2017-2018 Official Season Discussion Thread

[Odin 137]

46 minutes ago, Payton4thewin said:

 it's funny how the magic criticism now is "this team is fools gold.  Magic fans shouldn't expect this to continue" where "this"= tied for first in the league and on pace for 59 wins. 

 

No ****. We're just happy we went from "probably the 10th seed" to "might overachieve and get the 5th seed"

Yeah, pardon us for enjoying our moment in the sun.

[Odin 137]

7 minutes ago, jmmagicfan said:

I find myself going back and forth on Mario. So far he has only shown flashes of his potential, and I find myself thinking he's been in the league a couple of years, he should be better. Then I think, he's only 22, he's been through several coaches with different schemes, and his development has been somewhat stunted by the inconsistency. I remember back when JJ Redick came into the league (he was 22 then), and it took him several years of being in the league before he was really worth much(24 or 25); so I can still see a possible light at the end of the tunnel for Mario. Then I think, yeah, but does Mario have the same drive/work ethic JJ had then? Then I think, but JJ had much better coaching/development prior to entering the league, and had a specific role when he came into games; whereas Mario really hasn't. How much longer do we hope based on his "potential"?

I finally decided that if we trade Mario, it should be only if it is for an obvious trade-win (part of Bledsoe trade?); and if we don't, I think he spends a lot of time with Lakeland while we are on home-stands so he can get some playing time and hopefully boost his confidence. I also hope he looks at how Simmons works, and takes that to heart. I think this is a critical time for Mario; either he takes some big strides this year, and becomes the player we hope he can be; or within a couple more years I think he will be struggling to stay in the league. I can see us letting him go, and in two years him either being a Magic killer, or out of the league/back in Europe; with no real clue which he will become. 

Mario at 20/21/22

SEASON	TEAM	GP	GS	MIN	FGM-A	FG%	3PM-A	3P%	FTM-A	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
'15-'16	ORL	79	9	17.9	2.3-5.3	.433	0.8-2.4	.349	0.6-0.7	.907	0.4	1.9	2.2	1.4	0.2	0.5	1.6	1.2	6.1
'16-'17	ORL	65	2	14.8	1.8-5.1	.355	0.7-2.2	.299	0.6-0.8	.800	0.3	1.9	2.2	1.0	0.2	0.5	1.1	0.9	4.9

'17-'18

ORL

6

0

12.8

1.8-3.7

.500

0.8-1.3

.625

0.0-0.0

.000

0.5

1.8

2.3

0.7

0.0

0.5

1.5

1.2

4.5

Redick at 22/23

SEASON	TEAM	GP	GS	MIN	FGM-A	FG%	3PM-A	3P%	FTM-A	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
'06-'07	ORL	42	0	14.8	1.9-4.6	.410	0.9-2.3	.388	1.3-1.4	.900	0.2	1.0	1.2	0.9	0.0	0.3	1.2	0.5	6.0
'07-'08	ORL	34	0	8.1	1.4-3.2	.444	0.5-1.3	.395	0.8-1.0	.794	0.0	0.7	0.7	0.5	0.0	0.1	0.9	0.4	4.1

It is very unlikely Hezonja will be with us after this year. If he does pick up his play and we want to keep him, the max amount we could offer is the amount we declined his contract at, which is somewhere over 5 million. Not sure the point (for the magic) to build up his confidence now (as awful as that sounds). If he is traded, it will basically be only as cap space for next year.

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

Quote

When Pacers president Kevin Pritchard acquired Oladipo, he was thinking – maybe knowing – that Oladipo was more than his career 15.9-ppg scoring average. It doesn’t happen often, but there is precedent for a player with an expanded role to make a scoring leap this large in his new surroundings. In the late 1970s Lloyd Free was a complementary piece with the 76ers, the fourth-leading scorer at 15.7 ppg behind Julius Erving, George McGinnis and Doug Collins. Traded to the star-free Clippers, Free changed his name (to World B. Free) and game, averaging 28.8 and 30.2 ppg over the next two seasons.

At the time of that trade, Free was the same age as Oladipo (25).

More recently, and much more relevantly, another player freed from the shadow of Russell Westbrook reinvented himself on his new team. You remember James Harden at OKC, right? Playing his first three seasons with Westbrook and Kevin Durant, Harden averaged 9.9, 12.2 and 16.8 ppg. He was traded to Houston in 2012 at age 23, and has averaged 27.4 ppg since.

So, it happens. Is it happening again right here, right now, with Victor Oladipo? We’ll see. Asked if Oladipo can remain a 25-ppg scorer, McMillan said “he can be up there,” but later re-set the bar.

“I think he can be a triple-double type guy,” McMillan said. “You know, some things Westbrook was doing. (Oladipo) told me he had four or five triple-doubles in his career. We should see more of those.”

