magicjed23

We lost the game when Vogel put Green in and didn't get Gordon in again. That team is too athletic to rely on Green, AG at least gets us second shots. Has anyone noticed that Gordon is open alot on alley-oops behind the defense and Augustin never passes to him. Payton makes that pass easy . Payton can be a top PG in this league if he gets the right coaching. And he is a starter in this league, he is an old school point though. In year 4 or 5, he will be an All-Star. If Henny is there, Payton is the point guard. If the rest of the starters hit their open shots his assists will jump.

Booker can't play defense for crap either, but most would be happy putting him in that position. We just need to figure out why Mario misses with such a good stroke. He might need to tweak something. If it's mental get him to a psychologist. He is a better shooter than this. Maybe coach needs to boost his confidence and give him the start and play him starter minutes for 10 games no matter how he plays. Give him the green light. If nothing good happens, move him back to the bench, but still play him. We need a real SF who can shoot 35% from 3 and give us 12 ppg every night. Hezonja may be better than Gordon as a starter. Nobody has earned anything this season, so why not try it. We all know if he creates space by knocking down 3's, everything changes. Our defense excels when we hit shots and our energy goes way up. In that case his defense is livable. We aren't like to get a star via trade. A go to scorer would be great, but a knockdown shooter would get us to the playoffs with our defense. And then maybe we can make a star the missing piece. Seeing that they will have support and not be alone. Getting a star via trade would not end well if we trade the farm. Gordon would have to be involved, unprotect picks, and Vucevic might not even be enough. But, it's the cost for a fringe All-Star at best. Get us someone like Knight or McCollum and we might fix the offense. Put Fournier at SF maybe if you can get a guy like that. Unless Meeks or Hezonja gets in the lineup quick and makes open 3's, we are going to have trouble staying at .500. We just need to make sure Mario isn't capable of that, and despite the naysayers, we can't be sure that he isn't a vote of confidence away. If everyone shoots bad, why do they play, when Hezonja has more potential. Vets that you don't know what to expect from on a nightly basis are garbage. They need to be guys other teams would like. Benching a proud veteran is more likely to work than benching a young guy who needs playing time to develop. We don't need to put Biyombo and/or DJ as starters, because our bench will be worthless. Start Mario at the 3 and we will look much better within 2-3 games once he gets use to starting. We have 1 real shooter in Fournier. You can't win like that. Even MJ, Kobe, and Lebron needed shooters to have success.

Yes, we needed him to get his one 3-pointer to break through that slump. I think we stuck with Biz and the bench too long. Skiles did that alot too with Jason Smith. I never thought I would miss Nicholson in the low post and Jason Smith from up top shooting. They were reliable for a couple baskets a game and sometimes much more. We could really use several players we let go. They were better than what we have now for sure. Andrew worked himself into a decent scoring threat . Does anyone else think Rob could have been more patient with some players ? I mean if Skiles was wanting out in January , why on Earth would we give up Harris to appease that coach? Maybe we could have traded Harris for Ibaka versus Dipo. Maybe Gordon instead. We'd be way better off .

So according to Vogels press conference, Hezonja sat so the vets can play. Mario was showing signs of getting it together lately and we bench him. Not sure why every coach does this to him when it has been shown that it messes with his confidence. He seemed to be getting it back, confidence that is, and I hope he doesn't lose it. Vogel is making a mistake if he sits Mario another full game I think. It seemed like Mario was given the green light and when he finally started making a few he gets benched. That sends a mixed message I feel. You know a Gordon, a Fournier, or someone like an Oladipo would respond to something like this, but has Hezonja grown enough since Skiles that he will respond? I don't know if he has. People always are saying he needs to man up or that he needs to tough mentally and similar things. That is not how every player thinks. Before he began seeing a sports psychologist, he was shy, timid, and not the person we see now. So, it's not something that comes naturally to some players. Mario was touted as some cocky overconfident and selfish player. I think he must have really been affected by hearing this so much that he completely changed and because he wasn't what everyone said, he over corrected and lost some of that self confidence and aggressiveness on the court along the way. I really think Skiles broke him down even more (Skiles was not the nicest guy). He seems to be getting it back under Vogel. So I am hoping this doesn't hurt that. Mario is still quite young so who knows how he would react if this lasts a few games. Earlier I was giving Vogel benefit of the doubt. But, after hearing that I don't like it. We need to play him for him to improve and we really could have used him tonight. During that slump could have been a game changer. The only vet who did anything was DJ. I agreed with starting Green but we need more from him. He should average 12 a game easily. Hezonja should get those minutes. Watson sure wasn't doing much. Wasn't he good before? I remember this board clamoring for him for years and we haven't even seen flashes that he was ever good. #Free Mario

