2023-2024 Regular Season Game 72: Golden State Warriors (37-34) at Orlando Magic (42-29) - 7pm

[JF5]

This makes perfect sense to start Fultz over Cole then. Much better having a shrunk floor and no spacing. Also, last time I checked, AB was also a better shooter than Fultz off catch and shoot 3’s.

AB can't create his own offense, penetrate, and get others involved like Fultz can. The problem with Fultz is that he's just been godawful at doing those things since he's come back from injury. If he looked like any from last year the offense would look much better.

You argue to put Black in. But Black cannot create his own offense whatsoever. On top of that he is shooting better, you're correct about that but he is similar to an Aaron Gordon in the sense he'll take the occasional 3 rather than being a high volume floor spacer like a Klay Thompson, Gary Trent Jr., or even Jalen Suggs. Youll see teams just consistently leave him wide open because hes still a very unreliable shooter. and if Black is not making any 3s he's essentially useless on the offensive end. There's nothing on the offensive end outside of shooting that he does better than Fultz, and even that's not reliable at this point of his career.

Defensively it's essentially a wash because all the guards are really good defenders, and that end the team is fine. Once again, they need to find a way to generate more offense. And to be honest that's likely not going to he assuage during the offseason through internal development, Shooters/Scorers/Playmakers via free agent additions, and chemistry.

I like Black to as a Role Player in the future. But I think they might need to move on from him if guys like Malcolm Brogdon, Bojan Bogdonovic, and Bruce Brown are made available for that play-making role off the bench.

And I like to emphasize with you in particular that I want Fultz off the team or playing deep bench minutes if they decide to bring him back. He should not be a rotation guy.

Black had an assist, got to the line 3 times, and took 2 threes. His ability to move off ball, catch and shoot, and draw contact while attacking the basket is already ahead of Fultz. He's also a willing connector piece and quickly swings the ball and keeps the offense moving.

His cuts to the basket don't mean much on a very simplistic Magic offense whose main rotation guys are average to good passers at most. Hell they don't even look at him most of the time and don't trust him.

If the Magic had a Haliburton on the roster he'd make ALOT of sense. But right now this team needs more playmakers/shooters than they do another 3 and D guy who can't even shoot or create when he does have the ball.

[eyriq]

AB can't create his own offense, penetrate, and get others involved like Fultz can. The problem with Fultz is that he's just been godawful at doing those things since he's come back from injury. If he looked like any from last year the offense would look much better.

You argue to put Black in. But Black cannot create his own offense whatsoever. On top of that he is shooting better, you're correct about that but he is similar to an Aaron Gordon in the sense he'll take the occasional 3 rather than being a high volume floor spacer like a Klay Thompson, Gary Trent Jr., or even Jalen Suggs. Youll see teams just consistently leave him wide open because hes still a very unreliable shooter. and if Black is not making any 3s he's essentially useless on the offensive end. There's nothing on the offensive end outside of shooting that he does better than Fultz, and even that's not reliable at this point of his career.

Defensively it's essentially a wash because all the guards are really good defenders, and that end the team is fine. Once again, they need to find a way to generate more offense. And to be honest that's likely not going to he assuage during the offseason through internal development, Shooters/Scorers/Playmakers via free agent additions, and chemistry.

I like Black to as a Role Player in the future. But I think they might need to move on from him if guys like Malcolm Brogdon, Bojan Bogdonovic, and Bruce Brown are made available for that play-making role off the bench.

And I like to emphasize with you in particular that I want Fultz off the team or playing deep bench minutes if they decide to bring him back. He should not be a rotation guy.

Black had an assist, got to the line 3 times, and took 2 threes. His ability to move off ball, catch and shoot, and draw contact while attacking the basket is already ahead of Fultz. He's also a willing connector piece and quickly swings the ball and keeps the offense moving.

His cuts to the basket don't mean much on a very simplistic Magic offense whose main rotation guys are average to good passers at most. Hell they don't even look at him most of the time and don't trust him.

If the Magic had a Haliburton on the roster he'd make ALOT of sense. But right now this team needs more playmakers/shooters than they do another 3 and D guy who can't even shoot or create when he does have the ball.

