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Soul Bro

2022-2023 Season Thread

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39 minutes ago, MagicMan1979 said:

He is second among rookies in defensive rating. Not saying he is great just not as bad as I feared when he was drafted.  He doesn’t do anything eye opening like block shots either. Zach Lowe talked about him not being a bad defender on a recent Pod Cast as well.
 

 https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/best-defensive-rating-by-a-rookie-this-season

That link only shows that he's 2nd between 6 rookies (the 6 that have played the most). :)

Nba advanced stats has him at 18 amongst 30 rookies that has played 30 games at least.

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5. THE BOL-LER-COASTER!!!!

The Bol Bol Most Improved Player campaign capsized in early January, when the Orlando Magic yanked him from the starting lineup -- mothballing the weird, ultra-big trio of Bol, Paolo Banchero, and Wendell Carter Jr. in favor of a more traditional starting five. Bol has logged 20-plus minutes in just three games since.

Jonathan Isaac's brief return added another roadblock. The Magic don't trust Bol to play center; Carter and Mo Wagner share those minutes.

Bol is something, but it's unclear what -- except that he's a can't-avert-your-eyes adventure. There is no sight quite like a 7-2 giant with a preposterous 7-8 wingspan zig-zagging coast-to-coast. Every elongated dribble contains delicious suspense; possessions hang in the balance as the ball hangs in the air. The journey may end with Bol tossing the ball five rows into the stands or Eurostepping between defenders for a face-at-the-rim dunk.

David Steele, the Magic's wonderful play-by-play man, started referring to Bol's forays as the "Bol-ler Coaster." Greg Hartung, director for Bally Sports Florida, thought it might be funny if the Magic's broadcast team (Steele, Jeff Turner, Dante Marchitelli) -- plus the public relations staffers sitting nearby (George Galante, Joel Glass) -- mimicked the arms-up "wheeeeee!" pose riders take when roller coasters jet downward. Thus was born Orlando's latest niche hit: the Bol-ler Coaster:

(Jamahl Mosely has no time for this.)

This group has such fun camaraderie. They have learned to find joy in small things amid endless losing. They are basketball hostages -- experiencing NBA Mediocrity Syndrome.

With Banchero and Franz Wagner aboard -- plus other young talent, and perhaps two more lottery picks coming -- the Magic for the first time in a decade can see above mediocrity.

 

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/35820904/flaw-undo-lakers-dame-career-scoring-run-preposterous-bol-bol

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On 3/14/2023 at 6:44 PM, Luke_FfS said:

Sure, but that was in addiction to the eye test, and I've seen him disinterested in the def side too many times.

What's a good indicator in your opinion btw?

As we all know defensive stats are hard to take much out of for the most part.  We can find flaws in all of them. For example your comment on the rookies defensive metric. I don’t care much about guys who don’t play much and probably won’t be in the league long. This is why I picked the rookies with the most minutes to see where Paolo falls. He is at 2 for guys who play.  But even with that he isn’t a good defender just not awful. I think he projects to be an average defender with experience. I though he was supposed to be very bad coming out of Duke.  

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Interesting info re: the Rockets and the draft:

Quote

I know we’re still a ways away, but do you see the Rockets trading up or down in the lottery in any scenario? — Colin C.

They’ll be disappointed if they don’t get the No. 1 pick (again). They would be aggressive in trading down if the pick is outside the top 3. Three years into a rebuild with a boatload of incoming cap space, this team wants to flip the page sooner rather than later. If they’re not getting their hands on Wembanyama, Henderson or even Miller, especially after a difficult season, that pick is as good as gone. - Kelly Iko

https://theathletic.com/4318522/2023/03/17/rockets-nba-draft-board/?source=emp_shared_article

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I was wondering why Suggs wasn't playing and they say it's because of a concussion? How did that happen?

I'm worried for his long term health as, if he played football, this probably isn't his first and the more you have, the easier they are to sustain again. 

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Keeping Dame and Beal might make for good stories, but both teams should have traded their stars when they could have maximized their returns. (And for the record, I don't want either on the Magic). 

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15 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

Keeping Dame and Beal might make for good stories, but both teams should have traded their stars when they could have maximized their returns. (And for the record, I don't want either on the Magic). 

Completely agree. Both good players but they aren’t super stars that lead to championships. They get paid like it though. 

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15 hours ago, Soul Bro said:

Keeping Dame and Beal might make for good stories, but both teams should have traded their stars when they could have maximized their returns. (And for the record, I don't want either on the Magic). 

It doesn’t bother me at all that they have decided to stay with one team. Loyalty shows up big in my opinion of players like these. Too bad SHAQ and others had zero loyalty. The NBA would look completely different and better imo. Gotta give props to Giannis and Duncan for doing so and bringing a championship to a smaller fan base.

Maybe teams should build competently around their stars and not just be farm teams for the bigger franchises. Hmmmmm

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I'm normally not a conspiracy theorist in the NBA, but Monty Williams just went off on how the Lakers got 46 free throws compared to 20 for the Suns. This, of course, on the heels of the Magic game that saw Austin Reaves get more FT than the entire Magic team. 

I'd like to believe in the integrity of the game's officiating, but this kind of situation makes me ponder. 

 

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1 hour ago, TreyMachine said:

I'm normally not a conspiracy theorist in the NBA, but Monty Williams just went off on how the Lakers got 46 free throws compared to 20 for the Suns. This, of course, on the heels of the Magic game that saw Austin Reaves get more FT than the entire Magic team. 

I'd like to believe in the integrity of the game's officiating, but this kind of situation makes me ponder. 

 

Austin Reaves averages 3FTA a game for his career. His last 4 games he's had 13, 9, 18 and 13 FTA. 

That should tell you all you need to know. 

(For what it's worth I think Austin Reaves would be a good player to target this summer, have to avoid overpaying off the back of the Lakers hype but he's a fun guard)

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