This team needs Hezonja and Meeks. I almost think that shooting is the biggest weakness of this team. We are good when we shoot decent. But, we always hit a 6-8 min stretch where we miss everything. Our defense can only carry our team for about 4-5 possessions. It's inexcusable to go that long without a basket. We simply need more scoring. Payton has games like this, but he needs those around him to shoot well to be effective. Biyombo should not be given the ball unless it's for a dunk. We need some alley-oops to him. We show flashes and I believe we will eventually get it all together, but will it be too late? If we can acquire Gay or another scorer, we need to pull the trigger. Ibaka and Biyombo have been at their best with a scorer on their team, we need someone who can score. Fournier can do it if he has another good shooter with him. It doesn't need to be a star. Last year, we always had either Dipo or Fournier scoring and inside we were bad defensively. We addressed the interior at the expense of our offense. If we could snag Hayward or someone like that is the offseason while retaining our interior things will change. If Hezonja got it going regularly we might have that player already, but that might be another year or two away. We either need a scoring and shooting PG or another scorer greater than or equal to Fournier. We need to be on Haywards doorstep when Free Agency starts.

Our problem has been due to one person playing good in each quarter. The lineups aren't producing consistently. Something needed to change. Gordon and Biyombo don't need to start to be effective. Rudez is likely playing because Mario is out and he can shoot 3's, and Vogel knows what Rudez. I doubt Hezonja was benched in favor of Rudez. Hezonja's issues are mental, physically he is fine. Mario needs to commit himself to getting his shot to fall. I think he will start if he does. We need all options available before we try making a trade. Gordon might just fit best off the beach with this team. We all agree he is a 4. Vucevic has been better than Gordon and there are plenty of reasons we can't bench Ibaka, unless we have to. He has arguably been better than Gordon. Ibaka hasn't seen a drop in stats. He might not get better stats with us than OKC. Several of us thought he may actually be declining from the beginning. He might just be the player he has been lately.

Moving Gordon to the bench was the right move. It may not be popular but it's a good move. It's not a performance issue for Gordon. It's a team-oriented move. Vogel might just think Mario needs to evaluate himself and make a stronger commitment to his career. He might not be putting in enough work. He might be having a personal issue as well. But, I trust Vogel has a good reason.

It's time to either put Gordon with the second unit and put Hezonja, who is starting to settle in, or Jeff Green in the starting lineup. You can't bench Vooch because he plays the best consistently. But your could put Ibaka with the second unit, to send a message. Then you shift Gordon to 4 and again play Mario or Jeff at 3. A change needs to be made to get wins. We can put the ideal rotation together later. But we are supposed to be able to adjust based on the opponent. Vogel is doing everything he can to find something, but we still have those droughts and nothing is working. But, changing the starting lineup is one thing he hasn't tried yet. It's time coach.

He sure looks like he is mid 30's with the fluctuating effort and energy. Performance is one thing, but not giving max effort is another. He seems to forget that we are only giving him extra shots in exchange for good defense. No wonder OKC ditched him for our best effort player and one of the best perimeter defenders in the league. I'm afraid Rob forgot in a league that promotes perimeter scoring, perimeter defense is more at a premium than interior defense. We could have gotten this defense from Dedmon and let Oladipo do more scoring than we are. Rob gives up and changes course to easy. First Harkless, then hiring Skiles for a playoff run when there were stars available in last years draft, Harris, Oladipo who became a great defender, and Dedmon who was developing and a cheap shot blocker. If he stayed the course we'd be a better team this year.

A foul is a foul regardless of effort. Several and-ones were missed when we were playing with effort. And when we gave effort on defense we had plenty of phantom calls and ticky tack fouls that weren't called the same for both teams. Notice how scoring is up? Apparently we decided to make a defensive team the year the NBA decided to outlaw defense to get more scoring. Fouls are only called on made baskets and shot attempts by good actors who make free throws and All-Stars to discourage defense and raise scoring. You must have a scorer capable of 20ppg to be allowed to get to play defense. Teams who don't have this will not be given equal treatment because they are not good enough at scoring and have no players that generate jersey sales.

Looking like we are a .500 team that is hoping for a post-All-Star break run. Or a .500 team who can grab a missing piece at the deadline. (hayward, George, or Cousins, are the dream acquisitions. Get rid of Ibaka if he doesn't shape up.

