The Mario Thread 2016-17

[pepe1991]

What ever Mario's issues are he needs GTFO there and play ball. I don't really care what the problem is, he's getting paid to play a game so play it. Stop being so damn passive.

It's not that simple in sports. You have to get comfortable doing certain things at a very fast pace and that takes time.

He just stated in interviews that he does a lot of things in the NBA that are not the norm for him coming from Euro ball.

So while he is getting paid to play a game, it is still not easy to instantly go - "Oh, I just need to be more aggressive!!" and then it all clicks. That is obvious. The reason he is not aggressive yet is because things have yet to click to where he can be. I believe it will happen and he will be fine, but it probably won't happen Game 1.

I don't give a **** what he stated in interviews. He has a season under his belt, was the 5th pick in the draft, and we're starting to see the other high draft picks making a name for themselves. Meanwhile he's getting dismantled by D- Leaguers. And yes It is as easy as deciding to be aggressive instead of passive. Nobody has time for anymore excuses, man up and play or sit the **** down. CJ Wilcox outplayed him. Embarrassing.

How to be more agressive when coach tells you to stay in corner ? Stay in corner with grim face?

[PennytoShaq]

What ever Mario's issues are he needs GTFO there and play ball. I don't really care what the problem is, he's getting paid to play a game so play it. Stop being so damn passive.

It's not that simple in sports. You have to get comfortable doing certain things at a very fast pace and that takes time.

He just stated in interviews that he does a lot of things in the NBA that are not the norm for him coming from Euro ball.

So while he is getting paid to play a game, it is still not easy to instantly go - "Oh, I just need to be more aggressive!!" and then it all clicks. That is obvious. The reason he is not aggressive yet is because things have yet to click to where he can be. I believe it will happen and he will be fine, but it probably won't happen Game 1.

I don't give a **** what he stated in interviews. He has a season under his belt, was the 5th pick in the draft, and we're starting to see the other high draft picks making a name for themselves. Meanwhile he's getting dismantled by D- Leaguers. And yes It is as easy as deciding to be aggressive instead of passive. Nobody has time for anymore excuses, man up and play or sit the **** down. CJ Wilcox outplayed him. Embarrassing.

I don't understand why you are so angry about the reality of the NBA. Honestly, if you have that much conviction and think you know so much, go try out for a Dleague team and show people how it's done. If not, relax a little. You are melting down over preseason.

[PennytoShaq]

Ibaka was also redundant for the Magic if you consider Gordon as the "future of the franchise".
Now there is no room for AG and they are forcing him to play a position where he just doesn't belong.

I disagree with this. Gordon was never a for sure PF by any means. It makes a lot more sense to develop him at SF. He doesn't have the body to get banged around down low full time. People alway think about Draymon, but that dude has the body to play the 4 full time.

Gordon is built more like Kawhi and he does show that he has shooting touch. He also is a guy you want locking down a team's best wing. If you can play him at SF, which he did a lot of in the past in college, you have an all-star wing. Even if he doesn't hit the Kawhi MVP talent level, he has a chance of being an all-star at SF and his body will hold up a lot better over time.

Additionally playing Gordon at SF and developing him there successfully means the Magic have the best frontcourt in basketball with Serge and Biz alongside him. That may be the most athletic and defensively elite front court of all time. Worth the gamble.

Gordon is a small ball 4.

And we don't play small ball here so he plays the 3 instead. Cool.

[pepe1991]

There's not really a comparison to be made between Hezonja-Booker & MCW-Oladipo. It would be lazy and incorrect to do so.

