedo was not the Magic’s ball handler it was Jameer. 33-8 record first half of the season before Jameer went down. Facts: Hedo avg 3.8 Ast & 2.6 TO in the Finals. Great facilitating, Barry. “Hedo was Orlando’s Top Player in the playoffs last season”. Huh? I’m not going to run down the #‘s again because I’ve done it in the past and the results were that Dwight & Rashard put up better numbers (sick numbers) than their season averages whereas Hedo put up lower #‘s than his season averages. Fact: Hedo’s best series was the Finals but it wasn’t as a facilitator it was as a scorer.
Hedo could not have “easily been an All-Star last season”. Again, there’s nothing factual to anything Barry says. Hedo didn’t make the All Star team last season because for the entire first half of the season he shot like 37% FG & 35% 3point. Hedo was by far the biggest let down of the first half of last season.
We know all about VC for the first half of the season but VC’s #‘s for the past 18 games are 18.4/3.9/3 (only 12.8 shots per game). 1.4 TO, 52.2% FG & 51.5% 3pt. 81.4% FT & 3.9 FTA per game (on par with his season avg). VC has put up All Star numbers for about the last 1/4 of the season, maybe it’s time to give the man his due. Notice how VC’s FGA and shot selection have changed (he’s playing team basketball now) and the results have been amazing.
Reggie calling Hedo an “underrated defender” is hilarious because Hedo was replaced by Matt Barnes. Defense: Hedo > Barnes? Right…
Kenny Smith has mentioned the Hedo/Vince as a negative just like Jon Barry… Kenny Smith also said Brandon Jennings is the ROTY because he’s on a playoff team. He then said that the Bucks are in position to make the playoffs because of Jennings and NOT Bogut. The same Kenny Smith that picked Durant for ROTY over Al Horford when Al was on a playoff team and was a big part of the reason (Barkley chose Horford over Durant). Obviously there’s not a lot of logic in Kenny’s thinking since he’s constantly flip flopping. Just saying, a lil consistency would make him a lil more credible.
Life is a series of serious choices, theories are formed from experience, never mysterious forces. - stic.man
"I'm not impressed by your performance" - GSP

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