MagicMatic wrote:tacosman wrote:You guys are missing the point on all these possible additions. The problem is that the core doesn't have enough of a ceiling. It's not going to matter how you fill out the 'role' players. I don't see Paolo or Franz as ever being good enough to be the core of a great team.
The magic are clearly going to go all in with this core thinking they can keep building on this up and up. But making a commitment to a horse that just doesn't have enough top end juice(and won't) is just a lost cause imo.
I mean look at these two games. BALL. DON'T. LIE.
Building on this just isn't worth it and will only lead to treadmill. A playoff treadmill most 'good' years(like this one...depending on how strong the east happens to be any year). but still a treadmill.
They are 21 and 22 while carrying this group to the playoffs without a real Point Guard and a Center.
It is about the role players. Why? Because on offense they are asking Paolo and Franz to initiate everything, while shooters are taking tougher shots, resulting in extremely bad %.
They are tasking both of them to iso every possession into traffic because there is no one that can set them up on the floor to create better looks in space. There is no gravity pulling defenses out of the paint or creating opportunities in pick and roll situations. Opponents have schemed the Magic now and know how to defend this team easily.
I loved how many pick and rolls with Paolo + Franz I saw. Granted I never get to watch games, I treated myself to a Bally Sprots subscription.
As much as I didn't like it today, I see that as our future.
In terms of confident and the 3-ball I saw Franz pass up several shots from 3 that he should just take, but he is letting his gut and his % numbers get into his head and overthought a lot of it. Just my humble opinion.
A better PG / Center or one of Howard / Black actually turning into something and this is a 5 point loss instead of a 14/10. Maybe even a W.
In terms of Franz + Paolo ceiling. Well, in one hand, if they were generational players we would be expecting them to trounce the east. But I don't think we are going to know how good this team is until after their resigning by a measure of years.
In terms of treadmill playoffs. I also do not get this statement. You enter the playoffs consistently, where in a 7 game series anything can happen. Some people are acting like Tim Duncan never existed. I guess the counter point would you could become the next Utah Jazz, or Patrick Ewing Knicks, or Steve Nash' Suns. You also could be the next Dirk.