Just watch one Suns game. What they are playing looks like blindfolded race with ball where 5 strangers just happend to have same color of shirt they are wearing. That "team " ( in reality Lakers, Suns, Philly and Nets have collections of players, not team ) has no structure of actual team. 2 PGs are shoot first PGs, Booker is definition of shot jacker ( dude even in his rookie year had games where he would go 4-20 from the field ), Warren is not bad player but dude touches ball 5 times per game , Len takes most awkward offbalance mid range bricks. And did you know how they resigned Watson? Well, players said that they like him. OFC that they like him when he is just tool that stands there and let them do whatever they want. He is puppet like Lew is to Lebron, but they don't have anybody close to Lebron. They won 23 games on team where 6 players averaged 11 ppg or more. How awful organisation they are? Well, Morris was beating up his teammates in middle of a games and they didn't want to suspend him.

Dude don't be delusional.

Hezonja was a hair more efficient in TS% while Booker had much greater volume and a lower TOV%.

Yea the Suns didn't win a lot of games.. But Booker was the youngest player in the NBA. Can't really hold that against him.

I'm not even arguing that Booker will be a bonafide superstar or anything.. Just that there really is no comparison to be made for their rookie seasons.

Just gotta hope that Hezonja improves this season and that he is dialed in whenever he gets on the court

Again, after Bledsoe got hurt, their season was dumpsterfire, so they allowed Booker to shoot whatever, whenever and however he wants. Remember MCW Rookie year? Triple double on same night with Oladipo. They both turned into superstars... Oh..wait.. Are you going to tell me that stat padding on 20 wins team doesn't really translate into actually competitive team? Oh well.
I don't want to argue because there is no much to argue in first place. By raw numbers BOoker had better rookie year, sure . However he had all freedom in the world to play through his mistakes for over 50 games where nothing was on the line .Hezonja didn't. We saw it even vs Bucks at the end of a season, you give player freedom and he had 19 points and 7 assists.

I mean look at Bookers best month last year: 22 ppg in 17 games? Great , right? How about 43% FG on 28% for 3 point line. Now just imagine how many bricks he took to get to that 20+ points mark on that poor shooting. Also after allstar game he was playing over 30 mpg, Hezonja didn't even streach 20 min per game mark because Orlando tried to win as much games as they could ,even at the end when there was nothing to play for, Skiles still had leash on him

[pepe1991]

It's not that simple in sports. You have to get comfortable doing certain things at a very fast pace and that takes time.

He just stated in interviews that he does a lot of things in the NBA that are not the norm for him coming from Euro ball.

So while he is getting paid to play a game, it is still not easy to instantly go - "Oh, I just need to be more aggressive!!" and then it all clicks. That is obvious. The reason he is not aggressive yet is because things have yet to click to where he can be. I believe it will happen and he will be fine, but it probably won't happen Game 1.

I don't give a **** what he stated in interviews. He has a season under his belt, was the 5th pick in the draft, and we're starting to see the other high draft picks making a name for themselves. Meanwhile he's getting dismantled by D- Leaguers. And yes It is as easy as deciding to be aggressive instead of passive. Nobody has time for anymore excuses, man up and play or sit the **** down. CJ Wilcox outplayed him. Embarrassing.

I don't understand why you are so angry about the reality of the NBA. Honestly, if you have that much conviction and think you know so much, go try out for a Dleague team and show people how it's done. If not, relax a little. You are melting down over preseason.

"Wilcox outplayed him" ahahahahaha , Wilcox is only Magic player that played all preseason games and somehow ended up with ZERO ,yes ZERO assists.

[fendilim]

Another positional expert. Is anyone else tired of hearing this? Let the kid play the 3 and see what he can do.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Oh. I'm sorry, even Nba scouts said so... guess you're more reiable than him who scouts for a living.

And Frank Vogel says he's a 3. I trust what he thinks over any scout since he sees him every single day and his reputation/job security is on the line having AG at the 3.

