The Anthony Black Thread

[RichCollab]

Player development is part science, art, and psychology. He player is an individual and having an organization see that person 1st seems like a great approach.

Paolo, Franz, Suggs, and now Black have all grown so much while here. The biggest credit goes to the player and the work they put in.

I do think FO has done a great job identifying the players with talent who are ready to work. Also, drafting Football players + German players seem to be able to play injured or avoid injury better.

I do feel we have been good identifying

[eyriq]

"leads the league in assists off the bench"

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[JoshuaPotter]

"leads the league in assists off the bench"

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What's scary is we can see him getting better and him needing to refine tweak the game. To you and me though, he is merely displaying what we saw showcased on film. Great vision, high IQ, great length, average athleticism (for a PG), all with above average defense on the other side.

We need to have a big discussion about whether or not the 3-ball doesn't fall because we literally are tuckered out on defense or if it has become an mental issue. When you have career volume shooters putting up these abysmal numbers you would assume the other foot would drop eventually and you see a huge streak towards normalcy. Yet currently we have Jett making the most out of open 3's in terms of opportunity.

Sorry, this is an AB thread. I just feel like if we made the 3-ball with average NBA consistency his assist numbers and total numbers would skyrocket. We also need AB to continue to show that my FTA comment isn't a fluke. He should be able to take over a game and be "Paolo lite" in terms of getting to the stripe for free points.

[JoshuaPotter]

Player development is part science, art, and psychology. He player is an individual and having an organization see that person 1st seems like a great approach.

Person 1st is the best approach my humble opinion. Our approach last year with Black I think would have tanked most rookies of Blacks showcased talent mentally.

The fact that he walked into this season and was given the keys in a way I suspected he would have the keys (if allowed) last year and has flourished is amazing. He has shown potential for ICE in his veins by hitting a game winner, and his team has rallied around his obvious playmaking expertise. What get's me the most, is a sorta called that for him to get his touches Cole has to sink to a new low (it happened) and the org has to be forced to see if he can seize his moment. He did.

To be clear, he is a 2nd year player and I expect him to lay eggs hard and regularly. Yet you can't deny what we are witnessing, the flashes, are legit, the passes are legit, the vision is legit the defense and ability to work on his games weaknesses. He is exactly what we (well me and Eyriq) envisioned.

What's scary is sky is still the limit.

[GelbeWand09]

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[Knightro]

Playing time has literally no bearing on being able to do better the following year. Totally silly. Payton Pritchard had three years of 13-19 minutes and him playing well this year isn't because he was "stunted by the Celtics". Also people were using the opposite excuse when Elfrid was here that he wasn't learning enough because we were playing him too often. Guys like Scoot and Jalen Green certainly aren't learning more by playing a lot of minutes.

This seems unfair to say so definitively in either direction. Playing time clearly does work as a developmental tool for some guys and other guys it does not work.

But there is just no evidence at all that on-ball reps carry on in any meaningful way. If this was the case, we wouldn't be having "Suggs shouldn't be the PG" arguments for three years now. The only thing I feel really translates in terms of PT is confidence, which isn't nothing, but you're not grinding XP mobs and getting bonus skills by playing 5 more more minutes and playing slightly more on-ball (because it will always be capped with Paolo/Franz/Suggs).

I just think it's a lot more case-by-case than this. Some guys, even if its very ugly early on, do benefit significantly from getting a lot put on their plate early. Some guys do not.

I think it would have benefitted Black (perhaps not the whole team in the moment) to get more point guard/creator reps last year. But he didn't and it is what it is.

I'm just glad Fultz got hurt and played awful once he came back (not for Fultz because he's a good dude, but for the team's long-term planning) and the team wasn't actually put to the test on whether or not to resign him.

[KillMonger]

He's on track development wise, he's going to be a better player at the end of the season and i can't wait to see it....he's going to be able to work out what works and what doesn't throughout the year so by the end season he shouldn't be making as much mistakes as turnovers are one of his weaknesses(2.4) Lonzo ball gives me hope for AB's jumpshot because i remember lonzo on the lakers shot wasn't good at all then he turned it around with more reps....AB gives me the kind of feeling like he has the chance to be what maybe Michael Carter Williams should've been or Shaun Livingston fully realized lol

[Knightro]

He's on track development wise, he's going to be a better player at the end of the season and i can't wait to see it....he's going to be able to work out what works and what doesn't throughout the year so by the end season he shouldn't be making as much mistakes as turnovers are one of his weaknesses(2.4) Lonzo ball gives me hope for AB's jumpshot because i remember lonzo on the lakers shot wasn't good at all then he turned it around with more reps....AB gives me the kind of feeling like he has the chance to be what maybe Michael Carter Williams should've been or Shaun Livingston fully realized lol

I know you're not making the comparison, but Black is already a better offensive player than Michael Carter-Williams ever was.

MCW was literally at no point in his career actually good. He played 35 MPG and was allowed to have a 25.7 USG% as a rookie on a team that won fewer than 20 games. Yeah he put up 17-6-6-2, but it was really a meaningless stat line for sure.