AB is shooting 38.9% from three. Also, our playmakers are clearly Franchero and the starting unit is built around that. They will dominate usage and time on the ball. It's just the way it's going to be.

[p0peye]

Black had an assist, got to the line 3 times, and took 2 threes. His ability to move off ball, catch and shoot, and draw contact while attacking the basket is already ahead of Fultz. He's also a willing connector piece and quickly swings the ball and keeps the offense moving.

Truth be told, he barely touches the ball once it is on opponent's half.

He's the 5th option. Another area that he clears Fultz, he's not taking dribbles out of our best players hands. Time on the ball should be dominated by Paolo, Franz, and Suggs.

Maybe.

I objectively don't think he is an option at all. It is not unusual for his team mates to see him being wide open in the corner and choose something else. That is notorious "best shot in basketball" and if that is not an option, I honestly can't think of a play that involves him. To me, while his defensive contributions are notable, it seems like team feels he is yet to develop to be able to contribute offensively.

[eyriq]

Cole's ball dominance and high usage is probably the reason he's not a viable option in the starting lineup.

I think the main criteria for a fit are two:
1. Are you a plus defender?
2. Are you able to contribute off-ball and in catch and shoots?

Cole probably should start anyway? But I think you sacrifice something.

[eyriq]

Truth be told, he barely touches the ball once it is on opponent's half.

He's the 5th option. Another area that he clears Fultz, he's not taking dribbles out of our best players hands. Time on the ball should be dominated by Paolo, Franz, and Suggs.

Maybe.

I objectively don't think he is an option at all. It is not unusual for his team mates to see him being wide open in the corner and choose something else. That is notorious "best shot in basketball" and if that is not an option, I honestly can't think of a play that involves him. To me, while his defensive contributions are notable, it seems like team feels he is yet to develop to be able to contribute offensively.

That's just recency bias because Moritz decided to ignore him yesterday. I don't recall a single other time where he's been looked off.

Edit: also, Moritz made several questionable decisions yesterday and should probably be cut immediately

[p0peye]

Cole's ball dominance and high usage is probably the reason he's not a viable option in the starting lineup.

I think the main criteria for a fit are two:
1. Are you a plus defender?
2. Are you able to contribute off-ball and in catch and shoots?

Cole probably should start anyway? But I think you sacrifice something.

I think good Cole is a textbook 6th man, you don't turn that into below average PG just because you don't have anyone else. Plenty of options that can struggle in that role, exhibit A: Fultz.

[p0peye]

He's the 5th option. Another area that he clears Fultz, he's not taking dribbles out of our best players hands. Time on the ball should be dominated by Paolo, Franz, and Suggs.

Maybe.

I objectively don't think he is an option at all. It is not unusual for his team mates to see him being wide open in the corner and choose something else. That is notorious "best shot in basketball" and if that is not an option, I honestly can't think of a play that involves him. To me, while his defensive contributions are notable, it seems like team feels he is yet to develop to be able to contribute offensively.

That's just recency bias because Moritz decided to ignore him yesterday. I don't recall a single other time where he's been looked off.

Edit: also, Moritz made several questionable decisions yesterday and should probably be cut immediately

I wish if it was. It is consistently among mental notes I've been keeping and it wasn't only Moe last night either.

[eyriq]

Maybe.

I objectively don't think he is an option at all. It is not unusual for his team mates to see him being wide open in the corner and choose something else. That is notorious "best shot in basketball" and if that is not an option, I honestly can't think of a play that involves him. To me, while his defensive contributions are notable, it seems like team feels he is yet to develop to be able to contribute offensively.

That's just recency bias because Moritz decided to ignore him yesterday. I don't recall a single other time where he's been looked off.

Edit: also, Moritz made several questionable decisions yesterday and should probably be cut immediately

I wish if it was. It is consistently among mental notes I've been keeping and it wasn't only Moe last night either.

Yeah, I've noticed it too. They should have a rule, if you look off AB you get cut.

I think it's mostly AB's fault though. He very easily lets his confidence drift and the team picks up on that sensitivity and either tries to protect him or unconsciously allows that lack of confidence to reflect back onto him.

