Stock Up/Stock Down: Month of December.

[Skywise316 211]

If you're a veteran, you know what this means. If you're a newbie, well, ask a veteran. One thing that's different from the old days is this is 100% based on the eye test.. well, except for a vague knowledge of box scores and stats here and there. In the old days it was more 50/50 between stats and eye tests. In my old age I can't be bothered with every stat from the team and the players. :shard:/>

 

(very similar to Matthew Berry's Love/Hate on ESPN, basically)

 

STOCK UP:

 

Aaron Afflalo (Okay, boy was I wrong. I was down on him last year, and even though i knew as well as anyone that he had improved each and every year he's been in the NBA, I felt he had finally peaked. A better Robin than Batman, a better Pinky than the Brain, a better Smithers... than Mr. Burns.

 

His efficiency is back while keeping his scoring up like a #1 scorer, and he just generally seems to "fit" better with the rest of the team on offense. We've seen less of the dribble-dribble-sribble isolation-on-his-side-of-the-floor ball hog from last year, thank goodness. The less of a homeless man's Vince Carter the better, kthxbye.

 

So either we've got a wing for the long haul out of the Dwightmare, or his trade value is through the roof!)

 

Victor Oladipo (This is simple. His assists are up, and his turnovers are WAY down. I don't need monthly splits to see the difference between November and December there. My God, dare I say it... he's starting to look like a real NBA point guard.

 

Did I mention when he dunked on the entire Atlanta Hawks team, the empty chairs in Phillips Arena, the city of Atlanta, Julia Roberts, Chipper Jones, Roddy White, Stephen Dorff and all his electric cigarettes, as well as Dwight Howard visiting his parents?

 

Yeah, that was pretty cool too.)

 

Turnovers (Seems like it's a little better than it was when the Magic literally handed the ball to the other teams in November. I know it was Thanksgiving and everything, but I think there was some misunderstandings... Er, yeah.)

 

Assists (The passing seems much better, highlighted by a season-so-far high number of team assists against ATL a few days ago.)

 

Tobias Harris (Not only is he back from injury.. and therefore keeping Harkless minutes down, someone we'll get to later.. but he's rounding into form in a big way. Not a ball hog kind of way, which I was worried about him trying to do, but fitting in with the other guys, hitting the boards, generally scoring at will, and don't look now but his threes are starting to drop after a rough 2-for-10 start. The Oladipo-Harris combo is exciting!)

 

Nikola Vucivic (Slight stock up for.. that passing! Now if he'd just wrap his ankles tighter, that would be nyce.)

 

Ronnie Price (I mean what.. didn't you see this!? :

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g_hKARHL0M

 

.....Yup.)

 

STOCK DOWN:

 

Jacques Vaughn, and possibly his assistant coaches (Much like Vuc, I hope I spelled that right.... anywho, okay. Seriously. How many times have the Magic come out completely flat? This team is too young to lack energy and even worse, what is up with us seemingly unprepared for our opponent is? Does someone really need to tell you to tell the players that David Lee and Klay Thompson might just run fast breaks quickly??

 

I don't mind losing. I *DO* mind 20 and 30 point losses to teams we're not 20 or 30 points worse than. Which is nearly every team in the East, and at least some in the West.

 

By the way, I still haven't seen any evidence of you knowing how to coach defense. Or even pretending you can.)

 

Maurice Harkless (Dude.. I'm gonna need someone to photoshop your face on a milk carton because I don't see your game anywhere. Except the turnover category, or maybe missed threes. People are starting to fly by you on defense. When Ronnie Price is outplaying you? When I wish we could trade you for Harrison Barnes?? It's time to tighten it up and stop dribbling off your shins (literally) and step it up in general. Especially on D, that's the calling card.

 

I know you're 6 years old and all, but put the big boy britches on.)

 

Rob Hennigan (Have you seen our team without Nik? You have until next offseason to get us a real backup center. Not Gortat or anything, just a **TALL** Reggie Evans type. Rebounds, blocks.. oh, maybe that Gladness kid would of been better than ANOTHER tweener in Solomon Jones. You know, college record setter in blocks that showed plenty more of that in Summer Camp? Oh well on that one. Oh and for the record, someone less than 6 foot 9 does absolutely NOT count!!

 

By the way... Ryan Anderson? Remember him? See any of his games or box scores lately? No no no.. the other white guy, the one who went to New Orleans. Yeah. Hey, 9 million doesn't seem so much now, does it? :svgsad:/>

 

In Rob I still trust, but he ain't perfect. I know, I know, breaking news. At least he still gets to follow Otis Smith.)

 

Jameer Nelson (See: Jacques Vaughn. Need some less going through the motions, more intangibles. If you're gonna lead by example, well, then... make it a good one on the effort front.)

 

Free Throws (We seem to be missing a lot lately. Did Hedo come back and no one told me??)

 

 

- - - - -

 

That's that. How do you think the Magic did in December? Did we lose too much? Win too much? Get hurt too- well that's definitely a yes, so never mind on that. Also never mind on this being well written, because I know that's a definite no. :shard:/>

 

But lemme know!

[Mauro Pedrosa 1,032]

Good call on Gladness. I really thought we could use him and the Solomon Jones signing confuses me. Just a minor taint on Hennigan's nearly flawless record though.

[mick 1]

I think u r pretty much right on everything except the criticism of trading ryan anderson. That was definately the right move. Dont get me wrong he is playing exceptionally well right now for a 9 mil player but this is regular season my freind. I think u have forgotten how much he choked in the playoffs. Besides that point we r trying to tank and winning more regular season games which anderson would have helped with will effect our draft postition. I want a minimum top 5 pick in this draft.

