Magic's Lee is lone rookie having impact on title contender

Big A All Day · Post #1 » by **Big A All Day** » Thu Apr 2, 2009 6:01 pm

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/features/d ... index.html

" Out of those four teams, there is only one impact rookie. Boston's J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker spent half the season in the D-League. J.J. Hickson got some burn for Cleveland, but his minutes dried up when Joe Smith came to town. Sun Yue might be a crowd-pleaser in L.A. when he gets mop-up minutes, but he hasn't affected the outcome of a game yet.

No, Orlando's Courtney Lee is the only one worth mentioning. "

Good read on NBA.COM about courtney.

Post #2 » by **MagicMadness** » Thu Apr 2, 2009 6:35 pm

Yep, he lucked out I guess.

What a huge addition he has been. It's hard to believe he ended up becoming our starting SG this season. Never saw that coming, never expected him to be as good as he has been. This kid is special.

Nemesis21 · Post #3 » by **Nemesis21** » Thu Apr 2, 2009 6:48 pm

Nice article, Thanks.

Post #4 » by **craig01** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 12:39 am

He'll continue to do so.

spinedoc · Post #5 » by **spinedoc** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 1:21 am

I didn't think he would over take MP this year either, but he's been playing great. He definitely deserves the start, still got a ton of upside too.

N4U|Redux · Post #6 » by **N4U|Redux** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 1:23 am

Lee is doing better than I ever expected.

And doing so in a manner differently than I had anticipated as well.

Lee is a beast, he and Gortat help make Hedo expendable; thus removing some of his leverage against us he would've had if we had to sign him to a new deal last summer for instance.

Gerhalt11 · Post #7 » by **Gerhalt11** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 1:57 am

He's been the biggest beneficiary of Jameer's injury. All his numbers are up, and other than Alston, he's the reason we're doing as well as we are in Meercat's absence.

He's our fourth best draft pickup this decade, behind Dwight, Meer and Mike Miller. Tied for fourth with Diener, of course.

Nemesis21 · Post #8 » by **Nemesis21** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 2:19 am

N4U|Redux wrote:Lee is doing better than I ever expected.

And doing so in a manner differently than I had anticipated as well.

Lee is a beast, he and Gortat help make Hedo expendable; thus removing some of his leverage against us he would've had if we had to sign him to a new deal last summer for instance.

+ 1

mhectorgato · Post #9 » by **mhectorgato** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 2:44 am

spinedoc wrote:I didn't think he would over take MP this year either, but he's been playing great. He definitely deserves the start, still got a ton of upside too.

Well if MP didn't get hurt, then perhaps he likely wouldn't be starting.

Liked the couple of drives to rim yesterday from him - 1st time he drew a foul and the 2nd time he threw it down.

I've been mighty impressed with him!

spinedoc · Post #10 » by **spinedoc** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 3:24 am

mhectorgato wrote:Well if MP didn't get hurt, then perhaps he likely wouldn't be starting.

Liked the couple of drives to rim yesterday from him - 1st time he drew a foul and the 2nd time he threw it down.

I've been mighty impressed with him!

True. Lee is so much more in control though, and MP is so reckless. Maybe Stan would have made the switch, but your right, it wasn't that likely of an assumption before the injury.

j-ragg · Post #11 » by **j-ragg** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 3:32 am

I realize he's just a rookie, but he's so efficient when he is looking to score. I wish we'd get him more involved instead of having to watch Hedo try to drive by people but just run into them and yell for a foul.

Last Guardian · Post #12 » by **Last Guardian** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 2:54 pm

Lee is the main reason why I don't think we need Turk back. Lee CAN score 16ppg or more if required to do so. He buries open 3's, he can knock down the mid-range shot off the dribble, solid free throw shooter and he can finish at the basket. And he wouldn't do it on 40% shooting either.

Big A All Day · Post #13 » by **Big A All Day** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 3:09 pm

Gerhalt11 wrote:He's been the biggest beneficiary of Jameer's injury. All his numbers are up, and other than Alston, he's the reason we're doing as well as we are in Meercat's absence.

He's our fourth best draft pickup this decade, behind Dwight, Meer and Mike Miller. Tied for fourth with Diener, of course.

I agree

orl1724 · Post #14 » by **orl1724** » Fri Apr 3, 2009 11:17 pm

Lee reminds me of what Devin Harris was like a few years back under Johnson and the Mavs. His stats were never great but the team was stacked and he concentrated on defense for the most part. Then he went to Jersey and now he is balling.

spinedoc · Post #15 » by **spinedoc** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 1:31 pm

orl1724 wrote:Lee reminds me of what Devin Harris was like a few years back under Johnson and the Mavs. His stats were never great but the team was stacked and he concentrated on defense for the most part. Then he went to Jersey and now he is balling.

Yeah I suppose, but Lee doesn't have those same inherent pg skills. I see Lee turning into more of a Rip Hamilton type of player. Still a sg that can help facilitate the offense and keep the ball moving, but still have a killer shot.

Post #16 » by **craig01** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 2:17 pm

Solid Snake wrote:Lee is the main reason why I don't think we need Turk back. Lee CAN score 16ppg or more if required to do so. He buries open 3's, he can knock down the mid-range shot off the dribble, solid free throw shooter and he can finish at the basket. And he wouldn't do it on 40% shooting either.

We might be overestimating Lee a bit.

I think he'll continue to improve, but Hedo does much more than Lee does for this Magic team.

Personally, I don't think Hedo is expendable with this current formula.

Should the Magic crash in the playoffs though, with a return to a more conventional lineup, makes Hedo expendable.

Diehardmagicfan · Post #17 » by **Diehardmagicfan** » Sat Apr 4, 2009 4:38 pm

I think that Lee has been very good this year. I do think that Lee makes Hedo expendable.