2017 Official Offseason Thread

[JJZFL 618]

You can't just claim 27% of the season as garbage time. It'd be one thing if we were using numbers from the last 5 games exclusively but its not like Atlanta, Miami, the Knicks, Washington, etc were resting players or putting up questionable effort with 20 games to go.

Not all 27%, but perhaps half of it. Sample size of meaningful basketball with that group of players is too small, in my opinion, to draw major conclusions going into this season.

 

What's that (in another post) about Gordon being a good shooter? And I don't recall Ross shooting that well either except in a very few games.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Not all 27%, but perhaps half of it. Sample size of meaningful basketball with that group of players is too small, in my opinion, to draw major conclusions going into this season.

 

What's that (in another post) about Gordon being a good shooter? And I don't recall Ross shooting that well either except in a very few games.

 

The beauty of having record of the games widely available on the internet is you don't have to guess which games should be removed. You can look at them and come up with a number.

 

Right now you're just throwing out a random guess.

[Catalina Maria 64]

Not all 27%, but perhaps half of it. Sample size of meaningful basketball with that group of players is too small, in my opinion, to draw major conclusions going into this season.

 

What's that (in another post) about Gordon being a good shooter? And I don't recall Ross shooting that well either except in a very few games.

 

Gordon as a spot up open 3 point shooter is much better. He will have this opp as a starting PF. He was forcing too many shots at the 3, which made his % appear worse than it really is. Fournier and Ross will spread the floor better. If you really want to spread the ball for Payton you can use this lineup in spurts:

 

Speights (perhaps first guy off the bench?)

Isaac

Hezonja

Afflalo

Payton

 

Payton will thrive in this lineup. This lineup will score.

[Catalina Maria 64]

https://orlandomagicdaily.com/2017/08/21/evan-fournier-returns-big-effort-italy/

 

Fournier is good ya'll!

[Catalina Maria 64]

A view of the near future:

 

Biyombo

Gordon

Isaac

Fournier

Payton

 

If Isaac becomes a Shawn Marion type player, and Gordon becomes Blake Griffin, and Payton becomes Gary Payton, then this team has a lot of potential.

[Spaceman 58]

A view of the near future:

 

Biyombo

Gordon

Isaac

Fournier

Payton

 

If Isaac becomes a Shawn Marion type player, and Gordon becomes Blake Griffin, and Payton becomes Gary Payton, then this team has a lot of potential.

Don't forget Byombo becoming Hakeem Olajuwon. That would help too.

[Catalina Maria 64]

Don't forget Byombo becoming Hakeem Olajuwon. That would help too.

 

Not his style. I'd be happy with 90% Mutombo. Advanced stats show he can be if using stats from 2 seasons ago.

 

90% Mutombo

110% Griffin

85% Marion

Fournier

80% Gary Payton

 

We'd have a team.

[King Close 63]

Not his style. I'd be happy with 90% Mutombo. Advanced stats show he can be if using stats from 2 seasons ago.

 

90% Mutombo

110% Griffin

85% Marion

Fournier

80% Gary Payton

 

We'd have a team.

You're forgetting the next manu... come on man.

[Originalticketholder 133]

Always will love my Magic but I am also a realist and this article from CBS sports reflects many of the opinions on this site. Probably another long season. I hope that the last two words of the last sentence is what I hope we see,

On a second note is anyone else happy like I am that the NBA is investigating the Lakers for tampering. Like they have not done that before (i.e Shaq)

Hope the Lakers get what they deserve.

 

CBS Sports rankings suggest Orlando Magic may not yet be watchable

by Philip Rossman-Reich1 day agoFollow @philiprr_omd

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The Orlando Magic have made some modest improvements this season, creating some optimism for 2018. But the Magic may not yet be League Pass darlings.

 

There is a lot of talk these days about how the Orlando Magic will do during the season. The team kept much of the same starting lineup while working to improve their bench more.

 

The hope, it seems, is for the team to build off the limited success they had to end last season and bolster the bench to make some type of Playoff push. The Playoffs seemed to fall closer to the Magic with the changes that happened throughout the conference.

 

It is going to be an intriguing season. But the general consensus about the Magic is the team made some modest improvements, but it is still too flawed to invest in fully. Orlando just does not have the tell-tale signs of a team ready to take that next step.

