What Vince Carter Can Do

[Die Mannschaft 45]

If you're an Orlando Magic fan who's down on Vince Carter, I can't say that I blame you. Your lasting memory of him in a Magic uniform, to date, is likely his missing two clutch free throws in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics; had he sank them, the Magic would have trailed by a single point with 34.7 seconds remaining. Instead, they had to make an incredible defensive stand just to save their season--a stand they ultimately made--but they fell short. Two games later, with the Magic facing elimination, he scored 3 points on 1-of-9 shooting, and found himself benched in Matt Barnes' favor for 2:16 of the fourth quarter in a tight game which Orlando wound up winning. And overall, Carter didn't make a huge postseason impact, scoring 15.5 points per game on 50.6% True Shooting. Again, I can't blame you if you aren't impressed.

 

But at the same time, I feel like we might have lost sight of the good Carter can do for the Magic. Coach Stan Van Gundy's offense requires a versatile, playmaking wing to function best, a role which Dwyane Wade filled during Van Gundy's tenure with the Heat, and which Hedo Turkoglu took on during Van Gundy's first two years patrolling the Magic's sideline. Pick-and-roll proficiency; jump-shooting off the dribble and off the catch; and the ability to create for oneself and for one's teammates are, in no particular order, the specific tasks this wing needs to perform. Carter? He has demonstrated he can fit the bill, even in his seemingly mediocre first year with the Magic.

 

To get an idea of where Carter stands relative to other players of his approximate position and role, I turned to Synergy Sports Technology and HoopData.com. The results indicate a player whose best days are clearly behind him, but also one lethal enough offensively to inflict serious damage in a variety of situations.

 

Star-divide

Trade Carter

[Hungry Hedo's 29]

You cannot forget

 

 

 

JanVINCEuary

[GhostAnime 50]

I think he should get better at defense. I don't care about his offense but he needs to show that he can guard guys like LeBron, Pierce, and Wade.

 

The Magic are toast otherwise.

[~O~ 565]

I think he should get better at defense. I don't care about his offense but he needs to show that he can guard guys like LeBron, Pierce, and Wade.

 

The Magic are toast otherwise.

 

You shouldn't care about his offense only if we don't run plays through him. The scary thing is that..we do. I just hope theres less of them this upcoming season. There has been many plays to get the ball to Dwight but it has to be a full team effort to get it to him. If there are set plays for Carter at the 2 spot, I expect Van Gundy to pull him out if he's settling for low percentage shots.

[BMP 424]

Carter's USG% was the highest on the team. Higher than Howard's and A LOT higher than Lewis'.

 

 

That's gonna have to end.

[Emory889 353]

I think he should get better at defense. I don't care about his offense but he needs to show that he can guard guys like LeBron, Pierce, and Wade.

 

The Magic are toast otherwise.

 

How is this going to magically (oh yeah, Magic pun) happen?

[MagicBucsRays2 10]

Vince Carter is incredibly inconsistent. Some nights he looks like an All Star SG, other nights he is flat out pathetic. Unfortunatly for us, he didn't show up in the playoffs, and with his history, it's tough to expect him to step up in the playoffs again. He's too old and inconsistent for this team to win a ring, he's more of a trade asset right now.

[Ryan the Magic Fan 253]

Carter's USG% was the highest on the team. Higher than Howard's and A LOT higher than Lewis'.

 

 

That's gonna have to end.

 

If the last 3 games of the Boston series are any indication it well.

[COLOMBIANO 118]

Trade Wince?

[VCplusD12 91]

More Vince Less Wince

[Shock Phantom 263]

I'd like to see how Vince would play if he focused on being more of a distributor or playmaker, rather than a scorer. I think the starters could work better together if VC and Meer kind of switched roles a bit. As in Vince runs the Pn'R more and Jameer focuses more on scoring. I felt that Vince became a spot up shooter in a lot of plays, and that really isn't his strong suit, while shooting is one of Meer's biggest strengths. Now, this is all based on me hearing that VC is a good passer and can make plays. I mean, he averaged 5 assists during the 08-09 season, while having the majority of the scoring load. If we used him primarily as a distributor, I think he could easily average 5+ assists, in less minutes. Anybody who has followed VC, do you guys agree? Do you think he could be effective in a distributive type roll? I didn't follow him much until he came to the Magic.

[BMP 424]

I'd like to see how Vince would play if he focused on being more of a distributor or playmaker, rather than a scorer. I think the starters could work better together if VC and Meer kind of switched roles a bit. As in Vince runs the Pn'R more and Jameer focuses more on scoring. I felt that Vince became a spot up shooter in a lot of plays, and that really isn't his strong suit, while shooting is one of Meer's biggest strengths. Now, this is all based on me hearing that VC is a good passer and can make plays. I mean, he averaged 5 assists during the 08-09 season, while having the majority of the scoring load. If we used him primarily as a distributor, I think he could easily average 5+ assists, in less minutes. Anybody who has followed VC, do you guys agree? Do you think he could be effective in a distributive type roll? I didn't follow him much until he came to the Magic.

 

Nah, Jameer's more effective at penetrating the lane, which causes defenses to collapse which causes open 3s. In order for Vince to become a play maker he would still have to do what we've been wanting him to do this entire time, which would be to drive to the hoop more consistently.

 

 

Ideally you'd have Jameer AND Wince taking care of play making and scoring, a lot like Parker/Manu did.