magicjed23

Looks like we are going to need our Agame on offense. Honestly, Howard in foul trouble is a blessing in disquise for Houston. This Capela causes trouble.

Porzingis didn't shoot well, but he showed why he was so high and probably the top of our list. He still blocked/changed shots despite the shooting. Hezonja played well with a few mistakes, usually mistakes of trying too hard. Here is my evaluation of Hezonja: He does, at times, lose his man if the screens are trickier to navigate, but unless it's a total mix up with a teammate, he typically recovers quickly. He is confident though and very aware of his mistakes. He is careful when looking for his spots, but could be a bit more aggressive offensively. He sometimes tries things on offense that probably worked in Europe but are unlikely to work in this league unless you're physically dominant, but that is a product of his confidence. Mario has a very fluid, and a pretty shooting form that is consistent. I think once he develops tricks that all great shooters usually have and consistently gets good shots he could become a great shooter. He has natural gifts on offense, like excellent court vision and a feel for offense in general. And his passing is a pleasant surprise and quite nice. He gets a lot a rookie type fouls guarding too closely and needs to realize that good players always get calls if you guard them close because they throw themselves into you. And It's just a sad fact in this league especially considering it's the best in the world. But like last night his mistakes are often the result of trying too hard (mistakes of commission and not omission). People on this board are too critical of him I feel, but he has shown flashes. With consistent minutes he could give us 10 ppg right now just being out there. A lot like Gordon gets putbacks because of effort, Mario can get baskets just the same. Aaron gets putback dunks while Mario makes crafty shots in the restricted area.He is also quite good in fastbreak situations. Finding his spots and getting better on defense are the biggest areas he must continue to get better at. His handle is fine honestly, but it will get better as he gets used to the league. He is already showing improvement and if that growth curve continues, it won't take long for him to become at least average on defense. If you watched Mike Miller in his rookie year he reminds me of him on both ends, but with higher upside all around. I won't say Skiles is holding him back, but the expectations coach has on defense are what keeps him from playing more. So if you don't see many games, I would tell you that most coaches would play him more, and any lack of PT is not because he is not ready all around, but because he is not totally ready to play defense to the standard Scott is trying to teach our younger players to play to (because he is learning the NBA game, and not because a lack of ability as much as a lack of execution due to overthinking). Skiles has been using him to run the offense as somewhat of a point forward with the bench unit and he performs better than you might expect. Unfortunately that is not likely to be extremely effective in a league like ours with so many great PG's, but it's a way to get him on the court.

Good effort, but we still missed a bunch of close ones. Melo is just a scorer period. Need someone to step up without Payton.

Frye is a non-factor unless he makes his 3's. He is on maybe once every 3 games. Hezonja has much more skill to help in other ways, which Channing doesn't do anymore. And if you haven't seen glimpses from Mario of doing what we need him for, then I don't know what you're watching. He needs to get acclimated to the speed of the NBA and learn how to defend guys quicker and stronger than what he is used to, but he has the skills that were advertised.

Also , I didn't mention anything about Hezonja playing more tonight. Only after you said something did I say anything about him getting more minutes. I just said that was a bad position to put him in, especially making him guard Bazemore right away. I understand why you would pull him after the two and -one's, but why give him that assignment? There was no switch that created that matchup, that was who he was assigned to. I said he needs to develop sooner than later because he has a chance to be a special shooter. That was just implying that I hope it doesn't take forever.