I'm 50/50 on what he is whether a small ball 4 or a 3, but I'm definitely willing to give him the opportunity to see if he is a 3. At this point I think I'm leaning towards a 3 (after the game tonight I may switch back to small ball 4, haha) I think defensively he is a better fit at SF with his athleticism wrecking havoc on the perimeter getting into passing lanes and help defense rather than facing up against bigger guys. I think offensively if he develops a NBA average jump shot he's more than capable of being a 3. He's explosive, he has good handles, is a very good passer for a guy of his size, he'd be a plus rebounder at SF. It's all about if he can develop a consistent jumper. If he can't, he's likely a 4. If he is capable of being a 3, our team becomes so much better. Adds that extra dimension defensively. You could realistically have (3) 1st team defensive players on the court at the same time with AG, Serge and Biz IF AG is able to be a capable 3 offensively.

I'm not singling you out on this comment, just in general on these type of discussions, it's like some people want him to fail at the 3 so they can say they were right(similar to the multiple discussions on Elf). I will HAPPILY be wrong about everything and eat as much crow as possible if the Magic are a better team.

Frank said he'll play him at the 3 because we're deep at 4 and 5.

[PennytoShaq]

If Gordon was a full time 4 the Magic would not have gotten deep at 4 and 5 this summer. As such he needs to develop as a 3. It makes more sense for the team and he can always slide down at times. I am sure he will play some 4 tonight since Biz is out.

You don't just start someone because the team is deep at other positions. That's just not how it works.

[PennytoShaq]

Anyone see Klay Thompson suck last night? If Mario had a night like that, he'd be crucified here. Just food for thought.

[erod009]

Oh. I'm sorry, even Nba scouts said so... guess you're more reiable than him who scouts for a living.

And Frank Vogel says he's a 3. I trust what he thinks over any scout since he sees him every single day and his reputation/job security is on the line having AG at the 3.

I'm 50/50 on what he is whether a small ball 4 or a 3, but I'm definitely willing to give him the opportunity to see if he is a 3. At this point I think I'm leaning towards a 3 (after the game tonight I may switch back to small ball 4, haha) I think defensively he is a better fit at SF with his athleticism wrecking havoc on the perimeter getting into passing lanes and help defense rather than facing up against bigger guys. I think offensively if he develops a NBA average jump shot he's more than capable of being a 3. He's explosive, he has good handles, is a very good passer for a guy of his size, he'd be a plus rebounder at SF. It's all about if he can develop a consistent jumper. If he can't, he's likely a 4. If he is capable of being a 3, our team becomes so much better. Adds that extra dimension defensively. You could realistically have (3) 1st team defensive players on the court at the same time with AG, Serge and Biz IF AG is able to be a capable 3 offensively.

I'm not singling you out on this comment, just in general on these type of discussions, it's like some people want him to fail at the 3 so they can say they were right(similar to the multiple discussions on Elf). I will HAPPILY be wrong about everything and eat as much crow as possible if the Magic are a better team.

Frank said he'll play him at the 3 because we're deep at 4 and 5.

That's because you wouldn't expect him to say there's no room for the 4th overall pick from last year's draft.
Same thing for Mario Hezonja, difference is the croatian actually has the skills to play SF.

[Skin]

Let me guess... if i dug back into old posts id find something from you about MCW being better than Oladipo?

Go ahead and dig. I fought for Dipo over BMac when there was a clear divide here between the 2. MCW wasn't even a thought. If you think MCW was a part of ANY discussion for the #2 pick then that must have been a recollection of your own opinion of where MCW should've gone. lol, you thought!

No im talking as their rookie season went on. Not at the draft. Just seems like the same kinda knee jerk reaction youre having now with bookers splash in the pan.

Seriously? Is this what you're about? You make up stories when you can't handle fair criticism?

Please don't respond to my posts if they hurt your feelings and cause you to troll.

[Skin]

Anyone see Klay Thompson suck last night? If Mario had a night like that, he'd be crucified here. Just food for thought.

Everyone knows it's still early for Mario. But Klay has earned the right to evade criticism.

What we want from Mario is to show us flashes... even if it's in between bad games. Once he shows us that he is capable, then we can wait for him to build consistency. Dipo showed us flashes, that turned into consistency. Elfrid has shown us flashes, so now we are waiting for consistency. If Mario can show us flashes, then that's satisfactory.

