GAMETHREAD: ORLANDO @ NEW YORK

[Franchero MVP 391]

This is the type of game the Magic would have lost in past years. Glad to see them answer every challenge down the stretch and pull away instead of fold.

 

How can Vuch play mostly inside banging for 35 minutes and not get to the line once? Something really needs to be done about this

 

Yeah that's a bit nuts. His hand is predicated on finesse. But still, that's kind of crazy. Maybe he will get respect once he makes the AS game.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

How's Mario look? In Phoenix so I'm missing a bunch of games.

[TheNameIsOrlando 310]

How's Mario look? In Phoenix so I'm missing a bunch of games.

 

Still making rookie mistakes. Seems to get just as frustrated with himself as the coaches do when he does but you can tell the confidence is there. He appears to be more aggressive and hasn't shied away from much. Defense still needs work. Loses his man too often.

 

With that said I think he is showing improvement.

[Mauro Pedrosa 1,032]

How's Mario look? In Phoenix so I'm missing a bunch of games.

This was the first game I was able to watch since the Cavs game.

 

Hezonja looked a lot more confident and his rookie mistakes only started showing during the 4th quarter. He showed a lot more poise and confidence and hit some big shots. The defense wasn't great but he already looks a lot better than before

[magicjed23 12]

Porzingis didn't shoot well, but he showed why he was so high and probably the top of our list. He still blocked/changed shots despite the shooting.

 

Hezonja played well with a few mistakes, usually mistakes of trying too hard.

 

Here is my evaluation of Hezonja:

 

He does, at times, lose his man if the screens are trickier to navigate, but unless it's a total mix up with a teammate, he typically recovers quickly. He is confident though and very aware of his mistakes. He is careful when looking for his spots, but could be a bit more aggressive offensively. He sometimes tries things on offense that probably worked in Europe but are unlikely to work in this league unless you're physically dominant, but that is a product of his confidence. Mario has a very fluid, and a pretty shooting form that is consistent. I think once he develops tricks that all great shooters usually have and consistently gets good shots he could become a great shooter. He has natural gifts on offense, like excellent court vision and a feel for offense in general. And his passing is a pleasant surprise and quite nice. He gets a lot a rookie type fouls guarding too closely and needs to realize that good players always get calls if you guard them close because they throw themselves into you. And It's just a sad fact in this league especially considering it's the best in the world. But like last night his mistakes are often the result of trying too hard (mistakes of commission and not omission).

 

People on this board are too critical of him I feel, but he has shown flashes. With consistent minutes he could give us 10 ppg right now just being out there. A lot like Gordon gets putbacks because of effort, Mario can get baskets just the same. Aaron gets putback dunks while Mario makes crafty shots in the restricted area.He is also quite good in fastbreak situations. Finding his spots and getting better on defense are the biggest areas he must continue to get better at. His handle is fine honestly, but it will get better as he gets used to the league. He is already showing improvement and if that growth curve continues, it won't take long for him to become at least average on defense. If you watched Mike Miller in his rookie year he reminds me of him on both ends, but with higher upside all around.

 

I won't say Skiles is holding him back, but the expectations coach has on defense are what keeps him from playing more. So if you don't see many games, I would tell you that most coaches would play him more, and any lack of PT is not because he is not ready all around, but because he is not totally ready to play defense to the standard Scott is trying to teach our younger players to play to (because he is learning the NBA game, and not because a lack of ability as much as a lack of execution due to overthinking). Skiles has been using him to run the offense as somewhat of a point forward with the bench unit and he performs better than you might expect. Unfortunately that is not likely to be extremely effective in a league like ours with so many great PG's, but it's a way to get him on the court.