Reps cures all.

[JF5]

This makes perfect sense to start Fultz over Cole then. Much better having a shrunk floor and no spacing. Also, last time I checked, AB was also a better shooter than Fultz off catch and shoot 3’s.

AB can't create his own offense, penetrate, and get others involved like Fultz can. The problem with Fultz is that he's just been godawful at doing those things since he's come back from injury. If he looked like any from last year the offense would look much better.

You argue to put Black in. But Black cannot create his own offense whatsoever. On top of that he is shooting better, you're correct about that but he is similar to an Aaron Gordon in the sense he'll take the occasional 3 rather than being a high volume floor spacer like a Klay Thompson, Gary Trent Jr., or even Jalen Suggs. Youll see teams just consistently leave him wide open because hes still a very unreliable shooter. and if Black is not making any 3s he's essentially useless on the offensive end. There's nothing on the offensive end outside of shooting that he does better than Fultz, and even that's not reliable at this point of his career.

Defensively it's essentially a wash because all the guards are really good defenders, and that end the team is fine. Once again, they need to find a way to generate more offense. And to be honest that's likely not going to he assuage during the offseason through internal development, Shooters/Scorers/Playmakers via free agent additions, and chemistry.

I like Black to as a Role Player in the future. But I think they might need to move on from him if guys like Malcolm Brogdon, Bojan Bogdonovic, and Bruce Brown are made available for that play-making role off the bench.

And I like to emphasize with you in particular that I want Fultz off the team or playing deep bench minutes if they decide to bring him back. He should not be a rotation guy.

Against the Warriors daring Orlando to shoot its probably smarter to not get into a shooting contest with Fultz in your starting lineup against two hall of fame shooters. It's a wash with AB defensively, but not with Cole.

I'm just using your own logic. "You cannot start AB because teams are just allowing role players to shoot"... yeah so why start Fultz? Your argument is that AB doesn't create opportunities and Fultz gets 0 assists. Ok cool.

Mosely closed a close game out with Cole and JI in over Fultz and Carter, so theres your answer as to who needed to start and who didn't need to. I don't even really need to make an argument for a rookie to get minutes over Fultz. There isn't an argument to be made.

They're not starting Cole due to his bench impact. That would absolutely screw the advantage the team has with that. That's just common sense.

Same with Issac who is still on a minutes restriction and is working his way back into playing more minutes.

I feel like I'm banging my head on the wall. Fultz adds another dimension of playmaking, passing, and shot creation that Black doesn't have. If you put Black in, instead what is he most likely to do?

He'll just stand there and make the occasional cut compared to Markelle Fultz who can make the offense more versatile and adds another r with his skillset. If Black was shooting the 3 like Suggs or Harris he'd easily get more run than Fultz. But he's a low volume 3 point shooter with little to no offensive skillset which teams are very happy to let beat them. This is not rocket science.

A very good example of what I'm talking about I'd Fultz playing in the post and creating his own shot there or passing it to a cutter or open man. Or if he has the ball at FT line he can shoot it/drive to the rim or pass it to cutters or 3 point shooter.

In the game in Minnesota we saw how this worked to a T where Fultz/Paolo/Wagner/Carter were just running a clinic of interior passing within 20 feet in to generate points against the wolves in the 3rd quarter.

Can Black do any of what I've described of Fultz? He'll no. He can't even drive on his defender and finish at point blank range that well. Maybe he gets better at these things but good God he is such a blank page offensively.

[p0peye]

That's just recency bias because Moritz decided to ignore him yesterday. I don't recall a single other time where he's been looked off.

Edit: also, Moritz made several questionable decisions yesterday and should probably be cut immediately

I wish if it was. It is consistently among mental notes I've been keeping and it wasn't only Moe last night either.

Yeah, I've noticed it too. They should have a rule, if you look off AB you get cut.

I think it's mostly AB's fault though. He very easily lets his confidence drift and the team picks up on that sensitivity and either tries to protect him or unconsciously allows that lack of confidence to reflect back onto him.

Reps cures all.

Maybe.

