2023-2024 Regular Season Game 26: Miami Heat (15-12) at Orlando Magic (16-9) - 7pm

[eyriq]

I really just want Mosley to start instilling a system and identity, and to move past the "by committee" nonsense. That likely won't happen without salaries clearly delineating a hierarchy.

[JoshuaPotter]

I really just want Mosley to start instilling a system and identity, and to move past the "by committee" nonsense. That likely won't happen without salaries clearly delineating a hierarchy.

It may be "by committee" but Suggs is clearly the starter in the group and the only limiter of his minutes is his own risk of injury and tiredness. He is the cream that has risen to the top. Even in his current slump injured form there is no doubt in my mind that he is the 3rd best player overall on the team. The best individual / team defender and if you really want a yikes or a measure of his progression....he is our 4th best 3pt shooter.

Finally I give a ton of grace to Franz. But whatever is harming his 3pt shot he needs to just relax and go back to his old form or whatever he needs to do. He was one of the most efficient scorers in the league last year. So no idea what has happened to cause this sharp of a regression.

Seriously his 3pt % is so bad one would assume he is either taking lessons from G Harris or they both hired the same shooting coach. This is nuts.

If you would have told me this last year I would have laughed.

[Bensational]

It’s the point guard situation basically. I also don’t blame AB right now for where we are offensively. However, you cannot win games on defensive intensity alone. They need to move Fultz because he isn’t coming back and isn’t reliable. Gary Harris is borderline unplayable. Carter just isn’t the same yet.

Something has to be done about the point guard position specifically. There has to be more offense generated from players other than Paolo/Franz in the starting lineup. In November the bench + Suggs kinda carried us with Franz and Paolo playing exceptionally well. To have a more consistent offense they will need a point guard that can stretch the floor and not compromise the defense.

The potential for more offense to be generated by other players is there, but either Paolo and Franz need to unlock it since they run point. There’s nothing stopping us putting the ball in the hands of Black, Cole or even Ingles when he’s healthy, but Mosley is intentionally not doing that. Seems he’s giving Paolo and Franz a long leash to figure things out.

To me, looking at the last 4 games, the bench has killed us. Paolo, Franz and Suggs have also been net negatives overall, but not by as much because their numbers are lifted when they play with Goga and Black. People keep complaining about it but the data clearly shows that lineup isn’t struggling as much as people think - and they play against starters. We really should lean into that more and be more intentional with rotations and lineup changes.

We could open up more offense in that SL if Mosley would just create a few simple go to plays that get Goga and Black involved so the defense has to cover them and open things up more. We know Franz and Paolo can shoot so we just have to be patient as they work through this slump.

That 2nd unit is no longer the powerhouse it was during our winning streak though so figuring out why that’s fallen apart so dramatically is going to be critical. Defensively they’re just getting blown out of the water. Offensively the ball is sticking and not finding open guys or guys in good position.

[VFX]

It’s the point guard situation basically. I also don’t blame AB right now for where we are offensively. However, you cannot win games on defensive intensity alone. They need to move Fultz because he isn’t coming back and isn’t reliable. Gary Harris is borderline unplayable. Carter just isn’t the same yet.

Something has to be done about the point guard position specifically. There has to be more offense generated from players other than Paolo/Franz in the starting lineup. In November the bench + Suggs kinda carried us with Franz and Paolo playing exceptionally well. To have a more consistent offense they will need a point guard that can stretch the floor and not compromise the defense.

The potential for more offense to be generated by other players is there, but either Paolo and Franz need to unlock it since they run point. There’s nothing stopping us putting the ball in the hands of Black, Cole or even Ingles when he’s healthy, but Mosley is intentionally not doing that. Seems he’s giving Paolo and Franz a long leash to figure things out.

To me, looking at the last 4 games, the bench has killed us. Paolo, Franz and Suggs have also been net negatives overall, but not by as much because their numbers are lifted when they play with Goga and Black. People keep complaining about it but the data clearly shows that lineup isn’t struggling as much as people think - and they play against starters. We really should lean into that more and be more intentional with rotations and lineup changes.

We could open up more offense in that SL if Mosley would just create a few simple go to plays that get Goga and Black involved so the defense has to cover them and open things up more. We know Franz and Paolo can shoot so we just have to be patient as they work through this slump.

That 2nd unit is no longer the powerhouse it was during our winning streak though so figuring out why that’s fallen apart so dramatically is going to be critical. Defensively they’re just getting blown out of the water. Offensively the ball is sticking and not finding open guys or guys in good position.

Yeah, we’ve seen now what the starting lineup looks like without Fultz and with a low volume pg in Black that isn’t seeing many touches with Franz/Paolo “running point”. Maybe it has been enough of a sample size… maybe not.

Either way, I would love to see someone RUN the offense from that position using decision making to get them the ball instead of them being tasked with doing that AND carrying the offense. Teams are kinda exploiting their ball handling. I feel like both of them have lost the ball a million times in the last 4 games. Like with all scouting reports, the rest of the league has now adjusted to Franz and Paolo running it after a month and a half.

Black can get there eventually. This was kind of the issue with wanting wins as well as developing guys together at the same time. Cole really isn’t that guy to run things really IMO and he’s slotted into that second unit for scoring punch.

At the end of the day this boils down to adding more versatile scoring, getting Paolo/Franz better looks with less pressure, AND keeping the defense solid. Orlando’s starting unit can’t rely on two guys and sometimes Suggs to keep them afloat. The backcourt needs to be balanced and probably needs another guy that preferably isn’t on a rookie contract and knows how to close out games without letting the score get run up.

The starting lineup is crazy young. A rookie and 2-3 year guys plus Goga/Carter isn’t going to cut it against well coached vet teams that can shoot from most positions.

