Regular Season Game 12: Washington Wizards (2-8) at Orlando Magic (4-7)

[j-ragg]

Surprised how terrible Otto Porter looks this season.

[Optimus_Steel]

Surprised how terrible Otto Porter looks this season.

I was thinking the same thing.

[YosemiteSam]

One thing that i'm concerned, besides Bamba defense, is his rebounding.
He just's gets caught out of position or players pass by is side to easily too often.
Maybe is just the adjustment to the nba pace but rebounding usually is the most easy skill to translate from the college to the nba,

Has very good seats last night. What is exciting is how good Bamba May become since he had an impactful game last night but there were clearly so may rookie mistakes. You hit the nail on the head about positioning. Over and over on offense and defense he would be involved in minor collisions with his teammates where it was clear he wasn’t where they expected him to be. He has so much raw potential but he just doesn’t yet get where to be on the floor much of the time and that is an issue in a system like Cliff’s where he emphasizes quick ball movement and switching on defense

[yoyojw17]

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Love how he praises Aaron for the right things that will guide his trajectory in the right direction. "All around"

[nemesis37]

One thing that i'm concerned, besides Bamba defense, is his rebounding.
He just's gets caught out of position or players pass by is side to easily too often.
Maybe is just the adjustment to the nba pace but rebounding usually is the most easy skill to translate from the college to the nba,

Has very good seats last night. What is exciting is how good Bamba May become since he had an impactful game last night but there were clearly so may rookie mistakes. You hit the nail on the head about positioning. Over and over on offense and defense he would be involved in minor collisions with his teammates where it was clear he wasn’t where they expected him to be. He has so much raw potential but he just doesn’t yet get where to be on the floor much of the time and that is an issue in a system like Cliff’s where he emphasizes quick ball movement and switching on defense

Let's hope it's just a matter of time to Bamba understand where it should be. Clifford must call his attention on film room and practices.

Enviado do meu Aquaris E5 através do Tapatalk

[NickAnderson]

Man I loved Rashard

I wish he'd coach here, I remember JJ Redick gave Rashard credit for teaching him how to keep physically ready. I think he was the quiet leader of the team that went to the finals.

That would be nice. Maybe show ag some post moves

[Xatticus]

I will say that Bamba has left more to be desired on defense so far this year than I thought he would coming out of Texas. I think part of it is he has struggled adjusting to the speed of the game more than I thought he would. It feels like he should have 5 more blocks a night then he actually does becuase guys either speed past him for a layup or go into his body and and get a shot over him. Guys in college just weren’t able to do those things on him.

Players definitely aren’t fearing him defensively yet and aren’t afraid to attack him either. His IQ is so high and his work ethic is so good that I have to think a lot of this will get fixed with time though. Coaching, conditioning, and getting in the weight room and bulking up should have a big impact on him and make him more of a presence defensively.

And he needs to clean up his fundamentals. His approach to blocks are as something he has to go out and get; which really isn't the case. He isn't going to have to leave his feet very often to be a terrific player. If he just worries about positioning and keeping his arms up, he is going to be a fantastic defender.

[dsg2021]

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Love how he praises Aaron for the right things that will guide his trajectory in the right direction. "All around"

Aaron Gordon looks so damn good, hope he keeps playing as an all around super-talent that can non-stop keep improving bit by bit over time.

[BaunceyChillups]

I will say that Bamba has left more to be desired on defense so far this year than I thought he would coming out of Texas. I think part of it is he has struggled adjusting to the speed of the game more than I thought he would. It feels like he should have 5 more blocks a night then he actually does becuase guys either speed past him for a layup or go into his body and and get a shot over him. Guys in college just weren’t able to do those things on him.

Players definitely aren’t fearing him defensively yet and aren’t afraid to attack him either. His IQ is so high and his work ethic is so good that I have to think a lot of this will get fixed with time though. Coaching, conditioning, and getting in the weight room and bulking up should have a big impact on him and make him more of a presence defensively.

Don't quite agree on the blocks--Bamba's averaging 3.1 blocks per/36 which Dwight didn't do until his 5th year. He doesn't really know what he's doing on defense, true but he's already doing good things out there and is tracking ahead of Dwight as a rookie.

[OrlandoDream]

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So the guy is pretty good right? Might be a good idea to put the ball in his hand more and let him make more decisions eh?

I think he is praising him for playing within himself and within the team offense to score efficiently. Weltman, Hammond and Vogel tried to steer him this way early last season as well when it was obvious he wanted to be more of a ball dominant player.

Clifford touched on this during his pre-game interview...

"Well I think that it's movement without the ball... finding ways to attack or get into open areas and playing off his teammates, and those are, historically, he knows this we've sat down, those are historically his big nights. It's finding a way to get to the basket,f inding a way to get open spot ups, and that allows him to get into rhythm.

I really like the way he is developing Gordon. Hopefully we can get some decent playmakers next season to get him better looks.

Thats exactly what AG is missing from raising him to the next level. He is in his 5th year and has yet to play with an NBA level starting PG. Give me somebody like Spencer Dinwidie next to him next year as well as teammates that move the ball. Once we address this PG situation, get rid of Vuc, and get more playmakers, AG will break out.

[Last Guardian]

12 games into his NBA career and Bamba isn't perfect on defense?!?!?! I think we need to relax. An experienced and heavier Bamba is going to be ridiculous, lets just enjoy watching him grow.

[Knightro]

12 games into his NBA career and Bamba isn't perfect on defense?!?!?! I think we need to relax. An experienced and heavier Bamba is going to be ridiculous, lets just enjoy watching him grow.

It's not an either or situation.

People can justifiably point out that Bamba hasn't been that good on D so far this year and also fully believe he's going to eventually become a DPOY caliber player.

I don't think anyone knocking his defense is down on his defensive potential overall.

[drsd]

Frankly this is the kind of win that takes the Magic away from being a failing-tanker of a team. If Orlando keeps winning these sorts of contests (and the NYK test coming next examines this), Orlando can get to a 35+ win Cliff's edge (Pun intended) that puts them far and away from tanking territory.


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[drsd]

People can justifiably point out that Bamba hasn't been that good on D so far this year and also fully believe he's going to eventually become a DPOY caliber player.

I don't think anyone knocking his defense is down on his defensive potential overall.

My and-1 notes both i) Bamba's potential and ii) the realisation that today Vučević is a better defensive force down-low.

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[basketballRob]

12 games into his NBA career and Bamba isn't perfect on defense?!?!?! I think we need to relax. An experienced and heavier Bamba is going to be ridiculous, lets just enjoy watching him grow.

I think he's really good on defense. Some of the pro-Vucevic fans are looking for any reason to criticize him but if you want to count the layups given up Vuc is FAR worse.