Magic @ Raptors - Wednesday, Nov. 20th at 7:30 P.M.

[3rd Quarter Collapse 50]

2 hours ago, fan for too long 2 said:

Bamba is not ready to go against starting centers. He is barely playable against backups. Just because he is starting does not change who he is. 

Who he plays with does though. Offensively, he plays a lot better with Fultz as the ball handler in the pick and roll than Augustin. Turnovers is Bamba’s biggest issue right now imo, and an issue that’s mostly popped up since we moved Fultz into the starting lineup. I think that’s moreso on Bamba than DJ, but it’s also apparent to me that Bamba and Fultz have really good chemistry in the pick and roll/pop, a chemistry that DJ and Bamba don’t have. On the other hand, Birch can fit in pretty seamlessly to either the starting lineup or with the 2nd unit. Clifford is just going to have to see which combinations work best and contribute the most to winning games.

Birch isn’t ready to go up against starting centers either. For all intents and purposes, we’re going to be without a starting center until 2020. It’s going to be about finding the right combinations of players to make it work. I’d split Birch and Bamba right down the middle with 24 minutes a piece— if we’re better with Bamba having most of his minutes with the starters and Birch playing with the 2nd unit, so be it; if it’s vice versa, so be it.

[South_Aussie_Magic 90]

38 minutes ago, 3rd Quarter Collapse said:

Who he plays with does though. Offensively, he plays a lot better with Fultz as the ball handler in the pick and roll than Augustin. Turnovers is Bamba’s biggest issue right now imo, and an issue that’s mostly popped up since we moved Fultz into the starting lineup. I think that’s moreso on Bamba than DJ, but it’s also apparent to me that Bamba and Fultz have really good chemistry in the pick and roll/pop, a chemistry that DJ and Bamba don’t have. On the other hand, Birch can fit in pretty seamlessly to either the starting lineup or with the 2nd unit. Clifford is just going to have to see which combinations work best and contribute the most to winning games.

Birch isn’t ready to go up against starting centers either. For all intents and purposes, we’re going to be without a starting center until 2020. It’s going to be about finding the right combinations of players to make it work. I’d split Birch and Bamba right down the middle with 24 minutes a piece— if we’re better with Bamba having most of his minutes with the starters and Birch playing with the 2nd unit, so be it; if it’s vice versa, so be it.

It's the most logical conclusion to the whole thing isn't it really, neither is going to suddenly play 35 mins a game. Even if he is a bit hard-headed in-game he clearly had the sense to see that Fultz needed to start, so I trust he'll make the right call. But again, for better or worse you've gotta stick with it and not give up on the rotation you've set after 5 minutes.

I don't know if this is over the top but I personally like a lot of structure, not so much a given structure but an agreeable framework that everyone can exist in. I imagine a fair few players like that sort of thing too and the coaches obviously. Hard to analyse if there is too much "winging it". Not everyone thrives on the chaos like a Dion Waiters or an Allen Iverson etc. etc.

[LaVar 108]

Don't forget, isaac can also start at center.

[Just a regular Magic fan 38]

12 hours ago, JJZFL said:

I’m ok with starting Bamba as long as you take him out after about five minutes and put in Birch :)

I am ok with starting Bamba if we can get a long bungee cord, hook each end to his wrists, and put it around his neck, so it holds his hands up. ;-D

[magicblue 315]

This stretch would be a nice opportunity to play Isaac at center. We did that once earlier in the season and Cliff said we would be incorporating that into our offense. Haven't seen it again since then.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

2 hours ago, LaVar said:

Don't forget, isaac can also start at center.

Isaac will never start at center. Isaac at center is a thing you do for a stretch, not long term. 

[OnlyFranz 289]

18 minutes ago, Fultz4thewin said:

Isaac will never start at center. Isaac at center is a thing you do for a stretch, not long term. 

I agree completely with this as well. I’d much rather have him locking down the best offensive player on the perimeter with the weak side help he brings than play him exclusively at the 5. His shot is starting to become more consistent and now is as good time as any to run more offense through him. I’m especially loving that back to the basket turn around jumper he has been hitting over his defender lately as well. 

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

1 minute ago, TrueMagicFanSince1987 said:

I agree completely with this as well. I’d much rather have him locking down the best offensive player on the perimeter with the weak side help he brings than play him exclusively at the 5. His shot is starting to become more consistent and now is as good time as any to run more offense through him. I’m especially loving that back to the basket turn around jumper he has been hitting over his defender lately as well. 

I mean it's not even that. It's a durability thing. 

Draymond started this trend and we think of Draymond as Golden State's full time center because he was playing center during really important memorable moments of finals runs but Draymond only played center about 7mpg during the regular season and that jumped up to 12mpg in the playoffs. 

It's a fun wrinkle that creates a scheme shift, not a full time move. 

That being said, it's dumb, given our personnel, that we don't run wonky lineups here and there. We should play mcw-Ross-aminu-Gordon-Isaac. We should play Fournier-iwundu-aminu-Gordon-Isaac. We should play fultz-Gordon-aminu-Isaac-Vucevic. We should play fultz-mcw-Gordon-Isaac-Bamba. 

Not permanently. Just here and there to see if we can find something that gives other teams problems. 

[magicblue 315]

11 minutes ago, Fultz4thewin said:

I mean it's not even that. It's a durability thing. 

Draymond started this trend and we think of Draymond as Golden State's full time center because he was playing center during really important memorable moments of finals runs but Draymond only played center about 7mpg during the regular season and that jumped up to 12mpg in the playoffs. 

It's a fun wrinkle that creates a scheme shift, not a full time move. 

That being said, it's dumb, given our personnel, that we don't run wonky lineups here and there. We should play mcw-Ross-aminu-Gordon-Isaac. We should play Fournier-iwundu-aminu-Gordon-Isaac. We should play fultz-Gordon-aminu-Isaac-Vucevic. We should play fultz-mcw-Gordon-Isaac-Bamba. 

Not permanently. Just here and there to see if we can find something that gives other teams problems. 

Lineup and substitution creativity are not Clifford’s strong suits 

[hootie249 293]

http://tradenba.com/trades/S1i86PBnH

[hootie249 293]

    My whole post was lost lol!  Anyhow the trade with Brooklyn above is mainly to get Allen who can hold down the center position until Vooch comes back.

After that i simply think we need to play a different style moving forward. I'm tired of losing games because of the scoring droughts, so we get Dinwiddie and Harris.

Hopefully the rest of the team overcompensates for whatever defense we lost with Gordon and MCW.

     Before you ask the reason the Nets do the trade is Gordon and the possibility that  Bamba plays well with Durant when he comes back. Allen will never shoot the 3 but Bamba's future is a stretch 5. Also they need MCW, he plays defense and will be a good change up with Kyrie.

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

53 minutes ago, magicblue said:

Lineup and substitution creativity are not Clifford’s strong suits 

On one hand that consistency was a really important part of why we went on a winning streak at the end of the year. Really well defined roles which allowed guys to know exactly what they're supposed to do. 

On the other hand, lineup creativity is the one thing I miss about Skiles. We won a few games just by throwing lineups together that the opponent wasn't prepared for.