MCW was obviously a bad 3PT shooter, but people sometimes don't realize he was also just a bad offensive player period. He only shot .436 from 2PT for his career which is spectacularly bad. His career TS% is .473 which is bottom of the league bad.

Black's at .500 from 2PT for his career, and a much more workable .547 TS%. That's still below average, but it's miles ahead of .473 and he's still just 20.

MCW also came into the league at 22, not 19.

Black has already exceeded MCW and has a chance to be really good down the road.

[yoyojw17]

"leads the league in assists off the bench"

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not too long ago... many on here.... "He's not a point guard" because of his limited play. Our bigs must love him.

[eyriq]

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[Skybox]

"leads the league in assists off the bench"

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not too long ago... many on here.... "He's not a point guard" because of his limited play. Our bigs must love him.

Fun to crow about a handful of "receipts", but I stand by what I always said..."he wasn't playing (like a) PG"...it can be debated whether he was told to defer or wasn't confident enough to grab the reins. I tend toward the latter and don't hold it against him as a rookie, but he very definitely played passively on offense last year...mostly standing in the corner or giving away the ball like it was a hot potato. I never said he couldn't become a PG...I just reported what he was doing before our eyes.

I'm thrilled that he is killing it now

[JoshuaPotter]

"leads the league in assists off the bench"

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not too long ago... many on here.... "He's not a point guard" because of his limited play. Our bigs must love him.

I do love my receipts....

[JoshuaPotter]

"leads the league in assists off the bench"

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not too long ago... many on here.... "He's not a point guard" because of his limited play. Our bigs must love him.

Fun to crow about a handful of "receipts", but I stand by what I always said..."he wasn't playing (like a) PG"...it can be debated whether he was told to defer or wasn't confident enough to grab the reins. I tend toward the latter and don't hold it against him as a rookie, but he very definitely played passively on offense last year...mostly standing in the corner or giving away the ball like it was a hot potato. I never said he couldn't become a PG...I just reported what he was doing before our eyes.

I'm thrilled that he is killing it now

In reality, could just as well have been wrong. Just saw too much film to get the same vibes as others were. Even what little we saw of him in summer league didn't line up with his NBA prowess. I have been burned by the summer league stats before as others have.

That being said, Black did it for a couple of games. But I would like to see it consistently. He doesn't have any reason to not be averaging 6-8 FTA per game based on his playmaking prowess. I would like him to prove that it isn't just a mysterious anomaly for 2 games and then vanish.

[Bensational]

Despite however differently we could’ve handled developing Black and Jett, I think the coaching and development staff have done a great job of doing so whilst keeping the team competitive and playing with one of the league’s best defenses. Any trade offs from reduced minutes last season were made up for with the team going to 7 games in the first round and almost securing home court advantage. AB and Jett responded to that by doubling down on their offseason work and coming in ready to claim rotation spots. It didn’t stifle their motivation and future efforts, and if anything it motivated them to do and show more.

I know a lot of people are turned off by the “family” approach of the team and management, but I genuinely think that will be one of the reasons the team succeeds. Having a deep team of talented guys who are all prepared to play or sit when their name is called because they care about their fellow teammates is just really tough to make happen, but the Magic are making it happen with a really young team.

[RichCollab]

Black still has a long ways to go… but no Moe PG haters please. Leave us kids alone!

[JBSouthpaw]

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why does this post have 2 picks of Ingles????? Identical in every way!

[yoyojw17]

Despite however differently we could’ve handled developing Black and Jett, I think the coaching and development staff have done a great job of doing so whilst keeping the team competitive and playing with one of the league’s best defenses. Any trade offs from reduced minutes last season were made up for with the team going to 7 games in the first round and almost securing home court advantage. AB and Jett responded to that by doubling down on their offseason work and coming in ready to claim rotation spots. It didn’t stifle their motivation and future efforts, and if anything it motivated them to do and show more.

I know a lot of people are turned off by the “family” approach of the team and management, but I genuinely think that will be one of the reasons the team succeeds. Having a deep team of talented guys who are all prepared to play or sit when their name is called because they care about their fellow teammates is just really tough to make happen, but the Magic are making it happen with a really young team.

100%

And they have set the tone and culture of the team. And from what i've seen discussed.... people are taking note of the Vibe of the team. This could make us a true small market destination similar to OKC. seems so subtle.... but it's kind or like anyone else... you want to go to work and be happy AND SUCCEED.

[JoshuaPotter]

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Not enough analysis, homer post, toss out article, who does this author think he is, where do you find these guys, did an AI write this, usage rate isn't high enough, played against bums, coach didn't play him over a broomstick, you got to stop comparing him to Magic Johnson, sunk cost, plays in the Eastern conference, complete and utter lack of offense.

[JoshuaPotter]

I know a lot of people are turned off by the “family” approach of the team and management, but I genuinely think that will be one of the reasons the team succeeds. Having a deep team of talented guys who are all prepared to play or sit when their name is called because they care about their fellow teammates is just really tough to make happen, but the Magic are making it happen with a really young team.

[Orlando Dawg]

Anthony Brick
3-13 tonight
41% FG this year