Checking myself and validity of my mental notes, looking through first quarter I easily found (good) Cole opting to beat triple team last night instead of trusting Black in the corner to bury wide open 3.

[Skybox]

A big perspective problem we have here...

WCJ, Goga, MoSwag for starting C?

Fultz, AB, Cole for starting PG?

...the answers are "none of the above". All of them have attributes. Some are worth keeping around in certain roles. Some may play a defined role now and a bigger role someday (soon?).

We're stuck with them for now-but we're not contenders, so IMO, we should be experimenting somewhat with an eye to the future at these two positions...that doesn't preclude us from competing and coaching to win every night. Nobody listed above should be a starter for us next year. Fultz, in particular, should not be playing at all -while we try to figure out what AB is and what he can be. Even if Fultz is, arguably, better than AB ( ) right now-there's nothing to learn from those minutes. The kindest thing we could have done for Fultz is trade him for srps at the TD or just buy him out, so he could explore the market.

I like the Suggs/Harris starting backcourt (for now) because it's also an experiment in "how little PG do we need and for how many minutes is it sustainable?". It, along with other lineups, could sharpen our offseason focus.

I'd like to see Isaac starting at C, with WCJ backing him up (even playing more minutes perhaps) - just to see how the dynamic works with Isaac shooting open 3's and dunking drop-offs from Paolo & Franz. WCJ is a very good player and a good deal - so I'd want to see other lineups, possibly even featuring him a little more offensively (just not at the expense of P&F). I'd like to answer as many questions as possible while still competing for a first round win...I don't think the two goals are mutually exclusive.

[JF5]

Black had an assist, got to the line 3 times, and took 2 threes. His ability to move off ball, catch and shoot, and draw contact while attacking the basket is already ahead of Fultz. He's also a willing connector piece and quickly swings the ball and keeps the offense moving.

His cuts to the basket don't mean much on a very simplistic Magic offense whose main rotation guys are average to good passers at most. Hell they don't even look at him most of the time and don't trust him.

If the Magic had a Haliburton on the roster he'd make ALOT of sense. But right now this team needs more playmakers/shooters than they do another 3 and D guy who can't even shoot or create when he does have the ball.

AB is shooting 38.9% from three. Also, our playmakers are clearly Franchero and the starting unit is built around that. They will dominate usage and time on the ball. It's just the way it's going to be.

He's a low volume 3 point shooter that teams like to leave open though.

Btw, since you're high on Black. What are the other things he does well that when he has the ball shows there is more to his game and should be playing more?

[MagicMatic]

AB can't create his own offense, penetrate, and get others involved like Fultz can. The problem with Fultz is that he's just been godawful at doing those things since he's come back from injury. If he looked like any from last year the offense would look much better.

You argue to put Black in. But Black cannot create his own offense whatsoever. On top of that he is shooting better, you're correct about that but he is similar to an Aaron Gordon in the sense he'll take the occasional 3 rather than being a high volume floor spacer like a Klay Thompson, Gary Trent Jr., or even Jalen Suggs. Youll see teams just consistently leave him wide open because hes still a very unreliable shooter. and if Black is not making any 3s he's essentially useless on the offensive end. There's nothing on the offensive end outside of shooting that he does better than Fultz, and even that's not reliable at this point of his career.

Defensively it's essentially a wash because all the guards are really good defenders, and that end the team is fine. Once again, they need to find a way to generate more offense. And to be honest that's likely not going to he assuage during the offseason through internal development, Shooters/Scorers/Playmakers via free agent additions, and chemistry.

I like Black to as a Role Player in the future. But I think they might need to move on from him if guys like Malcolm Brogdon, Bojan Bogdonovic, and Bruce Brown are made available for that play-making role off the bench.

And I like to emphasize with you in particular that I want Fultz off the team or playing deep bench minutes if they decide to bring him back. He should not be a rotation guy.

Against the Warriors daring Orlando to shoot its probably smarter to not get into a shooting contest with Fultz in your starting lineup against two hall of fame shooters. It's a wash with AB defensively, but not with Cole.

