thinkingwarriors wrote:They still seem like a mess of mismatching pieces that individually are better than the sum of their parts.
Simmons is an effective player and should be starting but at what position? He isn't a good enough shooter to start with the horrific shooting Elfrid but should he be taking time away from Isaac at SF?
Elfrid has some really impressive games but most of the time he spends all game dribbling around the court ineffectively because nobody has to honor his shot and so he doesn't attract any attention and thus has trouble making his teammates better.
Fournier is probably their most polished offensive wing but he's just not good enough to be a 1st or 2nd option. At best he's a 3rd option on a playoff team.
Vucevic is a nice scoring center but is a liability on defense and that's a real problem in today's NBA. Guys like Vuc, Kanter and even Olynyk, who is a decent man2man defender, probably shouldn't be starters since they neither protect the bucket nor stay with perimeter players. Vuc as instant offense off the bench would be great but since they have such marginal scorers on the perimeter he may have to start.
I really like Biyombo for his defensive abilities and rebounding but with his and his teammates offensive limitations, he can't start.
Gordon is a nice talent that has never been used properly and it's stunted his development. He should be playing with a potent playmaker that would utilize his physical talents and allow him opportunity scoring but that sort of player is not on the team.
How about something radical like Fournier/Simmons/Isaac/Gordon/Vucevic?
And 1 for the thread man. It’s nice to see a Magic thread that isn’t in some way intended to be derogatory.
I personally see your radical lineup as something that could very easily happen this season.
I’ve only been able to see one preseason game so far, but many of us believe Biyombo is kind of a joke right now.
Elfrid is not and probably will never be a real shooting threat, but his floater, passing ability and ability to finish bring him one step away from a truly good PG in the league.
Most of us are very impressed by Simmons so far, and Isaac looks like a good gamble for us to this point.
AG looks to have improved in a lot of ways, and we will see if he continues to do so.
With that said— it’ll probably look like
Elf/Mack/Augustin
Fournier/Simmons/Afflalo
Ross/Isaac/Hezonja
AG/Speights/Isaac/Hezonja
Vucevic/Biyombo/Birch
Probably still a season or two away from playoff contention, but maybe not. Lots of variables to consider.