We need a practice where every player shoots until they make 100 shots from the 10 spots they are most likely to see the ball. And after that they must make 25 layups very Biyombo. For the good of the team we need to play Green (possibly Hezonja) at the starting 3. We need Gordon's energy off the bench, and he can become Sixth Man versus bench players. He can also rebound Biyombo's blocks and put back his misses. He can be a PF and become a high flying Shawn Marion Until Meeks proves he is ready, run Watson at PG and Augustin at his wannabe position SG. It will be a small ball unit with tons of energy. The threat of the 3 from our starting 3 will provide spacing as no team respects Gordon shooting 20% from deep. Hold off on trades unless they will take Gordon and picks for an All-Star SG or SF (SF preferred). Explore trades when we can trade anyone. Maybe Green because he is expiring has some trade value or to dump a good young proven shooter, if we need to include picks go for it.

I saw lots of fouls called on us that weren't called when Chicago did the same thing to us. I guess going straight up and down is only not a foul if the opponents aren't playing well. Vogel and the Magic need to send a tape of all the times this was called as a foul and ask for clarification and that a league representative to be at all games to explain what we are doing wrong. I guess you only get calls once you make an All-Star team. Apparently your team is not entitled to calls unless you have one of those players. Chicago happens to have the two best actors in Wade and Butler. If you touch them, even if they initiate contact, it's a foul. Doesn't matter if you're stationary with hands up. They are also allowed to do anything to you. The refs are instructed to call one early foul on each of them early to make it appear even, but are not allowed to call another unless their team is up 25. We have seen Wade do this his entire career, throw himself around and get the refs to call fouls on anyone he touches. Butler is given the same treatment because the Bulls need to have a relevant player and he learned the rest from Derrick Rose.

I'm amazed how many on this board think Hezonja is playing terrible simply because he barely misses shots. He contributes in different ways. We are developing him as a two-way player. He has had several 3's wiped away because moving screens, and as bad as he shoots lately, he still makes at least one shot and usually two. He is always out there with others who typically opt to go one-on-one and are reluctant to swing the ball. I really think he could be used better. Vogel just has to find the best way to use him. Because the way Gordon plays, for example, he gets the same production as a starter as a he would coming off the bench. But, obviously Hezonja needs a specific role that keeps him active, and until he finds a comfort zone, he needs someone who is good enough that a defense keys on them or at least respects them. and who doesn't try to do things that are too difficult instead of moving the ball, to be on the court with him. At the very least he needs Payton, Fournier, Vuc, or Gordon with him, and preferably 2 of them or more. Hezonja sees the court well and he passes well. But, often playing with back ups he never gets it back, even when he gets open and should. Something else I see is when players make a play on defense, they often are given the ball on offensive, it seems to me Hezonja doesn't get the ball after a good play. Those of us who have seen Croatia games know what Mario can do. He is often the catalyst that helps turn games around. He is also good with the ball in his hands instead of just spotting up, like Turkoglu was. When active he becomes more aggressive and when forced to pass he slips to open areas where he can spot up and he seems to shoot better when he gets the ball right as he spots up like Peja Stoyakovic did. He is also decent coming off curls and screens like Peja . Peja became very good at those things over his career. Mario has a similar skill set with athleticism like American players. Hezonja will realize these skills if we give him time. His defense improves the more he plays, and he needs a summer in Orlando to work on his whole game and get some moves that are effective versus and that take advantage of NBA athleticism. He is not as far away as it seems. But, the nuances of the NBA take time and good coaching to learn. The more successful international players that have had success early are typically big men that could shoot from distance and handle the ball, that is part of why Rob wanted Porzingis so bad (But, we would have been gouged and stripped of any real chance at young assets just to move one spot, assuming Phil would even listen). International players who play guard and small forward has always taken time, unless they played in college here. The two I mentioned also came from one organization, who had a superstar big man and all-star quality PG. I think we might have hit on something last night and we should go back to that. You could see the elation in Mario's face and demeanor after hitting a couple shots. He definitely has taken his struggles to heart. But, if we get him focus on what worked and keep allowing him to doing those things, he will get it going. Unlike that POS Skiles who was not encouraging and demeaning, we have a coach who encourages his players and has faith in all his players, we have the right coach to get Hezonja on the correct path.