I'm just using your own logic. "You cannot start AB because teams are just allowing role players to shoot"... yeah so why start Fultz? Your argument is that AB doesn't create opportunities and Fultz gets 0 assists. Ok cool.

Mosely closed a close game out with Cole and JI in over Fultz and Carter, so theres your answer as to who needed to start and who didn't need to. I don't even really need to make an argument for a rookie to get minutes over Fultz. There isn't an argument to be made.

They're not starting Cole due to his bench impact. That would absolutely screw the advantage the team has with that. That's just common sense.

Same with Issac who is still on a minutes restriction and is working his way back into playing more minutes.

I feel like I'm banging my head on the wall. Fultz adds another dimension of playmaking, passing, and shot creation that Black doesn't have. If you put Black in, instead what is he most likely to do?

He'll just stand there and make the occasional cut compared to Markelle Fultz who can make the offense more versatile and adds another r with his skillset. If Black was shooting the 3 like Suggs or Harris he'd easily get more run than Fultz. But he's a low volume 3 point shooter with little to no offensive skillset which teams are very happy to let beat them. This is not rocket science.

A very good example of what I'm talking about I'd Fultz playing in the post and creating his own shot there or passing it to a cutter or open man. Or if he has the ball at FT line he can shoot it/drive to the rim or pass it to cutters or 3 point shooter.

In the game in Minnesota we saw how this worked to a T where Fultz/Paolo/Wagner/Carter were just running a clinic of interior passing within 20 feet in to generate points against the wolves in the 3rd quarter.

Can Black do any of what I've described of Fultz? He'll no. He can't even drive on his defender and finish at point blank range that well. Maybe he gets better at these things but good God he is such a blank page offensively.

So your justification for handicapping the starting lineup in a crucial game, where 2 better potential starters are out, is that Orlando's bench impact is more important...

OK

[Skybox]

I wish if it was. It is consistently among mental notes I've been keeping and it wasn't only Moe last night either.

Yeah, I've noticed it too. They should have a rule, if you look off AB you get cut.

I think it's mostly AB's fault though. He very easily lets his confidence drift and the team picks up on that sensitivity and either tries to protect him or unconsciously allows that lack of confidence to reflect back onto him.

Reps cures all.

Maybe.

Checking myself and validity of my mental notes, looking through first quarter I easily found (good) Cole opting to beat triple team last night instead of trusting Black in the corner to bury wide open 3.

I'm on your side of this debate, but "Black Hole" Cole on a roll might not be the best example of a normally pass-first guy choosing to keep it.

[p0peye]

Yeah, I've noticed it too. They should have a rule, if you look off AB you get cut.

I think it's mostly AB's fault though. He very easily lets his confidence drift and the team picks up on that sensitivity and either tries to protect him or unconsciously allows that lack of confidence to reflect back onto him.

Reps cures all.

Maybe.

Checking myself and validity of my mental notes, looking through first quarter I easily found (good) Cole opting to beat triple team last night instead of trusting Black in the corner to bury wide open 3.

I'm on your side of this debate, but "Black Hole" Cole on a roll might not be the best example of a normally pass-first guy choosing to keep it.

I agree, but it was in the notes.

[eyriq]

His cuts to the basket don't mean much on a very simplistic Magic offense whose main rotation guys are average to good passers at most. Hell they don't even look at him most of the time and don't trust him.

If the Magic had a Haliburton on the roster he'd make ALOT of sense. But right now this team needs more playmakers/shooters than they do another 3 and D guy who can't even shoot or create when he does have the ball.

AB is shooting 38.9% from three. Also, our playmakers are clearly Franchero and the starting unit is built around that. They will dominate usage and time on the ball. It's just the way it's going to be.

He's a low volume 3 point shooter that teams like to leave open though.

Btw, since you're high on Black. What are the other things he does well that when he has the ball shows there is more to his game and should be playing more?

I already mentioned this, rude to ignore me. He's great at moving off the ball, drawing contact at the rim, and connecting the offense with quick passes and decision making, in addition to being a knock down catch and shoot 3 point assassin. He's also a plus defender.

[JF5]

Against the Warriors daring Orlando to shoot its probably smarter to not get into a shooting contest with Fultz in your starting lineup against two hall of fame shooters. It's a wash with AB defensively, but not with Cole.