No they aren't. But his ability to hit the 3 and spread the D is why we drafted him. He is a piece that would make a huge difference once he becomes acclimated to the NBA. I simply believe he should get consistent minutes to reach the potential he has sooner than later. Not anything crazy like 30 minutes, but 20 is fair. 240 to give out during a game, so that is 1/12 of the minutes. I'm not the only one who wants him to play on this board. This team needs more than we currently have, and Mario and Gordon are two pieces that we need. Barring a free agency miracle. Also, I say that when our guys shoot like garbage and there is no reason not to try it. Plus his development has a big influence on how we assemble this team. I would have no problem limiting him in tonight's game because our established players were going to have enough trouble. And we need to go with what we know against the better playoff teams. Hezonja may not be the answer now, but very well could be at some point. And if a player like Fournier is pushed by taking some of his minutes away, I think he will turn it around quick. I believe the threat of Mario taking Fournier's playing time helped push him to the great start. If Evan plays like that then sure Hezonja will probably be the odd man out. Skiles is trying to give him minutes now which is great, but don't pull him in 3 minutes if he just buried a 3 or he is playing perfectly fine. Sorry if all you take from my posts is stuff about Hezonja. I say alot more. And maybe I see something in him that you don't. I want what is best for our team long term. Are we probably going to make the playoffs? Yes. Are we likely to advance more than one round? No. Does playing Hezonja reasonable minutes hurt us to the point we will miss the playoffs ? I would wager No. Does playing Mario get him acclimated and ready to contribute sooner? Yes, unless he is a bust Does playing him push others and help Rob know which way to assemble the team better? 100% yes

Letting Korver get more than a couple 3's cost us the game. Dipo helping too deep was the back breaker, but is not the reason we lost. We have Fournier and Frye pass up good shots, Tobias missing two wide open corner 3's. over penetration, missed rebounds, and forced shots. We played good defense to stay with them, but in the end none of our go-to-guys could not make a defining play down the stretch and we couldn't build on the lead when we had chances. Balance is great, but we need one guy who draws the attention of the defense and is able to get to the line, make the clutch shot consistently, and find the open when he can't get a good shot. Right now, unless we pass it around to get a good shot, the defense can play man to man and typically prevent and easy shot.

This was a barometer game. We showed that playoff defense will shut us down.

We deserve to lose when we leave Korver that many times. You never leave him and that should not be hard to remember. This bull**** defense where we dig down to help and recover does not work against good teams. We need to adjust it. I don't remember us ever being beat inside. It's always by 3 point shooting and us not being able to recover. Korver is especially dangerous and always has been. Was starting to think we're learning, but every good playoff team does this to us. We beat bottom feeders but that is all. Yeah we missed shots we should make at the end, but we got away from the offense way too much. Was too easy for them to leave Payton and we seriously could use Watson back for games like this. We have 2 sg's who have lost their offense. Victor is doing fine on defense and did well on Korver besides one possession , but when we put Fournier on him he gets lost. And where is Evan's confidence in his shot? Passing up too much. And why would you purposely put Hezonja on Bazemore? Put him on Korver instead of one of the best athletes in the NBA. We don't have rim protection, that is setting him up to fail. I want Mario to play but that is not the man you match him with. Try Gordon there. Very disappointed in our guys. They have two advantages, experience together and a great shooter. We honestly should have won though, but then a 3-point barrage got us in trouble. Skiles has to adjust or have a secondary scheme to use when the opponent has a hot shooter or a Crawford / Korver type who rarely miss if even slightly open. And we need a 3-point specialist to negate the opponents. Frye is not reliable enough. This is why Hezonja must develop sooner than later. We better beat the Knicks. With our SG's being non-factors on offense so much lately, I sense a freefall if we don't respond.

Missing chances t put some distance between us.

Show Milsap the error in his thinking. We'd have 3 more wins with him. Imagine a Nicholson with double the stats and defense every night consistently. Anyway that is the motivation to pound them. You don't turn down our max offers!

He is not raw like Harris was at all. He also is not a turnover machine. His defense has been up and down , but fine for most young europeans. His offense is not raw though, we just don't run plays for him so he is adjusting. Skiles is the only coach that wouldn't play him consistently because he is anal with rookies in general.

He performed after being traded because we gave him playing time. We saved him from an overly demanding Skiles. Tobias was also raw and not the #5 pick with star potential. You need to play to earn your keep.

If he doesn't perform during his minutes, that is even worse for his value. I don't think he should be benched totally, but if he loses time to Mario, so be it. What he did early this season means nothing if he can't sustain it. This is becoming a trend or the norm, not a temporary slump. And I see Hezonja in the 10-12ppg range when he gets time. Plus another high percentage shooter helps us finish people off and gives Vucevic free reign down low, and the same with Nicholson. Two guys who are deadly when not doubled on the block.