The bench in another issue entirely. Everyone can’t immediately go into a slump all at once as soon as Ingles gets injured. Orlando isn’t winning games without their bench production when the starting unit struggles due to youth and inexperience. Gary Harris can be replaced easily with Black if he’s not hitting shots for months at a time. That’s basically the entire reason he even has a contract in the league.

[Bensational]

Yeah, we’ve seen now what the starting lineup looks like without Fultz and with a low volume pg in Black that isn’t seeing many touches with Franz/Paolo “running point”. Maybe it has been enough of a sample size… maybe not.

Either way, I would love to see someone RUN the offense from that position using decision making to get them the ball instead of them being tasked with doing that AND carrying the offense. Teams are kinda exploiting their ball handling. I feel like both of them have lost the ball a million times in the last 4 games. Like with all scouting reports, the rest of the league has now adjusted to Franz and Paolo running it after a month and a half.

It’s twofold. Paolo almost needs to stay running point because he doesn’t do enough work off ball. For having 2 big point forwards it’s disappointing how little of a two-man game they have with anyone on the team, let alone each other. In time I think Ingles can teach them, but that will only be delayed if we brought in another PG to take that responsibility away from them - unless we start to slowly incorporate Black a bit more.

At the end of the day this boils down to adding more versatile scoring, getting Paolo/Franz better looks with less pressure, AND keeping the defense solid. Orlando’s starting unit can’t rely on two guys and sometimes Suggs to keep them afloat. The backcourt needs to be balanced and probably needs another guy that preferably isn’t on a rookie contract and knows how to close out games without letting the score get run up.

The starting lineup is crazy young. A rookie and 2-3 year guys plus Goga/Carter isn’t going to cut it against well coached vet teams that can shoot from most positions.

The data isn’t supporting this though - that lineup is holding its own against veteran teams quite often, and I suspect they’ll only get better with time and development.

We do need more playmaking, I agree with that, but we have in-house options we need to be getting more out of rather than external options this season. To me, Ingles is the answer, and getting him healthy and playing more minutes running point will alleviate those pains.

[VFX]

Yeah, we’ve seen now what the starting lineup looks like without Fultz and with a low volume pg in Black that isn’t seeing many touches with Franz/Paolo “running point”. Maybe it has been enough of a sample size… maybe not.

Either way, I would love to see someone RUN the offense from that position using decision making to get them the ball instead of them being tasked with doing that AND carrying the offense. Teams are kinda exploiting their ball handling. I feel like both of them have lost the ball a million times in the last 4 games. Like with all scouting reports, the rest of the league has now adjusted to Franz and Paolo running it after a month and a half.

It’s twofold. Paolo almost needs to stay running point because he doesn’t do enough work off ball. For having 2 big point forwards it’s disappointing how little of a two-man game they have with anyone on the team, let alone each other. In time I think Ingles can teach them, but that will only be delayed if we brought in another PG to take that responsibility away from them - unless we start to slowly incorporate Black a bit more.

At the end of the day this boils down to adding more versatile scoring, getting Paolo/Franz better looks with less pressure, AND keeping the defense solid. Orlando’s starting unit can’t rely on two guys and sometimes Suggs to keep them afloat. The backcourt needs to be balanced and probably needs another guy that preferably isn’t on a rookie contract and knows how to close out games without letting the score get run up.

The starting lineup is crazy young. A rookie and 2-3 year guys plus Goga/Carter isn’t going to cut it against well coached vet teams that can shoot from most positions.

The data isn’t supporting this though - that lineup is holding its own against veteran teams quite often, and I suspect they’ll only get better with time and development.

We do need more playmaking, I agree with that, but we have in-house options we need to be getting more out of rather than external options this season. To me, Ingles is the answer, and getting him healthy and playing more minutes running point will alleviate those pains.

Not so much about Paolo doing less off-ball, but moreso that he has almost become predictable on offense if he isn't creating a shot from outside. Him going downhill has be scouted to death from how often he is stripped trying to create moving to the basket.

The problem with the two man game comes down to ball handling and floor spacing per usual. If Franz and Paolo arent having a good night from 3 its nearly impossible to win games when defenses just adjust. Having a third guy in the starting lineup to run actions with Paolo instead of him or Franz driving into traffic every possession can do nothing but help the offense. It's been discussed so many times that there needs to be another shooter in the starting lineup. Suggs and Black have been efficient, which is great, but the volume leaves a lot to be desired to open up the others game.

I cant see Ingles providing that playmaking to the starting unit though. He is missed in the second unit, especially with Cole and Moe running a two man game when either can space the floor or hit Wagner down low.

Black can take Gary's minutes if he is moved. We have yet to see what a playmaking floor spacing point guard can do in the lineups with Franz and Paolo. As much as I love Suggs, he only has glimpses of half court playmaking ability and creating his shot from outside.

[Jaxfann]

People may not want to hear this but teams are clogging the lane and double and tripling Paolo and Franz and daring us to attempt not in rhythm 3s. Its not hard to see it and the team is taking the easy way out or taking the bait so to speak and settling for 3s to try to get it all back in a hurry, that's not our strength. WeHam..errrr....WePark....need to make a move to get those guys 3pt shooting for spacing because they are getting frustrated, and if they are frustrated its a blow out. There is a correlation with the team starting games really bad from the 3pt line and the energy level drops, defense slows down, feet look heavy, rotations slow or don't even happen so suddenly those teams are getting wide open 3s and the snowball effects takes off. Get this team some damm 3pt shooting.

Yes - so true - the grinding defence game after game is not sustainable without more scoring from outside - our opponents have more reliable shooters time after time!