2016-2017 Season Discussion Thread

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

The almighty Pelicans got destroyed by the Nets 143-114

 

The nets are a bad team that tries really hard.

 

We're a mid level team that sucks at trying.

 

I wonder if we just *****ed with their perception on what it takes to win basketball games

[Captain 24]

I wonder why we haven't thought about giving Gabe York a 10 day contract. He seems like he might could help us out

 

32 points and 8 of 12 from 3 means a little something I'd think

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

I wonder why we haven't thought about giving Gabe York a 10 day contract. He seems like he might could help us out

 

32 points and 8 of 12 from 3 means a little something I'd think

 

We're apparently calling up Anthony brown

[Spaceman 58]

it'd really fix a lot of problems if Mario just really took off with this opportunity tonight.

Mario came into the league as a supposed lethal shooter with tons of swagger. What we have gotten is timid player who is struggling to shoot over 30% from three. It's hard to say where all the blame for this lies but this guy is a year and a half in and has yet to have a WOW game.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Mario came into the league as a supposed lethal shooter with tons of swagger. What we have gotten is timid player who is struggling to shoot over 30% from three. It's hard to say where all the blame for this lies but this guy is a year and a half in and has yet to have a WOW game.

 

 

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

This is Elf’s third year in the league and a glance at his stats will tell you that not much has changed since he broke through in his rookie season. The main issue is still his 3 point shooting, which has returned to Charles Barkley/Josh Smith level horrific despite improving last year (26.9% from deep, down from 32.9%). Point guards who can’t shoot have found themselves increasingly marginalised in the league; Rondo is trying his absolute very best to engineer a move to China and the Timberwolves are treating Rubio like his 2K counterpart, indiscreetly offering him for trades every season without a second thought for how it might affect silly things like, oh, I dunno, his value, morale, performance, teammates, coaches, their own bargaining power, and therefore his overall value, again.

 

It’s hard not to see Payton heading down this path, but he does have a couple of things in his favor. The guy is still 22. Yes, he’s been a (mostly) starting point guard for three years and still hasn’t turned into Jason Kidd, but he has had a different coach and considerable roster turnover to deal with heading into every season. The only consistently Elf has had with the Magic is just how bad they’ve been since he joined the team.

 

To be honest, I just like the kid. There is something about him. When he plays well he can absolutely take over and singlehandedly win games. Last week against the Jazz he had 28/9/9 and 2 steals, with only 1 turnover, and shot 59% from the floor. And this is against George Hill. He was great, just ask Quin Snyder.

The problem is, these kinds of performances come too few and far between, which is how he has ended up parting Magic fans like the red sea. Pitchforks one side, the Weeknd posters on the other. Basically, you’ve either given up on him or you haven’t and the breaking point seems to be on the horizon. He either makes the leap and the Magic stick with him for good, or they cut their losses, trade him for something as lowly as a second round pick and Spencer Hawes and move on.

 

At this moment in time, he still exists as that giant pink box covered in question marks with a bow on top. We don’t know whether he’s better off the bench or starting or whether his stroke from deep will ever improve. Some nights he will come out aggressive and attack the rim like prime Derrick Rose. Other nights he will simply go missing. Like current Derrick Rose. His defensive intensity varies from possession to possession and it is really, really hard to tell exactly what it is that keeps his hair from drooping all over his face despite playing 30 minutes of NBA basketball a night and presumably sweating a fair amount. Seriously, what hairspray is the guy using? Is it industrial strength glue? That can’t be good for your scalp Elfrid.

 

Payton could still become a number of things. He’s the Magic’s mystery box, there’s more than likely nothing there, but still, there’s the slimmest of chances that he might turn into something even better than a washer and dryer, presented by the lovely Smithers. Give me the box. THE BOX!

http://www.hashtagba...man-mystery-box

[TheNameIsOrlando 310]

 

Well that is depressing to watch...

 

I love the movement he had.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Well that is depressing to watch...

 

I love the movement he had.

 

Yeah. I mean it's crazy the difference between last year and this year

[Magicman28 295]

Yeah. I mean it's crazy the difference between last year and this year

 

 

Maybe it's the sophomore wall? Happened to Elf after a flash of brilliance in his rookie year. Happens to a lot of rooks for some odd reason. Maybe the coaching change too. Maybe playing in Croatia instead of being here? All the above?

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Maybe it's the sophomore wall? Happened to Elf after a flash of brilliance in his rookie year. Happens to a lot of rooks for some odd reason. Maybe the coaching change too. Maybe playing in Croatia instead of being here? All the above?

 

Who knows. It's just weird that he put up 21 double figure scoring games last year but only 3 so far this year.

 

 

Maybe 23 is better than 8

[Magicman28 295]

Who knows. It's just weird that he put up 21 double figure scoring games last year but only 3 so far this year.

 

 

Maybe 23 is better than 8

 

 

That last post I was seriously considering the number change.

 

I don't know what's going on. I really wish he would get it going because I'm curious to what him at the 3 with AG at the 4 would look like and how it would be potentially for the future.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

That last post I was seriously considering the number change.

 

I don't know what's going on. I really wish he would get it going because I'm curious to what him at the 3 with AG at the 4 would look like and how it would be potentially for the future.

 

Maybe he's starting to turn the corner. He didn't look like he had 10 cups of coffee on defense last night.

 

He's been alright a few games in a row now. It's almost time to actually judge him by his play relative to the typical 7th or 8th man vs "is he playable over Watson" benchmarks from recently