You're crazy. Payton is emerging and we just signed Augustin. Vooch may not be a traditional go to guy, but he is our go to guy. Until Gordon or Hezonja become consistent shooters and Fournier can create his own shots, we need Vooch. If we get another small ball quality big, we might be able to find another average shot creating SG. Or we can package Vuc and Gordon for a real S. Green is basically a 1 year rental. We need Hezonja and Gordon to develop before their rookie deals run out. But, our biggest needs are SG and SF who can create their own shots.

I completely agree. Everyone was upset he is not an All-Star. In a decent draft he was a #8 to #12 pick. He was the glue that held us together. Payton just had to catch up. I'm starting to think Ibaka just might be in his 30's. I want to believe it's a rumor. But we absolutely miss Dipo. This team is too easily discouraged. Mental toughness is lacking with most of the roster.

The D-League does not make developing players into to steady contributors. At best you get fringe NBA players into players who can be 3rd stringers and hopefully get a shot on injury decimated teams. It helps players get PT when none are available. Maybe help someone get conditioning. Hezonja does not fit those categories and should not be sent there. It achieves nothing. You overestimate the speed and skill level of the D-League. Marble tore up that league and he didn't do jack. Now Zimmerman and Onuaku should go because they are not going to play without it. You need to think about Hezonja's situation a bit. He just moved away from everything he knows a year ago. He came to play for impatient fans and an organization that suddenly decided we can't wait for a star, like Simmons. He was under a coach who was hated by players and a notoriously difficult person. He was abused by that quitter who obviously didn't learn anything about players since playing (see Tobias Harris and Brandon Jennings, skill and treatment, and lack of character respectively). He missed training camp with an injury in year 1 and again to represent his country, which you have to respect that honor (even though he played well), this summer. Despite all that, he played better than his rookie season. He has simply not made shots. It's absurd to be so apathetic about a player one game into his second year. If you can name one person in the organization who expected anything before a few seasons you would be lying. Winslow was expected to be a tough defender with limited scoring, who will never become a star. We had Oladipo who was a shorter (by 2 in.) player with a great motor and work ethic, above-average defense (great defense last year), a higher floor and much more potential. Mario is projected to be a 2-way player with superb athleticism and shooting. Projects as an all-star possibility once acclimated to the league. And some are worried about scoring right now? Yeah let's have Winslow out there with poor shooters like Payton and Gordon. It's small ball with no shooting outside the paint. We have nothing to suggest we chose wrong. Frank Vogel's job is to develop our young core , and hopefully help us get in the playoffs, which would show progress. Playoff lip service is about keeping fans interested. Fans are impatient because 4-5 years is not a reasonable time to rebuild unless you draft a star. Lots of people missed on players like a Myles Turner, and we kept getting one pick less than the depth of the draft. And we got lower pick than we were expected too. Oladipo was the best we got and this board couldn't trade him fast enough because he wasn't an All-Star in year 3, like Gordon won't be either). Our other guys are long-term prospects who have hardly developed outside a natural progression. Our previous coaches did nothing to help. Every player needs different things to grow and coaches do whatever it takes. Plays are drawn up to put players in position to succeed regardless of status. This team knows how badly Hezonja needs to become a strong contributor and would not bat an eye because Mario is given 5-6 designed plays. You act like people want the game plan to be all about Mario, regardless of situation. Do you have any faith in Vogel or this team? We get it, all of us want a winning team now, but it takes time. This team has undergone an overhaul and should be judged on its own merit. Only the front office should be judge on previous years. But, this team also was built by that same office and any failures are irrelevant if we develop. Since when is Detroit better? No defense PG (not playing) against a rejuvenated Payton, KCP who is a shooter on occasion and nothing else versus our hot shooting driver, the guy we traded because Gordon is likely better and is inconsistent from deep and is easily defended by Gordon, Morris who is slower than Ibaka and Gordon, not even as good as a "declining" Ibaka and nowhere near the defensive play and arguably a weaker shooter, Drummond who cannot shoot free throws and not much shooting with a low basketball IQ who will be pulled away from the basket by a determined Vucevic who will be primed to shoot from 18 feet or further. Vogel's defense = SVG offense, and we had fits with physical defenses under SVG, the Pacer's usually beat us. And, the Biz-Factor, he is chomping at the bit and I expect an 8 pts-18 rebs-3 block game and 6 more fouls for Drummond. Also expect Rudez to play and use 6 fouls and a couple 3s to pull Drummond out. Plenty of 3 second violations when Drummond is in no man's land. Expect Drummond to score a bunch while we focus on stopping everyone else. Make Drummond do everything. Angry but focused Magic win 99-92.