[Skywise316 211]

I think u r pretty much right on everything except the criticism of trading ryan anderson. That was definately the right move. Dont get me wrong he is playing exceptionally well right now for a 9 mil player but this is regular season my freind. I think u have forgotten how much he choked in the playoffs. Besides that point we r trying to tank and winning more regular season games which anderson would have helped with will effect our draft postition. I want a minimum top 5 pick in this draft.

 

I think you're probably right about the draft position thing, but Ryan Anderson choking in the playoffs = growing pains. He was young, comes with the territory.

[Murphy13 185]

I agree about Mo, what is going on with him?

[Skywise316 211]

I agree about Mo, what is going on with him?

 

I'm starting to worry about his confidence, hanging his head sometimes... I suggest he not read this SU/SD lol.

[Soul Bro 1,421]

Sky, love it man. Well done. Here's my take:

 

Stock up

Oladipo - Not pressing as much and seeing the floor much better. Really doing a good job attacking and increasing the tempo.

 

Harris - I recently read that Harris was compared to Shane Battier when he came out. Harris, like Battier, is that team wing guy that just makes everyone better. He has a lot of upside and a great BB IQ, and I think he can be an all-star or long-term starter.

 

Vooch - It's clear that Vooch is the anchor to our team. He needs to continue working hard and growing as a player.

 

Affalo - I'm impressed with how much his offense has improved since last year. To be honest, I think AA watched MJ film this summer, because the craftiness of getting his shot off is now MJ-super light. (Count me as a guy who still wants to trade him for a top prospect or pick).

 

Stock Down

Harkless - This dude might be athletic but he's not quick-footed. Moreover, his ball handling skills are sub-par, as is his BB IQ. I hope he's not Travis Outlaw 2.0.

 

Henny and Vaughn - I love Jameer and his loyalty to the team. However, for the sake of tanking and giving Oladipo experience, Meer needs to be traded or come off the bench. Don't get me wrong, I believe Meer is a much better PG at this point. However, what's our goal this year? I really hope Meer is gone by the deadline.

 

Go Magic!

[barnettej 263]

Agreed, Agreed, Agreed.

 

Okay first my apologies.... Havent been on earth the past five months and building out a company.. so I havent been able to fully watch and reall see what we have going on.......

 

Until about a week ago.

 

So now im back and its time to get these boards back on track as well.... Sorry Magic Players and coaches, some of you guys are about to witness the "Marines S-List"

 

First and foremost, does ayone else think that last years team could of drilled this years team into the ground? I mean remember when we saw Dwight for the frist time at our house and Tobias rejected his crap from behind... great D.. great win... ahh the glory days????

 

7 Games we have lost by 15 or more points

 

0-3 For games that go into Over Time

 

1 out of every 5 games is are current win trend and its looking to get worst

 

31% Current Winning Percentage, last year winning percentage was 24%.... we have time to match it... This puts us #2 worst team in the league (again).

 

Magic Coaching: Seriously.... Explain Harkless... Its your job to get him growing.... not regressing.

 

Magic Front Office: C'Mon Man! At this rate we will need to draft more than Wiggins or any of the other top 15 if we cant stop the teams from scoring in the paint.

 

Speaking of regressing, where is the freaking Defense and Rebounding..... Side Show Bob grabbed 25 boards, just like the Golden State game where they made it rain from 3 while pulling in a +19 rebounds on the team... "HELLO BOX OUT"

 

Sigh..... its gonna be a long year

[Skywise316 211]

It's funny how I made a Hedo joke first time in over a month and then he's getting waived today.

 

Finally. Maybe they'll get a backup center???

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Agreed, Agreed, Agreed.

 

Okay first my apologies.... Havent been on earth the past five months and building out a company.. so I havent been able to fully watch and reall see what we have going on.......

 

Until about a week ago.

 

So now im back and its time to get these boards back on track as well.... Sorry Magic Players and coaches, some of you guys are about to witness the "Marines S-List"

 

First and foremost, does ayone else think that last years team could of drilled this years team into the ground? I mean remember when we saw Dwight for the frist time at our house and Tobias rejected his crap from behind... great D.. great win... ahh the glory days????

 

7 Games we have lost by 15 or more points

 

0-3 For games that go into Over Time

 

1 out of every 5 games is are current win trend and its looking to get worst

 

31% Current Winning Percentage, last year winning percentage was 24%.... we have time to match it... This puts us #2 worst team in the league (again).

 

Magic Coaching: Seriously.... Explain Harkless... Its your job to get him growing.... not regressing.

 

Magic Front Office: C'Mon Man! At this rate we will need to draft more than Wiggins or any of the other top 15 if we cant stop the teams from scoring in the paint.

 

Speaking of regressing, where is the freaking Defense and Rebounding..... Side Show Bob grabbed 25 boards, just like the Golden State game where they made it rain from 3 while pulling in a +19 rebounds on the team... "HELLO BOX OUT"

 

Sigh..... its gonna be a long year

 

Vuc is the one player we can't replace. That's what screwed us up.

 

Last years team is pretty much equal to this years team. We just looked better because the last 2 months we played guys in a normal rotation due to injury. That let Harris and Harkless play with confidence knowing they were getting 30 minutes regardless of what happens.

[Big Pony 20]

I still dont see a PG in Victor, so I hope that is not what the front office is planning on

[the notorious S.A.C. 89]

It would have been nice to have a big man like Noel rehabbing and the high first rounder. I like VO but this team is going nowhere...an extra first would have been nice.