 

The national television schedule reflects that too. The Magic have only three games on NBATV and none on the cable networks. They will be an anonymous League Pass team again.

 

There are other concerns besides winning and losses in the course of a season. The team still has to try to fill seats for 41 games and get people to engage with the team on television. The team’s struggles last year accounted for a significant drop in television ratings. But so did the team’s play style.

 

Orlando played a lot of games where neither team could eclipse 100 points and the Magic struggled at times to hit 90 early in the season. Much of the excitement of a potential Playoff run died off as the team’s offense tailed off. When the defense went with it, the Magic were nearly unwatchable. Not unless you had some allegiance to them or you had to (say, for work or a blog or something).

 

Did the team improve things this year?

 

Likely not. There were no changes to the starting lineup and no marquee names added to the team. The Orlando Magic might be a better team than they were last year, but that is no guarantee they will be a team everyone lines up to see or get excited about on League Pass.

 

Chris Barnewall of CBS Sports ranked the NBA teams by League Pass watchability and listed the Magic 28th on the list. It is hard to argue with him:

 

Few teams have been less compelling the past few seasons than the Magic. They may have exciting youngsters like Jonathan Isaac on the roster, but there is no reason to believe in Orlando right now. They have no 3-point shooting, too many centers, and their style of play is just brutal.

 

There is no getting around it. The Magic have not quite improved their offense from last year.

 

The team posted a 101.2 offensive rating last year, 29th in the league. Even after the All-Star Break, the Magic struggled offensively overall. They were 26th in the league with a 102.9 offensive rating. It was still a team without a star, without much shooting and without much to draw people in.

 

Not to mention, Frank Vogel-coached teams have never been known for their offense. Without the strong defense that became his hallmark, the team struggled. And things got ugly at times.

 

Even after the All-Star Break, the Magic were not a great offensive team. They played a better up-tempo style and had some better individual performance, but the parts did not improve the whole. Not entirely. The Magic still went 8-16 after the All-Star Break.

 

Aaron Gordon is one of the few saving graces on the roster. He seems able to provide a highlight dunk at least once per game. And there is still a significant amount of hope he can turn into the player everyone envisioned when he became the fourth overall pick.

 

But the team’s lack of balance and clear identity — not to mention budding young stars — does not make it a marketable team. Or even necessarily a watchable team.

 

NEXT: Inside the Orlando Magic's 2018 schedule

The plain fact remains, if the Magic are going to become a League Pass darling or a Playoff team, they will have to surprise everyone

[Originalticketholder 133]

That won't work. We know Payton is horrible when he isn't Around shooters, only 1 good shooter in that lineup that's setting us up for failure. You could make a case for Isaac but we don't even know if he can shoot at the nba level yet.

 

I am convinced he can shoot at the NBA level because he could shoot at the college level (80% FT shooter, 35 % 3 pt shooter, 50% 2pt shooter). If you are a poor shooter it shows up especially in FT shooting. Usually percentages increase when players become pros's. Also he played mainly guard and SF until 3 years ago so he had to shoot some. The question becomes not if but when? In this case hopefully sooner not later.

[King Close 63]

I am convinced he can shoot at the NBA level because he could shoot at the college level (80% FT shooter, 35 % 3 pt shooter, 50% 2pt shooter). If you are a poor shooter it shows up especially in FT shooting. Usually percentages increase when players become pros's. Also he played mainly guard and SF until 3 years ago so he had to shoot some. The question becomes not if but when? In this case hopefully sooner not later.

For sure he will be able to shoot 3s, but most of the time there's an adjustment period since the 3pt line is moved back further, better, longer, more athletic defenders etc.

[JJZFL 618]

I am convinced he can shoot at the NBA level because he could shoot at the college level (80% FT shooter, 35 % 3 pt shooter, 50% 2pt shooter). If you are a poor shooter it shows up especially in FT shooting. Usually percentages increase when players become pros's. Also he played mainly guard and SF until 3 years ago so he had to shoot some. The question becomes not if but when? In this case hopefully sooner not later.

 

Can't translate that to the pros, where you have much better defenders. I very much doubt he'll ever become a good 3-point shooter in the NBA.