But if we sit here and say there aren't other players picked after him that are doing better, then we're lying to ourselves.

[Tayswagzzz]

Watch on YouTube

Here's a reminder of what Mario did last season, his rookie season. He's got potential.

[PennytoShaq]

But if we sit here and say there aren't other players picked after him that are doing better, then we're lying to ourselves.

It's meaningless criticism. The Magic took the widely assumed BPA at 5. It was a good pick. Worrying about guys later in the draft doing better is a complete waste of time.

[Skin]

But if we sit here and say there aren't other players picked after him that are doing better, then we're lying to ourselves.

It's meaningless criticism. The Magic took the widely assumed BPA at 5. It was a good pick. Worrying about guys later in the draft doing better is a complete waste of time.

But when we talk about taking the right guy it's not a waste of time, right?

Or spending time talking about basketball on a forum is time well spent, right?

C'mon bro. We talk about nonsense to entertain ourselves. Nobody is using their time here well spent. lol

[EAS Law]

Watch on YouTube

Here's a reminder of what Mario did last season, his rookie season. He's got potential.

I needed to see that.

Hopefully preseason was just knocking the rust off. Mario is a very capable player that has potential to be very good.

[PennytoShaq]

But if we sit here and say there aren't other players picked after him that are doing better, then we're lying to ourselves.

It's meaningless criticism. The Magic took the widely assumed BPA at 5. It was a good pick. Worrying about guys later in the draft doing better is a complete waste of time.

But when we talk about taking the right guy it's not a waste of time, right?

Or spending time talking about basketball on a forum is time well spent, right?

C'mon bro. We talk about nonsense to entertain ourselves. Nobody is using their time here well spent. lol

I get what you are saying, but being negative about a player before the season even starts is still a bit extreme to me.

[Dubious Kitty]

Anyone see Klay Thompson suck last night? If Mario had a night like that, he'd be crucified here. Just food for thought.

Did you really just do that...

really...

[PennytoShaq]

Anyone see Klay Thompson suck last night? If Mario had a night like that, he'd be crucified here. Just food for thought.

Did you really just do that...

really...

Please. Compared to the stuff on game threads here, what I "just did" is actually rational thought in comparison.

In case you didn't get it, Mario and Klay are similar players in terms of being jump shooters who can go ice cold in game sometimes. If you think I am saying Mario is as good as Klay, you don't get my post.

[Skin]

It's meaningless criticism. The Magic took the widely assumed BPA at 5. It was a good pick. Worrying about guys later in the draft doing better is a complete waste of time.

But when we talk about taking the right guy it's not a waste of time, right?

Or spending time talking about basketball on a forum is time well spent, right?

C'mon bro. We talk about nonsense to entertain ourselves. Nobody is using their time here well spent. lol

I get what you are saying, but being negative about a player before the season even starts is still a bit extreme to me.

We all want the same thing. For him to take his game up a level. It's NEEDED in order for him to justify his draft position.

[Magic_Kingdom]

Hezonja is a bust. I believed in this kid, but I must say Im very disappointed at how he turned out.
No progress whatsoever. Ok, he is not a liability on D anymore,but that is it. His offensive game even regressed. Every time I watch him play he is getting worse and worse.

The season hasn't even started yet and he's already a bust? Get out of here with that stuff.

I think we are all dissapointed with his preseason performace but he had very good perfomances in real games that counted last year so its def premature to talk like that.

How many "very good" performances did he have last season? For the #5 pick to not even make 2nd-Team All-Rookie (and he barely got any votes at all), that tells you something. And it's not like he was drafted by a good team so couldn't get the minutes. The whole sales pitch on Mario was that he would be ready to go from Day 1 because he had been playing pro ball forever and was more polished and game-ready than Porzingis. Obviously that wasn't the case.