You would think we started 0-10 with these reactions. We just didn't make shots and gave up too many offensive rebounds. We did get crossed up several times, and it didn't hurt us early because they missed the 3's. When they started making them their confidence went soaring. Spoelstra has always gotten great effort with every Miami team, even the less talented ones. Vogel has plenty of job security even if we miss the playoffs, but Henny is done if we are not in contention the last 2 weeks of this season, whether it's fair or not. The perimeter D showed that we will miss Oladipo. The front office should have stayed strong and refused to trade him. They are banking on the hope that Ibaka will return to form defensively and thrive offensively with more touches. He needs to replicate his preseason numbers and re-sign or we made a big mistake. I was starting to think we might have gotten a deal after preseason. Tonight I was astounded that he didn't go after some shots that he could have made difficult at least and hope he was just trying to avoid foul trouble without Biz. But, there were more bad calls on fouls when Ibaka played great clean D. Fouls the refs surely would have seen differently in OKC. After one such foul our team dropped their heads and we fell apart. This has been a recurring theme over the last 2 years, when we are clearly wronged by a call, we start to lose focus. Our perimeter guys, even Gordon, got out of place on rotations way too much. Our guys cannot slack just because you have rim protectors. If we need rim protectors to assist more than 10% of the time we are in trouble. We should only rely on them when great plays are made, that is it. Our guards and everyone are being asked to run on makes and misses, but they must peel back for rebounds and only run after we secure the rebound. And we need to go get them and not expect favorable bounces. If the bigs rotate on defense or we crash the boards,, the guards will need to be sure that the ball doesn't get to your man before you take off. Another thing, Ibaka and especially Biyombo will chase blocks. We should expect it, but people need to keep contact with your man. The thing that makes both Ibaka and Biyombo attractive to us is the fact they can be effective away from the basket on switches and they recover quickly. It's not necessary to leave your man completely as the shot blockers typically get back. Proper recognition of when to leave your guy and when not to is part of the chemistry that we need to learn now that we have shot blockers. Hezonja had his confidence destroyed by Skiles and it will take time for him to stop looking over his shoulder. Skiles always pulled Mario after each mistake and often pulled him after made shots. That is the wrong way to treat Hezonja who is a humble kid. He needs to be encouraged and not torn down. Look at Croatia's coach in the Olympics, Mario got minutes no matter what, and even if he made mistakes the coach went back to him late. When they got down, he called on Mario who then responded. Plays were called for him and he delivered. People on this board seem to forget that he is an all-around player, every bit as capable as Gordon, even more than AG offensively. We need to give him a few plays that he can run every game until he perfects them a la Rip Hamilton and his confidence will build. He is not a volume scorer yet, but he has all the tools needed. Once he dials in his shot, he will explode. It's the staff's job, as well as his own responsibility, to mold him into the scorer he is capable of becoming. He has proven himself against D-League level competition in international tournaments. That is equal or better than D-League competition. His defense is much improved and he rarely gets beat like he use to early last year. Percentage wise, based on plays ran while that player is on the court, and I bet you'll see that he is out of position less than Gordon. The only difference is that Aaron has unshakable confidence, likely because years of sports psychology that he has undergone, something Mario may need after Skiles. And, I'm not joking about AG and his sports psychology. Let's be real Hezonja is on a similar pace to Gordon despite being subject to breakdown by Skiles. Mario only learned to stifle his aggressiveness because you will get pulled if you make a defensive error and he did improve that defense. Sadly, it hurt his offensive, and the only way to be appreciated as the #5 pick is to score or power dunk with hyper athleticism nightly. I'd argue that preseason this year is his first real attempt at NBA offense. He is just starting his 2nd year and we all realize that Skiles was the worst coach for him possible. Gordon was not spectacular either, except in the dunk contest, and he was not a victim of Skiles abuse. Hezonja will average 10-3-3-1, with 45/38/90 this year, which is reasonable. We were told on Day 1 he needs 3 years at least to develop. Let's give him that. Remember how long JJ Redick took to do anything, but he became the shooter we hoped, a maximum effort slightly above average defender, and fan favorite when he finally got going. Nobody is this organization is close to giving up on Mario, he will be double what Redick became. Be patient, I know it seems like he has been here for the whole rebuild, but he hasn't. We need to see something concrete from Gordon and Payton this year. If he shows any improvement Mario gets a pass until next year at least. Nobody with that pure a stroke stuggles forever. Vucevic is still our go to guy and will not be traded because we will never get decent value. Unless Paul George wants out and Larry Bird envisions Aaron Gordon and Vucevic running with Myles Turner, and 2 First round unprotected picks, Vooch stays. We have Meeks if Hezonja is garbage in the first month and if nothing else Meeks can shoot. Let's back off the ledge and beat Detroit. Biyombo was our prized free agent, let's watch him earn that money. Payton is already showing something people thought we would never see after his late rookie year. He clearly shoots better. Despite a rough start Fournier showed his preseason form that was impressive. Our shooting was just terrible in the 2nd half tonight which allowed Whiteside to camp out in the lane, and by the time we got anything going we had no room for error. They were brimming with confidence and only needed 3 or 4 baskets to finish us. We made mistakes at the end, missed every opportunity , gave up offensive rebounds, and they made those couple shots they needed. It will take time growing before we can play a full 48 minutes with consistency on either end . My final point: This is only game 2 with this 8-9 man rotation. We did not run this rotation every preseason game .

