Penny & Pops Podcast - Magicbasketballonline.com

The Orlando Magic improved to 32-37 after ending the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game win streak on their floor. That was the longest winning streak in the NBA in 3 years. The Magic finished their five-game road trip 3-2. Could this be a sign of the squad finding their second wind with less than a month to go in the regular season? Dwight Howard is getting inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame…on a night where we play the Los Angeles Lakers of all teams. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

Rhonda Smith-Banchero, the mother of Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero, had some interesting social media reactions/posts that were necessary and did a solid job of laying out all of the frustrations that exist currently with the franchise. Except that unhappiness should be directed at President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman. Moreso than Head Coach Jamahl Mosley or any individual player on the roster. The pressure is mounting for the DeVos family, Alex Martins, and Jeff Weltman. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

The Orlando Magic followed an under-.500 month of February with another very disappointing home loss to begin the month of March against the Toronto Raptors. Maybe it was due to too much wine and cheese. Orlando is continuing a downward spiral that sees them 29-33, and struggling just to maintain play-in positioning. Jeff Weltman failed and continues to fail to make moves to help this team out. There has been no offensive assistant replacement for Nate Tibbetts. There has not been veteran, 3-point shooting, point guard replacements made for Joe Ingles and Markelle Fultz. Jamahl Mosley needs to get more aggressive with this starting lineup and rotations to compensate. Will he do that? Worse yet, Jalen Suggs is having left knee surgery that is removing cartilage from his knee. That is of great concern in the short term and the long term of Jalen’s NBA career. The Magic have been bad without Suggs on the court, and they’ll have to figure out how to win games without Suggs for the rest of the regular season. And

The All-Star break is over. Orlando Magic player Mac McClung is a 3-time consecutive dunk contest champion now, creating NBA history. Anthony Black and Tristan da Silva got to partake in the Rising Stars event. The entire weekend was overall a mess of a showing for the league. How to improve the NBA All-Star Weekend and NBA product in general as a whole. From an Orlando Magic perspective, the team is 27-29 going into the final 26 games of the regular season. Jalen Suggs is still out injured. Why Jeff Weltman’s inaction has maybe put Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on the hot seat should the rest of the season be a disappointment. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

To the stunned surprise and dismay of most Orlando Magic fans, Jeff Weltman didn’t do anything at the NBA Trade Deadline. It’s not about this season, although it was nice that the Magic found a way to scratch and claw their way to a home victory over the San Antonio Spurs after a brutal road trip. Something had to be done to help with the long-term success of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and that didn’t occur. Now it’s about hoping there are no consequences. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

The 24-24 Orlando Magic have been battered and bruised in January and are just now getting bodies back. Franz Wagner, Goga Bitadze, and Jalen Suggs (if he can avoid picking up new injuries) in particular. The Magic are the 7th seed in the East currently, but should look to make at least one transaction by the February 6th trade deadline. Why Jeff Weltman will do something now and the advantages of not waiting for the summer to consolidate and improve the team. Plus, Tristan da Silva and Mac McClung are going to All-Star Weekend. The NBA rearranged 3 future Magic games. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

The 23-18 Orlando Magic continue to astonish and find ways to win games they have no business taking, having reached the halfway point of the 2024-2025 season. Paolo Banchero made his triumphant return, but it’s been lessened due to more teammates going down due to injury. The Magic found a way to beat the Philadelphia 76ers with only eight available bodies. And although the team still is holding onto the East’s 4th seed, one bad week could see them fall down to 9th. Plus, All-Star voting, Shaquille O’Neal v. Dwight Howard, Mo Wagner has his ACL surgery, the trade deadline approaching. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

This episode is dedicated to ZDF’s ‘Wagner Brothers’ German language four-part 3-hour documentary on Franz and Moritz Wagner. Their parents Beate and Axel play a major role, as well as the brothers’ additional support system. It’s a brilliant production that puts a lot American sports and NBA documentaries to shame. It’s uncensored and you see plenty of raw emotion and feelings displayed. Most the content focuses on 2023 and 2024, including the German national team winning the 2023 FIBA World Cup, a return to Michigan, and the grind of the 2023-2024 Orlando Magic season that included a playoff meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers. As well as Germany’s 2024 Summer Olympics showing in Paris, France. This is a Wagner family focused documentary, not entirely Orlando Magic focused. Here’s the link to the documentary: https://www.zdf.de/sport/the-wagner-brothers Speaking of the Magic, Orlando is currently 21-16. They’ve had a rocky start to January 2025 with more injuries plaguing players like Jalen Suggs and

With no Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. With Mo Wagner out the rest of the season. With no Anthony Black. With Jalen Suggs departing in the first half with a wrist injury, the Orlando Magic found a way to complete yet another 20-point comeback beat the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. It’s a season series sweep for Orlando. The Magic end the 2024 calendar year with a 20-14 record. Orlando enters 2025 still as the East’s 4th seed. It’s the first time since the 2010-2011 season where the Magic enter January with at least twenty victories. Jamahl Mosley deserves to win Coach of the Month for December (it goes beyond the 6-7 win-loss record). Tristan da Silva deserves to be Rookie of the Month. It’s probably the happiest the fan base will be going 3-4 in a seven-game homestand. 2025 New Year’s resolutions are being assigned to the team. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

