Leaderboard

I guess they are just guys who are getting paid to run around and work up a sweat lol.

Good effort, tough loss. They made a ton of tough shots and contested shots. I loathe Miami...

Wednesday, March 4th @ 7:00 P.M. American Airlines Arena - Miami, FL TV: Fox Sports Florida 2nd in Southeast Division | 1st in Southeast Division NO MORE MOUSING AROUND. . . LET'S GO!!!

Yes I can. You basically just echoed my statement of his limitations saying it’s due to role and deference to other players. I also have asked questions on here but if we are going to turn basketball into quantum physics then I’ll just bow out of this conversation. It’s really not that complex. I pay attention to more than clips.

Fultz’s ability to elevate his teammates has really stuck out to me this season. It would be a lot more apparent if people actually made the open shots he’s consistently created, but he’s still creating them almost at will when allowed to ad lib.

Some aren’t that great at the “D” part either. Does that make them “neither 3 nor D” guys?

Same reasoning: 2 way players that struggle offensively are, by definition, not two way players. Could easily apply to both Fultz and Isaac. Obviously, it dipends on the opinion that everyone has about those categories. I mean, 2 way players is a rather subjective definition, as could be All-Star, or Superstar (other ones that were already discussed in the past). Is Fournier a two way player? Somebody will see his defense enough to answer yes, others will answer no. There're really no rules to define that (with borderline ones). Both Isaac and Fultz are averaging around 12ppg this season. Is this enough? I could understand both sides. As I previously said, both of them need just a little step to be considered two way players IMO, but they're just not there yet. They will soon, still very young and with a lot of room to improve.

Probably the same world that labels Fultz or Isaac as a 2way player at this point in their career.

At the cost of being repetitive, it's true that they've made some difficult 3's, but we also conceded some wide open ones, and the adjustments were.. well, we already know that. As I've wrote in the last few games, we can't really win in a sustained way if we concede +50% in both FG and 3pFG. Since the break, last 6 games, we're 28th in defensive ratings. That's just completely unacceptable for a team designed to be a defensive-long arms one, with a def minded coach. We should win our games with defense, not lose them with it. https://stats.nba.com/teams/defense/?sort=DEF_RATING&dir=-1&Season=2019-20&SeasonType=Regular Season&LastNGames=6

Yeah, I guess I’ve started to look at us and temper my expectations based on our record right now, not last season, not our playoff seeding. We’re 8 games under .500, We’re 4-26 against teams over .500, with the last win coming on January 15th. This team is just plain bad, so when I can judge them through that lens, I’d call tonight a good effort.

The Magic are playing antiquated basketball.

I would have preferred Ross or Evan taking the last shot but Fultz got it to the only open guy, AG had a good shot but didn’t go down. Good game overall against a good team.

Famous last words...

Lol.. they got it half right, by overturning it, but that should’ve been an offensive foul, not a jump ball

I wonder how many teams have their franchise three record against us. I wonder how many players have their three record against us.

I got a feeling we are gonna win this 1

2 way players only work if they actually are 2 way players. We have too many 1 way players on defense and severely lack a volume shooter/scorer. I’m all for an offensive minded player at this point because the way you win games is by scoring the basketball.

I'd settle for a one-way player or two on offense

It looks very much like Gordon is going to be up near 33% or higher by the end of the season, unless he's out for an extended period, which is an utter shock considering his start. He did the same thing last year, where he started out struggling, but pulled it together late season, and he seems on his way to that again with a 39% February. If you look at his month-to-month numbers by year, it's clear he's getting more consistent from outside, if not as quickly as we'd all like. There's every reason to believe he can be that 36% guy. But he'll be the 36% guy who shoots 30% one month and 40% the next. Gordon's shooting is not really a problem for this team, long-term, so long as he maintains the same level of improvement over the next couple seasons, which is reasonable to bank on. Jonathan Isaac is just 22, and his shot looks good. It's hard to say what his % would be if he was healthy this year. Were November and December down months? He certainly shot better after the All-Star break last year, though he still wasn't consistent yet. But good NBA minds and shot-coaches seem to think he can be a very good 3-point shooter with his stroke in time, so it's reasonable to bank on that. The point with Gordon/Isaac is how well their DEVELOPED games complement each other. Gordon is already almost there, really. He needs to get more consistent, but he's already able to put together months of consistently good shooting. Just needs to get those couple of 27% months up to 30%, and we're golden. He absolutely can do that, and he seems serious about it. Isaac is really in the same boat, but younger, so it may take time, or it may just click; hard to say. But the rest of their games complement each other so well it has to be looked at. Defensively, Gordon is the perfect fit next to Isaac, especially so long as we're saddled with Vuc and Fournier, guys who struggle switching. Isaac was looking like a future DPOY when he went down, swatting shots and getting in the passing lanes, and Gordon is a very good player to have against an opposing team's best scorer; but beyond that, it's the things that don't show up in the box score that make these two fit so well. Take the Spurs game recently. Lyles put up a ton of points, because Gordon was too busy having to keep one eye on having to rotate to the basket if Vuc/Fournier got torched. With Isaac in the game, not only does Gordon not have to worry about covering the basket (because of Isaac's elite rotating and swatting skills), but he can be the guy who guards DeRozan in the first place, while Isaac's length allows him to do what Gordon was trying to do without losing Lyles. With no Gordon, Isaac can't afford to play as free defensively, because Gordon's incredible ability to switch onto everyone won't cover for him chasing a block. Now add a fully realized Bamba into the mix, and you see the potential. a Defense anchored around Isaac/Gordon is scary good. Offensively, they complement each other very well also. Gordon has shown himself to be a terrific cutter since Markelle arrived. Isaac has that ability as well. Gordon is becoming a terrific passer as well, both to cutters and to spot-up shooters off the drive. Isaac benefits from Gordon's ability to crash and get Isaac open outside shots over smaller guys (because Gordon's proficiency around the basket and power getting to the basket mean you have to put the smaller forward on Isaac), and also his vision when Isaac cuts. Without Gordon, or someone who can do what he does, the only time Isaac is going to get shots - aside from on the break - is from Markelle collapsing the lane. He doesn't move particularly well along the perimeter to get shots off of Vuc passing from the paint, and he's not likely to be a pull-up shooter off of screens or an iso scorer. Gordon and Isaac are also both scary on the break, especially together. Yes, we need shooters. Whatever SG we go with moving forward has to be an elite shooter, because the rest of these guys are not going to be great, most likely (still a chance for Isaac - and Bamba, really; just don't see much room for GREAT with Gordon/Fultz). Whatever our long-term plans at C are, the guy has to be able to shoot (hopefully that's Bamba). But pretending that Gordon and Isaac can't play together is absurd. They're a nightmare together defensively, and both can be serviceable shooters offensively. We need them to be decent shooters, but that's all. And they both should get there.

I just don't see us beating Minnesota, Houston, or Memphis coming up. Not the way we are playing right now defensively. No sense even watching the Rockets or the Grizzlies game. Those will be two blowout losses. And the Wolves almost got us at home recently and have won 2 straight. That game will be a little closer but will still result in a loss. Thankfully we are in the Eastern Conference. We will still be in the playoff hunt despite the 6 game losing streak.

If cliff draws up a play for Vooch or Evan here I’m gonna go tip laundry powder in my eyes

The Magic will get their next win on March 12th against the Bulls at home. This is about to become a 6 game losing streak in the meantime.

Looks like Evan is gonna play some hero ball here. He wants the final shot.