For those who didn't see it, we played hard all game, even when we were way down. First quarter: The Magic decided to play Davis straight up and he torched Ibaka inside and out. Vucevic was switched to Davis and he was beat several times also. Biyombo looked lost. The refs called ticky tack fouls and didn't allow the defense to play. Other than 2 travels, Davis was a beast and looked unstoppable and controlled both the offense and defense. On offense we could not buy a shot, and we made some shots that were wiped away by moving screens. We got a few put-backs and drives, also some Gordon jumpers made up most of the scoring. Hezonja had a few plays run for him and fumbled them away. But, he was able to stay with his man on D. Second quarter: Started with more Davis dominance as we could not guard him. Several lesser know players and the Pelicans bench made every shot it seemed and they helped extend the lead to 23. A few clean Ibaka blocks were called fouls and the refs made calls they couldn't see, which was frustrating. Towards the last 4 minutes of the quarter NOLA and Davis started taking jumpers and began missing shots, and the defense for the Magic started to affect the game and the tempo sped up more to our liking. The Pelicans made huge shots after every Magic run, but a late flurry got us within 12. Offensively, there were a couple Augustin drives that led to free throws, and some various Jeff Green shots as the lead swelled. After a rest, Payton looked like a new man and did a good job executing the offense, driving the lane, and hitting a few jumpers. He began playing like we need him to. Gordon's shots were falling and we saw a glimpse of the versatility with him at the SF spot. Ibaka was good in the post and money on face up jumpers. When we pushed the pace, the team comes alive, and yes that is with EP running the show. Fournier showed off his driving ability as his jumper was off early. When we began switching properly, AD settled for jumpers and we cut into the lead. If not for big shots by them, we would have cut the 23 point lead they had by even more. Great final 3 minutes of the half. Third quarter: Most of the 3rd quarter was uneventful. Gordon started with a drive, basket, and the foul, but it was immediately answered by a 3 for the Pelicans. The teams traded baskets and free throws most of the quarter. Ibaka and Payton did most of the scoring, including a jumper and a nice looking 3 by EP. Davis, the unstoppable and running mate Jones did the majority of the Pelicans scoring. We played hard on defense, but the offense could not get enough shots to fall. Eventually we managed to get within 8 after getting a few stops, but after wasting several chances to cut the lead further, Terrance Jones was able to keep the offense going and push the lead back to 12. Our defense was enough to carry the offense for stretches, which was nice to see. Towards the end of the quarter we went to the starters with Biyombo replacing a poor shooting Vuc. Fournier got aggressive in the final minute and was fouled on a drive converting his free throws, which was answered by a pair of NOLA free throws. Fournier then found himself with enough space and buried a 3, which was answered by Jones again on a layup. Then Fournier was left open for another 3 he subsequently nailed. Unfortunately it was Mr. Jones again with a hook to force it to a 10 point lead. But it felt like we finally had some offense going into the 4th. All summer we heard Fournier wasn't worth it, but he has clearly hit the weights and with the way he is shooting, he will be an all-star if he plays like hes been this preseason during the regular seasoning. He is focused and he will earn that check. Fourth quarter: The Magic started the 4th by immediately falling behind by 15 on a couple easy baskets. Fortunately the offense started to get going after a few important contributions from our new guys. Green was fouled a couple times and converted 3 of 4 free throws. Biyombo made a dunk off a ball that was deflected to him. Ibaka made some nifty moves for a couple baskets and we found ourselves down only 9. But, the