Your now 18-12 Orlando Magic are still 4th in the East and pulled off the gutsiest and greatest regular season win in Kia Center’s history. That building has been open since October 2010, and has never seen a better undermanned win like that since the Heart N Hustle season. No Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, or Jalen Suggs. Orlando’s top 3 players. No Gary Harris. Lost Mo Wagner in the first quarter, and he may be done for the season if he needs a knee procedure. Wendell Carter Jr. gets ejected in the second period. The Magic were without their best four scorers and still beat Miami in a Pat Williams era throwback comeback win. The 121-114 win tied the biggest comeback in franchise history (you have to go back to November 1989). Cut it to within 10 in the third, then trailed by 22 entering the fourth quarter. The 22-point start of the fourth quarter deficit is tied for the 7th largest comeback victory in NBA history. Cole Anthony had the first 35/5/5 game in less than 30 minutes in team history. Not having Mo

The Magic lost their first home game of the season at the hands of the New York Knicks. That would make a fun playoff series. Orlando is now 17-11 and 10-1 at home. The Magic are at Kia Center for the rest of December. But with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner out with torn right oblique rehabs/injuries, Jalen Suggs is the #1 option. The team needs to find reliable guys who can step in and provide consistent production. They already pulled off one big win over the Suns, and the Magic almost pulled off another in Milwaukee but lost in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. A Westcourt entertainment complex update. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

Franz Wagner tried, but the Orlando Magic went from down forty to losing 121-106 at Madison Square Garden to the New York Knicks to finish off NBA cup group play. The Knicks win East Group A with a 4-0 record. Magic at 3-1 sneak into the fourth and final East quarterfinal spot as the wild card thanks to their great point differential in the prior three contests. Orlando will have to fly up next week to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. Despite the disappointing performance on TNT at MSG, the Magic are still 15-8 and the 3rd seed in the conference. It’s still great to enjoy a game in a basketball cathedral such as MSG. Lights, food, buzz, energy, music, celebrities. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

The Magic swept their two-game weekend series in Brooklyn. Pops was at the win on Sunday inside Barclays Center against the Nets. Franz Wagner is not only a strong favorite to be named an NBA All-Star for the first time, but he’s playing at an All-NBA level with Paolo Banchero out. Orlando is 15-7, still third place in the East, winners of six consecutive games and 12 of the team’s last thirteen contests. The Magic are the hottest team in the NBA, and are also 3-0 in NBA Cup East Group A play with a big fourth and final group decider occurring Tuesday inside Madison Square Garden against a very challenging New York Knicks opponent. The Knicks have to win or they’re eliminated from the cup. If by chance you hear snoring in the background, that would be Argos the tired goldendoodle. He’s enjoying the cold northeast weather. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

Live from Los Angeles, California. The Magic’s streak of six consecutive victories ended in Los Angeles at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers inside the Intuit Dome. Orlando is now 9-7 and face the second night of a back-to-back against the Lakers. What it was like inside Intuit Dome, and how way too many Magic players didn’t perform well enough. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

Live from Phoenix, Arizona. The Magic win their first game of this three-game West road trip. Orlando’s win streak extends to 6 consecutive victories. The Magic are continuing to adjusting to not having Paolo Banchero by continuing to suffocate opponents with stellar defense. Franz Wagner fresh off his first NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week award once again had over 30 points. Anthony Black dropped a season-high 20 points. The Suns didn’t have Durant, Beal, or Nurkic, and no one could stop Goga Bitadze in the paint. The Magic are 9-6 and still the third seed in the East. It was a great game to witness while sitting courtside. First Magic win in Phoenix since 2018. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

Life goes on. Whether that’s adjusting to presidential election results or trying to win without your All-Star Paolo Banchero. The Orlando Magic are 3-6 after a rough 0-5 road trip. Looking at how the roster is performing and the opportunities that exist with a five-game homestand. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

Paolo Banchero just dropped the first Orlando Magic 50-point game since Tracy McGrady did it in 2004. Two decades. P5 added 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 made triples to a historic stat line that saw the Magic beat the Indiana Pacers to improve to 3-1 on the young 2024-2025 season. It was an honor to see this game in person. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

We made it through preseason 1-2. The real deal starts Wednesday in Miami. Which means, this is our 2024-2025 Orlando Magic season predictions episode. We also finally got the news about Jalen Suggs’ contract extension. Happy New Year, Magic fans. Orlando will have more than 1.5 All-Stars? Orlando will have more than 1.5 All-Defense guys? Paolo makes an All-NBA Team? Magic will win more than 47.5 games? Orlando will have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs? Orlando will win its first playoff series since 2010? All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

We got through Hurricane Milton. Some more unscathed than others. Wendell Carter Jr. got his contract extension. Still waiting to see if Jalen Suggs gets his. And considering the Magic have had one preseason game canceled, and this final prep game against the Sixers coming up on Friday won’t have Joel Embiid or Paul George, it really feels like we haven’t had a true exhibition season. That’s where that ‘iron sharpen iron’ phrase gets thrown around. Because we’re hoping these internal Magic practices will be enough to have us ready opening night in Miami. Vince Carter got inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language

We’ve got Hurricane Milton approaching to heavily impact central Florida. For Orlando, this might be worse than Charley in 2004. This coming shortly after Helene wrecked the west coast of Florida, the Big Bend, Georgia and the western Carolinas. Orlando Magic Media Day was last Monday, got through a week of training camp healthy, and this afternoon the Magic were in New Orleans for the first of their 4 preseason games. Wendell Carter Jr. sprained his ankle. Jalen Suggs struggled at point guard. Anthony Black, Cole Anthony and the rest of the bench were very uplifting. Paolo Banchero is still looking like our star. All of that and more! #LetsGoMagic Warning: Adult Language