I'm just using your own logic. "You cannot start AB because teams are just allowing role players to shoot"... yeah so why start Fultz? Your argument is that AB doesn't create opportunities and Fultz gets 0 assists. Ok cool.

Mosely closed a close game out with Cole and JI in over Fultz and Carter, so theres your answer as to who needed to start and who didn't need to. I don't even really need to make an argument for a rookie to get minutes over Fultz. There isn't an argument to be made.

They're not starting Cole due to his bench impact. That would absolutely screw the advantage the team has with that. That's just common sense.

Same with Issac who is still on a minutes restriction and is working his way back into playing more minutes.

I feel like I'm banging my head on the wall. Fultz adds another dimension of playmaking, passing, and shot creation that Black doesn't have. If you put Black in, instead what is he most likely to do?

He'll just stand there and make the occasional cut compared to Markelle Fultz who can make the offense more versatile and adds another r with his skillset. If Black was shooting the 3 like Suggs or Harris he'd easily get more run than Fultz. But he's a low volume 3 point shooter with little to no offensive skillset which teams are very happy to let beat them. This is not rocket science.

A very good example of what I'm talking about I'd Fultz playing in the post and creating his own shot there or passing it to a cutter or open man. Or if he has the ball at FT line he can shoot it/drive to the rim or pass it to cutters or 3 point shooter.

In the game in Minnesota we saw how this worked to a T where Fultz/Paolo/Wagner/Carter were just running a clinic of interior passing within 20 feet in to generate points against the wolves in the 3rd quarter.

Can Black do any of what I've described of Fultz? He'll no. He can't even drive on his defender and finish at point blank range that well. Maybe he gets better at these things but good God he is such a blank page offensively.

So your justification for handicapping the starting lineup in a crucial game, where 2 better potential starters are out, is that Orlando's bench impact is more important...

OK

The Magic have had a top 3-5 bench in the league. Which is the reason why, where they are right now.

So your plan is to essentially break a winning and successful formula and component they've had all season "just because".

It would make a lot more sense if they were losing a crap ton of games.

[JF5]

AB is shooting 38.9% from three. Also, our playmakers are clearly Franchero and the starting unit is built around that. They will dominate usage and time on the ball. It's just the way it's going to be.

He's a low volume 3 point shooter that teams like to leave open though.

Btw, since you're high on Black. What are the other things he does well that when he has the ball shows there is more to his game and should be playing more?

I already mentioned this, rude to ignore me. He's great at moving off the ball, drawing contact at the rim, and connecting the offense with quick passes and decision making, in addition to being a knock down catch and shoot 3 point assassin. He's also a plus defender.

I didn't see your previous post completely. But I can understand 2 of these traits. The others like creating contact, quick decision making, and 3 point shooting are very questionable for me.

But we'll agree to disagree on that.

[basketballRob]

AB can't create his own offense, penetrate, and get others involved like Fultz can. The problem with Fultz is that he's just been godawful at doing those things since he's come back from injury. If he looked like any from last year the offense would look much better.

You argue to put Black in. But Black cannot create his own offense whatsoever. On top of that he is shooting better, you're correct about that but he is similar to an Aaron Gordon in the sense he'll take the occasional 3 rather than being a high volume floor spacer like a Klay Thompson, Gary Trent Jr., or even Jalen Suggs. Youll see teams just consistently leave him wide open because hes still a very unreliable shooter. and if Black is not making any 3s he's essentially useless on the offensive end. There's nothing on the offensive end outside of shooting that he does better than Fultz, and even that's not reliable at this point of his career.

Defensively it's essentially a wash because all the guards are really good defenders, and that end the team is fine. Once again, they need to find a way to generate more offense. And to be honest that's likely not going to he assuage during the offseason through internal development, Shooters/Scorers/Playmakers via free agent additions, and chemistry.

I like Black to as a Role Player in the future. But I think they might need to move on from him if guys like Malcolm Brogdon, Bojan Bogdonovic, and Bruce Brown are made available for that play-making role off the bench.