Pelicans kept answering with Jones and Hield knocking down huge shots to stop Magic runs. Biyombo battled on one sequences getting 2-3 consecutive offensive rebounds to keep a seemingly lost possession alive when the offense faltered. I was never a fan of him until I heard his press conference and saw the effort he puts in practice and any time he is on the floor. Once the starters, minus Vuc, were back in the game the defense and offense got going. Payton was playing possessed in the whole second half. He was creating easy offense for our guys and was keeping their guards from driving. The lead was 11 or 12 throughout most of the quarter. With just under 4 minutes Ibaka faced a triple team while falling out of bounds under the basket and hit Fournier with a perfect pass that Fournier nailed for another 3. We managed to get a stop and Fournier pulled up for 3 again and hit the center of the basket, giving us 6 straight points. A Payton steal and layup along with a couple more good assists which got us within 3. A few possessions later, Payton's defender gave him too much space, as his drives throughout the game led to open shots or layups, and without hesitation he nailed a 3 off the glass (he called it) in the defenders face to tie the game. After some lock down switching D, we got the ball back with 21 seconds left. For whatever reason Vogel did not put Vuc in for more offense on what was likely the last play of the game. Payton dribbled the clock to about 7 seconds from the top of the key as Ibaka came to set a screen so Payton could drive and dish or get to the line. He instead pulled up for a deep two, presumably because he was feeling good and possibly didn't want to go to the line, and he missed leaving 2.9 (or 3.9, can't remember) seconds on thw game clock. But, Ibaka used a foul we had to give to stop an inbound alley-oop attempt to Davis (think Hedo to Howard a few years back, and we played smothering D on the ensuing in bounds play to force OT. Overtime: After the offense came alive late in regulation and once Davis went out early in overtime you felt like we had this game. The period started great, everything we ran worked and the shots fell. We even got a jumper to fall for Vuc who hasn't made the shots we know he will. Vucevic is valuable to this team and is not a sieve on defense when he has another quality big with him. We were scappy on defense and got to loose balls and rebounds. Towards the 3 minute mark the offense stalled and a 3 point play got the Pelicans going, and some nice clutch plays by a rejuvenated Terrance Jones allowed them to tie the game. We were able to get a late Payton floater, a great steal by Fournier, and a clutch FT by Hezonja to force a wild, badly missed desperation heave by NOLA to close out a thrilling comeback and overtime game. Too bad it's preseason. I will add that the game felt like an important regular season game and both sides played like it was a big game effort-wise. This was amazing for a preseason game. We stuck with a 9 man rotation and players like Rudez, Watson, and Wilcox, along with the other scrubs were simply there as insurance, like they should be. Would be great to have Oladipo with this team still, but once things come together I think Henny will prove his worth. Definitely the best exhibition game ever by Elfrid. We were very focused late and we can finally get late stops and possibly close games out like we did tonight. We have a stud PG if this is the Payton we see during the season. Hopefully this overtime victory jump starts our season. This could be a very versatile and dynamic team. For the Pelicans that Asik, Davis, Jones front line looks good and when they get the backcourt together they could be dangerous, especially when Hield is making shots. Odd to see 2 teams with big front lines in today's NBA, but maybe we will inspire a change back to a big man's game. On another note, I'm glad preseason is over so I don't have to hear Adubato anymore and some of the nonsensical things he tends to say, and be subjected to his terrible math. 79-67 is not 8! We are spoiled with David Steele and Jeff Turner.

