jmmagicfan

I actually would like to see a second unit with both Cole and Ross on it. It makes it almost impossible to double team both, and could free up both of them, and some of the other guys as well. Part of why Ross is so up and down is the attention he receives as the primary (only?) offensive threat on the 2nd unit.

I have to agree, Mo Wagner is a decent bench guy who still has upside, but Vuc is still the better player. I think Mo plays harder, with more energy; he is just less talented.

We did select Horton-Tucker and then friggin gave him away! I was so excited when we picked and so pissed when they traded him for squat!

Thanks TMF!!

TMF, so sorry for your loss! Thoughts and prayers coming your way!

The Philly player connected low with a hand/wrist flick to the groin.

Yeah, but we were never really going to see those with Vucevic here. He was good enough at Center to make replacing him with a PF a hard sell. I could see us moving to a smaller, faster front court with JI and WCJ playing a switching C/PF type of game and Bamba/Okeke playing the backups depending on the matchups. I'm still on the fence with Bamba - he has shown just enough talent to warrant continuing to look at him (especially while we are short players), but not enough to justify a big extension. I think we will try to trade him at the deadline, especially with the abundance of top bigs in this year's draft - I just hope it doesn't come back to bite us. I think Bamba has to either take a big leap in terms of hustle/effort, or he might be out of the league in a couple of years.

You and I don't often agree, as I do think you tend to take the "glass half-empty" view most of the time; but I have to agree with you 100% on this take. I do like the camaraderie that has developed among the players, and that does reflect well on Moseley and his staff; but I have not been overly impressed with the teamwork on the floor and the x's and o's being called. As someone noted, there have been a few questionable coaching moments in late game situations and player substitutions. He may be a great development guy as an assistant coach, but not the guy you want in the main chair. The problem is, if development/one-on-one is his strength, are we losing that by having him be the top guy?

I think we have a very promising young talent in Franz. I also think we have quite a few talented young players with a lot of potential in Cole, WCJ, Chuma, and (hopefully) Jalen Suggs. Whether or not Fultz and Isaac still qualify really depends on their recovery, which in Isaac's case makes me very nervous. Bamba, who knows?!? The biggest question to me is do we have the leadership to put them all together and make a cohesive team that plays together? That doesn't just fall on the coaching staff, but on the guys on the court as well. All the young guys seem to be getting along and like each other, but the question of who will step up to lead is still in the air. It isn't just who can score points, but who can command respect and hold others accountable. I've seen flashes of that ability from Fultz, and Cole. I think if we ever get healthy, we could be very dangerous, but the leadership will make all the difference.

I really hope that Bamba is watching closely. I do already see a lot of Rolo's game in WCJ.

The Lakeland guys are really bringing the effort! I like the Tim Frazier signing as well. Decent, veteran PG to come in and run some offensive sets.

You rock, TMF!

I did consider that, but unless we are seriously considering using Hampton as a PG in the future, are we really benefitting him or are we taking time away from his development at positions he is better suited/going to play in the future. I see him as much more of a SG/SF, so I'm worried him spending so much time trying to play backup PG might frustrate him and stunt his growth for what should be his actual position(s). Also, how much is not having a true, healthy, backup PG hurting the guys on the second unit? We've all noticed/commented on Chuma's play so far this year, but how much of that is the team on the floor with him?

So I just read that LAL are applying for a “hardship” exemption, and my question is why haven’t we done this to get another ball-handler instead of playing Hampton as a backup PG? “The hardship exemption was put into place by the league to allow a team to exceed the full 15-man roster limit if dealing with sickness or illness to at least four players simultaneously for a period of at least two weeks.“ We have had Fultz, Isaac, Moore, and MCW out for a month, and Suggs out for several weeks now. Not even applying for this is just plain poor management in my opinion.

Our defensive effort has definitely dropped off - partly due to our best defender(s) being injured all year, and partly due to Franz now expending so much energy on the offensive end, that his defense has slipped a little too. I know I'm beating this injury drum a bit but still - Isaac, MCW, Suggs, Fultz are all good, or at least decent, defenders and we haven't had three of them all year, and no Suggs for a couple of weeks. (Note that our defense has significantly faltered since Suggs went down). Personally, I would like to see more Lopez and less Bamba, but if we are going to develop Mo that isn't going to happen. Last night we were forced to play our 2WP for 13-14 minutes each, just because we needed bodies on the floor. We were without: Suggs, Fultz, MCW, Moore, Harris, Isaac, Bamba - at least five of whom you would project to be playing 15-20 minutes (or more) in your rotation sometime this season. We haven't had a backup PG for a couple weeks. Injuries are the main reason I don't think we can properly judge our coaching staff yet, or even some of our team. Am I happy with what I'm seeing so far, hell no! Do I feel like they are fighting an uphill battle, sometimes.