OFFICIAL GAME THREAD: ORLANDO @ HOUSTON

[Secretly Space Jesus 670]

Oladipo's only real room for improvement is on his FG% and maybe his FT rate to some extent.

 

In bigger terms, he's been somewhere between good and spectacular at basically everything else through what is an admittedly very small sample size.

 

Meanwhile: Mario Hezonja currently has a negative PER.

[Catman 380]

Vaughn was good at last second plays??? Did you watch ANY of the last 3 seasons and how good our last-second offense was in late game situations????

 

Apparently I did and you did not. If you do not believe this, just go look at the Tobias Harris half court buzzer beater play that won us a game last year and then read his comments after that game.

 

It's not a huge thing, but we knew coming in that Skiles was not a great play caller for these situations. I am hoping that he improves on that a little. Right now I think he is figuring out just who should get that last shot.

 

 

I love a ton about Dipo (attitude, hustle, versatility) but wonder whether his outside shot will ever be consistent and respected, which is a problem next to broccoli head. The second thing is I'm not sure he'll ever be a go-to guy, yet I consistently watch our coaches put that expectation on him. If we're still in the development phase as team, I'm fine giving it a shot. However, we've been in the development phase for several years now. Like Iggy, I think Dipo could be a second or third banana and glue guy. I'm rooting for him.

 

I agree with all of this. The main issue we have is no go to guy. I have been saying this for a while. But we have potential guys who CAN do it. Yes, Mario has a negative PER and in all honesty, anyone who expected greatness from him immediately is a fool. I believe things will slow down for him midway thorough the season and we may have that guy who can knock down those open 3s that squash rallies late in the 4th quarter, and the guy who hits the last second shot.

 

The more immediate issue we have is without Vuc, we have zero interior game, and will have some issues getting open looks on the perimeter. I'm expecting to see some PnR action with Elf and Dedmon next game to offset this a little.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Oladipo's only real room for improvement is on his FG% and maybe his FT rate to some extent.

 

In bigger terms, he's been somewhere between good and spectacular at basically everything else through what is an admittedly very small sample size.

 

Meanwhile: Mario Hezonja currently has a negative PER.

 

right. oladipo is efficiency.

 

hezonja is everything. but there's always a culture shock for young euros. by February he'll be fine.

[Magicman28 295]

 

 

also, wouldn't it make more sense to play Gordon in place of Harris? I think Fournier is doing well by playing against slower forwards. not sure sticking him at shooting guard is going to be the best move for him.

 

 

 

 

Agreed completely. AG is just a terror around the basket. Keep Fournier at the SF spot and put AG at the PF spot like I've been saying all along.

 

For Payton? He looks very unsure of himself. With him not being able to hit shots, defenders are sagging off hampering his ability to penetrate. We might need to start thinking about starting Shabazz in the future if this continues.

 

Dipo is very frustrating to watch because he's settling for jumpers. All good scorers drive when the shot isn't falling. Make some free throws as well as making some close ones helps confidence. It's like he's just comes out of the gate firing. It's not him.

[Stu Bronsilino 313]

i would be a little discouraged if i was dipo to keep diving into the lane and being aggressive and taking a beating when he gets such a tiny % of the calls he should be getting.

[Johnny Castaway 31]

Josh Robbins ‏@JoshuaBRobbins 14m14 minutes ago

The MRI on Nik Vucevic's knee revealed a bone bruise. Though he won't play tomorrow, that's welcome news compared to a ligament tear.

 

guess I'm kind of late but, don't know how to erase or delete it ... so, please bear with me ...

[Catalina Maria 64]

Josh Robbins ‏@JoshuaBRobbins 14m14 minutes ago

The MRI on Nik Vucevic's knee revealed a bone bruise. Though he won't play tomorrow, that's welcome news compared to a ligament tear.

 

guess I'm kind of late but, don't know how to erase or delete it ... so, please bear with me ...

 

Never a bad thing to repeat good news.

[Magicman28 295]

i would be a little discouraged if i was dipo to keep diving into the lane and being aggressive and taking a beating when he gets such a tiny % of the calls he should be getting.

 

Discouraged, of course. You don't just stop driving because of that.

[Magicman28 295]

 

I agree with all of this. The main issue we have is no go to guy. I have been saying this for a while. But we have potential guys who CAN do it. Yes, Mario has a negative PER and in all honesty, anyone who expected greatness from him immediately is a fool. I believe things will slow down for him midway thorough the season and we may have that guy who can knock down those open 3s that squash rallies late in the 4th quarter, and the guy who hits the last second shot.

 

The more immediate issue we have is without Vuc, we have zero interior game, and will have some issues getting open looks on the perimeter. I'm expecting to see some PnR action with Elf and Dedmon next game to offset this a little.

 

 

You don't feel like Vuc could be that guy?

[Franchero MVP 391]

Hezonja needs some burn in the DLeague

[Soul Bro 1,421]

I don't care how Gordon starts, I just think he needs to start. I also think our most polished closer is Harris. I'd like to see him be our go-to guy for a change.

[Franchero MVP 391]

I don't care how Gordon starts, I just think he needs to start. I also think our most polished closer is Harris. I'd like to see him be our go-to guy for a change.

 

We tried that yesterday -- he pretty much just iso'd and bricked it.