And I like to emphasize with you in particular that I want Fultz off the team or playing deep bench minutes if they decide to bring him back. He should not be a rotation guy.

Against the Warriors daring Orlando to shoot its probably smarter to not get into a shooting contest with Fultz in your starting lineup against two hall of fame shooters. It's a wash with AB defensively, but not with Cole.

I'm just using your own logic. "You cannot start AB because teams are just allowing role players to shoot"... yeah so why start Fultz? Your argument is that AB doesn't create opportunities and Fultz gets 0 assists. Ok cool.

Mosely closed a close game out with Cole and JI in over Fultz and Carter, so theres your answer as to who needed to start and who didn't need to. I don't even really need to make an argument for a rookie to get minutes over Fultz. There isn't an argument to be made.

They're not starting Cole due to his bench impact. That would absolutely screw the advantage the team has with that. That's just common sense.

Same with Issac who is still on a minutes restriction and is working his way back into playing more minutes.

I feel like I'm banging my head on the wall. Fultz adds another dimension of playmaking, passing, and shot creation that Black doesn't have. If you put Black in, instead what is he most likely to do?

He'll just stand there and make the occasional cut compared to Markelle Fultz who can make the offense more versatile and adds another r with his skillset. If Black was shooting the 3 like Suggs or Harris he'd easily get more run than Fultz. But he's a low volume 3 point shooter with little to no offensive skillset which teams are very happy to let beat them. This is not rocket science.

A very good example of what I'm talking about I'd Fultz playing in the post and creating his own shot there or passing it to a cutter or open man. Or if he has the ball at FT line he can shoot it/drive to the rim or pass it to cutters or 3 point shooter.

In the game in Minnesota we saw how this worked to a T where Fultz/Paolo/Wagner/Carter were just running a clinic of interior passing within 20 feet in to generate points against the wolves in the 3rd quarter.

Can Black do any of what I've described of Fultz? He'll no. He can't even drive on his defender and finish at point blank range that well. Maybe he gets better at these things but good God he is such a blank page offensively.

Does Gary Harris do the same things that Fultz does? We're talking about filling in for Harris at SG. I'm not sure what Markelle's driving ability has to do with that.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

[MagicMatic]

They're not starting Cole due to his bench impact. That would absolutely screw the advantage the team has with that. That's just common sense.

Same with Issac who is still on a minutes restriction and is working his way back into playing more minutes.

I feel like I'm banging my head on the wall. Fultz adds another dimension of playmaking, passing, and shot creation that Black doesn't have. If you put Black in, instead what is he most likely to do?

He'll just stand there and make the occasional cut compared to Markelle Fultz who can make the offense more versatile and adds another r with his skillset. If Black was shooting the 3 like Suggs or Harris he'd easily get more run than Fultz. But he's a low volume 3 point shooter with little to no offensive skillset which teams are very happy to let beat them. This is not rocket science.

A very good example of what I'm talking about I'd Fultz playing in the post and creating his own shot there or passing it to a cutter or open man. Or if he has the ball at FT line he can shoot it/drive to the rim or pass it to cutters or 3 point shooter.

In the game in Minnesota we saw how this worked to a T where Fultz/Paolo/Wagner/Carter were just running a clinic of interior passing within 20 feet in to generate points against the wolves in the 3rd quarter.

Can Black do any of what I've described of Fultz? He'll no. He can't even drive on his defender and finish at point blank range that well. Maybe he gets better at these things but good God he is such a blank page offensively.

So your justification for handicapping the starting lineup in a crucial game, where 2 better potential starters are out, is that Orlando's bench impact is more important...

OK

The Magic have had a top 3-5 bench in the league. Which is the reason why, where they are right now.

So your plan is to essentially break a winning and successful formula and component they've had all season "just because".

It would make a lot more sense if they were losing a crap ton of games.

Thing change when you lose 1 starter + 1 role player that filled in for stretching the floor. Therefore this idea that you are OK with letting the SL go to **** over the bench success is kinda nonsensical. Guys have to step up and every game is different based on matchups. You don't sacrifice the effectiveness of the SL because your bench helped you a lot against sub .500 teams.