Official 2014-2015 Strapped-In Season Thread

[Ryan the Magic Fan 253]

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

Pelicans scouting report: Coach Monty Williams believes he won’t know for sure the full impact of his team’s capability until 20 games into the season. But it’s essential for the Pelicans to get off to a good start, especially against a young rebuilding team like Orlando. Similar to the way they played in the preseason, the Pelicans are going to look to push the pace and score quickly. Forward Anthony Davis will be their first option offensively, but they are likely to get plenty of scoring on the wing from Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday and Eric Gordon. All three can handle the ball and play off it. Gordon is expected to be the first starter heading to the bench early in the game so he can brought back to be paired with forward Ryan Anderson, their best player off the bench. A key for the Pelicans is playing with intensity after halftime, especially if they are holding a lead. The Pelicans’ defense has been strengthen by center Omer Asik. He's also expected to emerge as their best rebounder. Williams still hasn’t settled on his entire rotation yet, but Jimmer Fredette, Austin Rivers, Luke Babbitt and Alexis Ajinca could emerge as his top reserves.

 

Magic scouting report: The Magic is relying less on pick-and-roll plays, as it did last season with departed veteran point guard Jameer Nelson, and more on pushing the pace and swinging the ball to various shooters. Orlando will start the season without one of its top players, Victor Oladipo. He is expected to be sidelined for a month after undergoing successful surgery this past Saturday for a facial fracture. Without Oladipo, rookie point guard Elfrid Payton, the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, will have to take on a bigger role. Payton, who played at Louisiana-Lafayette and is a former John Ehret High School standout, is defensive-minded and is working to become more of a scoring threat from outside.Though he is listed to come off the bench against the Pelicans, he likely will draw plenty of minutes. For the past two seasons, the Magic has struggled defensively. They showed signs of improvement in the preseason. Still, in the preseason finale against the Dallas Mavericks, the Magic allowed 55.1 percent shooting from the field.

 

 

Key matchup Asik vs. Vuecvic: Asik will get his first test as a rim protector against Nikola Vuecvic, who has been a solid starter for the Orlando the past two seasons. Vuecvic averaged 14.2 points and 11.2 rebounds last season. He’s looking to make an even bigger impact this season after agreeing to a four-year, $54 million extension last week. Asik was the Pelicans’ top priority to acquire in the offseason. He’s a tough defender and solid rebounder who is expected to make the Pelicans’ frontline more formidable paired with Davis.

http://www.nola.com/...ncart_big-photo

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Someone make a gamethread. It's hard on my phone.

[KRISH10 103]

So it sounds like Ridnour is going to get the start over Payton. Here's an idea Jacque, instead of assuming that the moment will be too big for EP why not give him the reigns game 1 and psycho analyze him after the game.

[CTMagicUK 1,491]

So it sounds like Ridnour is going to get the start over Payton. Here's an idea Jacque, instead of assuming that the moment will be too big for EP why not give him the reigns game 1 and psycho analyze him after the game.

 

It's a long season, Payton will get his minutes. Just because he's not starting doesn't mean he's going to sit on the bench all game.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

So it sounds like Ridnour is going to get the start over Payton. Here's an idea Jacque, instead of assuming that the moment will be too big for EP why not give him the reigns game 1 and psycho analyze him after the game.

 

Nope

 

@OMagicDaily: So that starting lineup again is Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Tobias Harris, Kyle O'Quinn and Nikola Vucevic. #Magic

[chosen12 75]

Nope

 

@OMagicDaily: So that starting lineup again is Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Tobias Harris, Kyle O'Quinn and Nikola Vucevic. #Magic

 

Just heard on the pregame show.........EP gets the start at point tonight! Good Job JV!!! He had me nervous!!!

[Malik Buttface 57]

Holy S*** Julius Randle broke his leg!

[Mauro Pedrosa 1,033]

Holy S*** Julius Randle broke his leg!

:(

[Skywise316 211]

Wow.. my GF is heartbroken about it. She wanted him picked by us badly. (Kentucky Wildcat nut)

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

Wow.. my GF is heartbroken about it. She wanted him picked by us badly. (Kentucky Wildcat nut)

You're dating Junkie's sister/mom?

[Franchero MVP 391]

Wow.. my GF is heartbroken about it. She wanted him picked by us badly. (Kentucky Wildcat nut)

 

At #4 that would have been the worst pick ever.