Oladipo isn’t saying what we’ll see tomorrow. But whatever it is we’re seeing today, he says, it’s legit.

“I believe everything happens for a reason,” he said, talking about the Victor Oladipo trade. “My path prepared me for now. I’m more ready than ever.”

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2017/10/31/victor-oladipo-paul-george-trade-pacers-won-gregg-doyel/814833001/

 

[Magicman28 295]

21 minutes ago, The Neighborhood Bully said:

 

Ugh

[Magicman28 295]

1 hour ago, jmmagicfan said:

I find myself going back and forth on Mario. So far he has only shown flashes of his potential, and I find myself thinking he's been in the league a couple of years, he should be better. Then I think, he's only 22, he's been through several coaches with different schemes, and his development has been somewhat stunted by the inconsistency. I remember back when JJ Redick came into the league (he was 22 then), and it took him several years of being in the league before he was really worth much(24 or 25); so I can still see a possible light at the end of the tunnel for Mario. Then I think, yeah, but does Mario have the same drive/work ethic JJ had then? Then I think, but JJ had much better coaching/development prior to entering the league, and had a specific role when he came into games; whereas Mario really hasn't. How much longer do we hope based on his "potential"?

I finally decided that if we trade Mario, it should be only if it is for an obvious trade-win (part of Bledsoe trade?); and if we don't, I think he spends a lot of time with Lakeland while we are on home-stands so he can get some playing time and hopefully boost his confidence. I also hope he looks at how Simmons works, and takes that to heart. I think this is a critical time for Mario; either he takes some big strides this year, and becomes the player we hope he can be; or within a couple more years I think he will be struggling to stay in the league. I can see us letting him go, and in two years him either being a Magic killer, or out of the league/back in Europe; with no real clue which he will become. 

Mario at 20/21/22

SEASON	TEAM	GP	GS	MIN	FGM-A	FG%	3PM-A	3P%	FTM-A	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
'15-'16	ORL	79	9	17.9	2.3-5.3	.433	0.8-2.4	.349	0.6-0.7	.907	0.4	1.9	2.2	1.4	0.2	0.5	1.6	1.2	6.1
'16-'17	ORL	65	2	14.8	1.8-5.1	.355	0.7-2.2	.299	0.6-0.8	.800	0.3	1.9	2.2	1.0	0.2	0.5	1.1	0.9	4.9

'17-'18

ORL

6

0

12.8

1.8-3.7

.500

0.8-1.3

.625

0.0-0.0

.000

0.5

1.8

2.3

0.7

0.0

0.5

1.5

1.2

4.5

Redick at 22/23

SEASON	TEAM	GP	GS	MIN	FGM-A	FG%	3PM-A	3P%	FTM-A	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PF	TO	PTS
'06-'07	ORL	42	0	14.8	1.9-4.6	.410	0.9-2.3	.388	1.3-1.4	.900	0.2	1.0	1.2	0.9	0.0	0.3	1.2	0.5	6.0
'07-'08	ORL	34	0	8.1	1.4-3.2	.444	0.5-1.3	.395	0.8-1.0	.794	0.0	0.7	0.7	0.5	0.0	0.1	0.9	0.4	4.1

I agree and I believe he'll figure it out at some point.

He showed to much ability his rookie year not to.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

20 minutes ago, Magicman28 said:

I agree and I believe he'll figure it out at some point.

He showed to much ability his rookie year not to.

I think he'll be the next harkless

[Magicman28 295]

3 minutes ago, Payton4thewin said:

I think he'll be the next harkless

What makes you think that?

I don't see anything that reminds me of Harkless.

[Magicman28 295]

David Fizdale: "Frank's been in seven games to me, he's the Coach of the Month. Their wins are so impressive. They're not just close wins."

Per Robbins

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

25 minutes ago, Magicman28 said:

What makes you think that?

I don't see anything that reminds me of Harkless.

I mean guy who leaves and is fine as a starter in a situation that fits him with similar offensive production after he slowly declined here. 

[ML6 520]

I was thinking something more like: a guy who leaves and is drastically overvalued by his new fan base who then constantly remind the previous fan base that they got him for next to nothing even though that really doesn't matter because he's a complete non-factor in the grand scheme of things.

[Odin 137]

26 minutes ago, Payton4thewin said:

I mean guy who leaves and is fine as a starter in a situation that fits him with similar offensive production after he slowly declined here. 

So an ok player that no one is going to lose sleep over losing.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

17 minutes ago, ML6 said:

I was thinking something more like: a guy who leaves and is drastically overvalued by his new fan base who then constantly remind the previous fan base that they got him for next to nothing even though that really doesn't matter because he's a complete non-factor in the grand scheme of things.

So yeah.  Mo harkless.