Tonight he was good percentage wise, but the 6 turnovers is not good. I still think he could do better, but can't figure out what his deal is this year.

How about this is a message board and I can talk about what I choose. Sorry that you can't enjoy winning and want our team to improve in other areas at the same time. I care about the future and the playoffs, where shooting like this from 3 gets you beat. We hardly get calls now, just imagine when it gets physical. We have a long way to go still and Hezonja is a huge part in taking the next step. I know not to expect much from Free Agency as most don't want to play for Skiles. He is respected , but he does not attract players like the ones we're hoping for. I'm enjoying the wins just fine. Reading "way to go team" or "good game tonight" doesn't add to my experience. The point of a forum is to discuss things. You do your thing and I'll do mine.

Well if we aren't willing to max out Fournier, it would be smart to play Hezonja more. It opens up options at trade deadline. We would have a more ready 2 if we traded Evan. Unless you want Payton-Dipo backcourt again. Since we won't play Harris with Gordon we need a PF. So, Fournier is most likely to be traded because we aren't getting anything for Frye without including something. Hezonja doesn't cost anything really so he aint going anywhere. And I honestly don't think if you gave Mario Evan's minutes that it would make us lose tonight. He is not that bad on D when he is challenged. Fournier won't sit because Hezonja will take more of his time if he performs. Evan will want in even when he isn't helping. Evan has a good start and suddenly he can do no wrong. He is not in a slump. He is returning to the player he really is. Every game he plays subpar or shoots bad it's blamed on injuries that are not having any impact. I guess I am one of the few who sees what Mario will be when he gets enough meaningful time during games. Also , I love Victor but he is not right on offense. He is so much better than this. Starting to think he needs a new shot to get more consistent. I think it's just mental but I didn't think 18-19 ppg was going to be hard to reach after last season. He is amazing on defense, maybe he just didn't focus on offense this summer? Payton is becoming great before our eyes. If he gets a decent shot he is an All-Star. If we shoot better his assists will jump too. I want this Harris every night and we can be special. Our defense seems to have stepped up since Cleveland smoked us. Let's go get these next 5! I know we can do it!

So the #5 draft pick plays only during blowouts? He can have meaningful minutes like everyone else?

Well 1-14 from 3 is the reason we aren't blowing them out. Mario has length and an advantage on the offensive end with his size. He could be tried for a few minutes.

Hezonja should be out there plain and simple. Most people don't excuse Victor when he is simply missing shots...

If he gets a free pass he needs to sit on the bench. If you're out there you're expected to do your job. We have a guy named Mario who makes his shots. And he should be playing.

Nice balance tonight. I cannot wait to see Mario really playing and in rhythm. His shot is so nice even when he misses. But when they go in, they are sweet and are dead center of the hoop. If we get KD, imagine the open look Hezonja would get. I wonder what Milsap thinks of his decision now? Could you imagine us with an All-Star power forward? And he would have made our assets more valuable because we would have choices for most teams in any deal. I feel Harris may be trying too hard to prove his value and Oladipo just is thinking too much. Victor is an emotional player, but you don't see much emotion from him lately. Anyway let's keep improving! If we get everyone clicking, we could win 50! If we pulled out one or two of those heartbreaking losses we'd be on pace for 49 or 52 respectively.. As it stands we're on pace for 45 or 46. And I think most of us expect to improve a bit more.

Why is Hezonja getting pulled so quick? Let him play, we were up 17.

Aaron missed a wide open Hezonja and Vucevic had Hezonja right before halftime and should have passed it. At least he made it. But still it just looks like we don't give Mario the ball when he has opportunities. If we don't make a run right away, Mario better get 20 more minutes. Heck start him and put Gordon on James. We definitely can't judge his defense versus James. Maybe Vooch needs to take 3's more ?

This lineup is bad against good teams. The defense expects too much of our weaker defenders. Teams have figured this lineup out and it's time to adjust again.