Jump to content
Soul Bro

Official 2015 Offseason Thread

Recommended Posts

Watching ESPN Ticker lists 3 notable summer league performances one of which was Dante Exum.

 

Says he scored 20 pts before leaving the game early with a sprained ankle.

 

While we watch Payton struggle with his game specifically his shooting.

 

Jury still out, imo.

 

I agree. I think Payton's successful rookie season, dubbed by many EXPERTS to be #2 rookie of 2015, is a fluke. Exum's success in one game of Summer League is definitely a sign of things to come. The Magic need a shoot first PG like it had in years past and Exum fits the bill. A defensive, slasher type like Payton has no role in a team, especially with a hack coach like Skiles. Skiles would have a better shot grooming a non traditional PG like Exum, a true scorer and SG.

  • Upvote 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Watching ESPN Ticker lists 3 notable summer league performances one of which was Dante Exum.

 

Says he scored 20 pts before leaving the game early with a sprained ankle.

 

While we watch Payton struggle with his game specifically his shooting.

 

Jury still out, imo.

 

20 points against a lot of guys who'll be bagging groceries next week. And I don't recall Exum making first team all-rookie either.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I seriously can't believe the amount of hate Payton is getting because he is playing average in Summer League.

 

Payton has leadership qualities and an extremely high basketball IQ to go along with high level NBA skills. The first two traits cannot be expressed enough how important they will be/are on a young team.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If Mario comes in as advertised and AG is improved at all then our most talented lineup does not include Tobias. Tobias is a sixth man both in style of play and skill level. This is evident in advanced metrics that take into account lineup compatibility: Not that we had many efficient lineups last season, but of our most efficient lineups, Harris was no closer than 6th on the 2,3, and 4-man lineups-which are a great measure for how well certain players play together throughout different parts of the game. In fact, aside from showing up in sixth place and eighth place on the four man lineup-the rest were in double digits (out of the top 20 lineups for each group respectively). It should also be noted that the two 5-man teams that Harris played the most minutes on finished with the two worst combined +/- out of the top 20 5-man lineups at -11.6 and -20.5. Our team average was -6.0 for reference. Just for posterity, Elfrid Payton was on each of the top 5 lists for 2,3,4, and 5 man teams except one where he was in 4/5, respectively. Alright, last edit: His offensive rating when considering time on/off the floor is a distant fourth on the team, with AG and Marble(?!?) right behind him. If he starts for us then we are destined for mediocrity at best unless someone else on the starting unit makes a huge jump in production. He would help the team most leading the second group.

 

Catman, you may come up with a few stats to support your opinion on how great Harris is, the problem is that I came up with two for every one you did to counter and yet you still are missing the big picture. But hey, you have plenty of time to preach your sermon here so the congregation is largely drinking the kool aid. Good for you.

 

I would love for Harris to come in and make significant improvement and become the star we all want him to be. Someone has to keep expectations tempered on him though because frankly they aren't warranted to be that high, and we have more interesting and cheap talent that at the very least duplicates what he does already.

 

That was a really long post just to say if Harris' usage goes down, he'll be a better player. Which, I'm pretty sure we all agree with.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I said this in the summer league thread and I'll mention it here too.

 

I honestly think Payton is really just trying to get through summer league healthy. Not that he's injury prone, but why risk it when you really have nothing to prove? The only guys really trying to prove something are AG and Hezonja, so just try to make the game better for them. We all know he's been working on his jumper, and the small sample size we've gotten in summer league is not a fair gauge. I think he's not where he wants to be yet on his jumper and is waiting till the end of summer league so he can get back in the gym and continue working.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

On the playoff discussion Bleacher Report just posted an updated NBA Power Rankings based on the draft and recent free agent signings.

 

Have the Magic ranked 27th just ahead of Philly, Sota and the Nuggets...see link:

 

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2515907-updated-nba-power-rankings-after-first-wave-of-2015-free-agency/page/5

 

While I really do appreciate all the articles you link, you do have the awareness to see that if a power ranking has us behind the god damn Knicks it isn't worth giving time to lol.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't need to see Payton play great during summer league. I already know what he can do during the season, we saw that last year when he was posting near triple doubles. In summer league, he is playing with two other players that are going to be on the roster. I think he is playing fine, his role isn't to score 20 points a game, it is to defend and distribute. Unfortunately, some of these summer league players don't finish off the assist so his stats look bad. Payton is the last person I'm worried about, I wouldn't even mind him not playing in summer league cause I already know what he can and will do during the regular season.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That was a really long post just to say if Harris' usage goes down, he'll be a better player. Which, I'm pretty sure we all agree with.

 

I think we'll see Harris traded before we seem him coming off the bench.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think we'll see Harris traded before we seem him coming off the bench.

 

Oh definitely. I like Harris, but he is more valuable to this team as a trade asset than as a player.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36nT2osudy0

 

This was on the related videos. There's no way to watch that series and not think they were trying to fix that.

 

I got both chills and tears watching this! DAMN i miss the playoffs. Amway was electric there. What great times those were. I hope we are back there soon.

 

We all debate and argue and agree and disagree on here all day long, but at the end of the day that's what we all want again. I want that Amway again. Blue & White Ignite were great times.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I seriously can't believe the amount of hate Payton is getting because he is playing average in Summer League.

 

Payton has leadership qualities and an extremely high basketball IQ to go along with high level NBA skills. The first two traits cannot be expressed enough how important they will be/are on a young team.

 

The bar has been set pretty high yes but he's probably being asked to do a lot of different things with Skiles' new system and he's adjusting to that being the PG. But his shooting issues shouldn't be a surprise it's going to be a work in progress for awhile. Really not concerned too much about him he's still making plays and the season is what really counts.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×