Johnson keeps putting up the numbers though. I'm seeing everything he does, not really judging his point total, but the fact he scores well in each of these games should indicate he is capable. Marble is wildly inconsistent. But his game is scoring, he really has nothing else of value. If Marble plays like that every game , he would be earning his spot, but he doesn't even put back to back decent games together. Johnson would be an upgrade to the CJ we have seen so far. Also probably even better than the CJ we will see this year.

Nick Johnson sucks you say? Can't even be a backup, huh? 19 again and 9 assists sure is terrible.

D-league stats really don't say a whole lot and for developmental players the goal is to find a way to be of use in the NBA. But, I feel he (Johnson) is clearly developing into a backup PG who can fit in this league, even if that is all he ever becomes. My pitch is that he has a positive impact on many aspects of the game. Maybe, he needs to take less shots, and when given better options to pass to I think he would curb the shooting and get even more assists. Payton is a low percentage shooter and if not for the drives he would be in that same range of shooting percentage. And he may be suffering from the same thing Payton did is SL and he is putting up better numbers. I just feel that a young player who can do everything is good to have in a deep bench role. Above all Rob values versatility in players and that is what Johnson is and I think we should find a spot for him. As far as Zimmerman, he is being highly praised, yet Johnson is playing his respective role equally or better than Z is playing his own role. Why not give Johnson credit ? Just being a little older is no reason to diminish what he has shown. Also, when you have arm or elbow injuries, that full range of motion never returns. You cannot fix it through any type of rehab. You need both arms to really be effective in the NBA, especially when fighting for rebounds against quality players, and the physicality of the league is much higher than he has ever experienced. I don't know enough about him to make other specific arguments, but honestly nobody goes unscouted these days. The difference is simply what one person sees versus what another person sees, and frankly people get lucky once or twice and suddenly they are great scouts. I don't see any reason to think we got a steal. Scoring is what most players care about in SL because it draws attention easily, but if your skills are rebounding and shot blocking, it's easy to put in decent numbers because the terrible shots that tend to be taken. Just feel there are valid questions about that arm and think that his stats are a product of SL style play. I could be proven wrong and because my love for the team , even if I disagree over our apparent methods this off season (except on the coaching front, i am excited about that),I hope we found a diamond in the roughin Zimmerman. But, I have serious doubts.

If decent scoring, 7 assists, low turnover rate, high steal numbers is garbage then I am not sure what is good. Especially when I am suggesting him as a D-leaguer or deep bench player. Shabazz Napier made the team and held on all season , and he is garbage for sure. If I was suggesting him as more than a possible backup or someone worth a second look, then yeah that is ridiculous. But, Zimmerman puts up very similar stats in his few games and he is the steal of the draft. We got a player with a physical issue that will cause him to be dominated in the league, that is why he fell, not some genius scouting. Players who amount to anything from Summer League fill stat sheets. I might add that our current starter didn't perform like Johnson in SL. But, to each their own.

We need to find Nick Johnson a spot. At least in the D league. He is filling up the stat sheet and getting great assist numbers with crappy options to pass to. Nice steals. He isn't flashy, but he gets it done. I remember that he only knock coming from Arizona was he wasn't really quick. Unless Watson returns to form, he might be needed and looks to be a capable backup or 3rd PG. Marble is a mess.

If Vucevic was a free agent, he would get a max deal. He would be great on a team with a true number one option. Or a more developed point guard than Payton. Lots of bigs don't play D. Every center except 2 (maybe 3) have big holes in there game. Cousins and Davis (Whiteside if he keeps going at his current pace). Vucevic is weak on D, but give him a defensive 4 (like we are ) and everything changes. Also throw in a defensive point guard with average offense and it's even better. If a team only gets to shoot 3s come playoff time they get beat, even if one guy is always open (like Vucevic not being able to close out everytime). Only one team in this league can sometimes win with nothing but 3s. Vucevic might not be a shot blocker but he can force tough shots by his size alone and can clog the paint, He is a good shooter and passer, a good rebounder, especially on offensive rebounds and tip ins, makes free throws and is very difficult to guard. Just because our mixed bag team hasn't made it work with Gordon or Harris, two mediocre players , doesn't mean it can. I love Gordon as much as anybody, but he still gets torched on defense. He flashes potential, but he is slightly above average when playing very good by his current standards. It will change one day though and he will be above average on his bad nights. I am not a Vuc fanboy, but Nik has crazy skills and can be effective enough when he plays with a good defensive player to assist him, especially a PG or veteran PF/C with above average defense. We have 3 of them if Dedmon returns and that doesn't even count Gordon . The same way we can overvalue guys on our team, we can undervalue players when the supporting cast is as young and inconsistent like ours. If Ibaka doesn't work out, Vucevic is our next best player. He gets 12 mil now, but if he was up for extension now, he would basically double his salary. You know DeRozan is the highest paid NBA player? He is not even Top 15 as a player. Fournier and Ibaka can't create shots or offense, Vucevic can. In fact he is the only starter who can. Why so anxious to trade? 3 bigs is not enough even with Gordon. 5 is more like it. This team sees Gordon as a 3 who can play 4 in small lineups. Vogel plays big lineups , rarely small ball . Remember games with 5 Pacers out (3 bigs) and we still got shredded by the 4th and 5th big men. That is what we're after. We just are choosing athletic bigs who can run because that is another thing we want. When we have to slow down against good defense, Vucevic will be invaluable. Unless we get a 24/5/5 guy back, Vuc stays. If we can get Hayward, Vucevic can be traded with Jeff Green or Fournier in a sign and trade. We could even add Gordon and pieces for Favors. That would set us up really nice.