Official Speculation Thread ‘18-19’: XIX: Rise of the BIG

[BadMofoPimp]

I think it's mainly because he's doesn't appear to be set for as much playing time as Ayton, Doncic and Young.

All three of those guys are going to start and play a TON for their respective teams. Bamba, at best, is only going to see like 20 MPG the first few month of his career unless Vucevic gets injured.

In addition, Bamba is the most raw of them.

Bamba doesn't have the hype, he wasn't putting up gigantic numbers in college.

Damn. After tonight, I think Bamba is already better than Isaac!

[magicman112]

I think Bamba was probably #3 on WeHam's board... Possibly #2. All I know is they didn't expect him to be there at 6 and must have jumped for joy like 6 year old little girls when we got him.

I agree with tanking hard, but I think in the last 2 years, we have gotten lucky "enough". WeHam got who they wanted without having to move up to get them.

Our new core building blocks are Isaac and Bamba. Everyone else is window dressing tbh. I think they like Gordon and are interested to see how he meshes, but if it doesn't work really well, I can easily see Gordon being traded. I hope it does work out because I'm such a fan of AG, but I'd be fooling myself if I called him a WeHam guy.

The reports after the draft were that they were very excited that Bamba fell to them. And there were reports Danny Ainge was trying to make a deal to get him too. I had thought before the draft that there was a possibility he could be there at 6 and that he was a intriguing prospect especially when it came out that he had been working on his shot.

[fendilim]

I think Bamba was probably #3 on WeHam's board... Possibly #2. All I know is they didn't expect him to be there at 6 and must have jumped for joy like 6 year old little girls when we got him.

I agree with tanking hard, but I think in the last 2 years, we have gotten lucky "enough". WeHam got who they wanted without having to move up to get them.

Our new core building blocks are Isaac and Bamba. Everyone else is window dressing tbh. I think they like Gordon and are interested to see how he meshes, but if it doesn't work really well, I can easily see Gordon being traded. I hope it does work out because I'm such a fan of AG, but I'd be fooling myself if I called him a WeHam guy.

The reports after the draft were that they were very excited that Bamba fell to them. And there were reports Danny Ainge was trying to make a deal to get him too. I had thought before the draft that there was a possibility he could be there at 6 and that he was a intriguing prospect especially when it came out that he had been working on his shot.

While I would like to believe Isaac and Bamba were the top priority in those drafts, I don't think there has been a front office that has come out after the draft and said they didn't like their picks ever.

[VFX]

Other than a few flashes from JI, I’m not going to get entirely excited about him until Vuc is gone. He was in foul trouble last night, but he needs time with Bamba and Gordon on the floor. That’s not going to happen soon if Clifford considers Vuc irreplaceable on the floor.

The cap to this team is with the point guards and offensive production from Gordon. Gordon was amazing from 3 last night and kept Orlando in the lead due to lack of scoring elsewhere. If those shots aren’t falling, which is usually the case, it’s going to be a struggle. If JI can actually create some offense, it’s going to open things up for Evan and Gordon.

[Howard Mass]

Mo Bamba looked great last night.

A lot of us were disappointed about Trae Young not dropping but Mo Bamba was a wonderful pick.

Going into The Draft, I wanted Young but would have been happy with him, Luka Doncic or Mo Bamba.

Bamba is going to be a sensation and the key is figuring out if Gordon and Issac can play together.

Either way, upgrades at point guard and swing will likely come next year and when that happens, I see The Magic in the playoffs.

The future is bright.

[PennytoShaq]

Other than a few flashes from JI, I’m not going to get entirely excited about him until Vuc is gone. He was in foul trouble last night, but he needs time with Bamba and Gordon on the floor. That’s not going to happen soon if Clifford considers Vuc irreplaceable on the floor.

The cap to this team is with the point guards and offensive production from Gordon. Gordon was amazing from 3 last night and kept Orlando in the lead due to lack of scoring elsewhere. If those shots aren’t falling, which is usually the case, it’s going to be a struggle. If JI can actually create some offense, it’s going to open things up for Evan and Gordon.

Yeah they aren’t using JI enough on offense. Granted he passes a lot, but he did a few things out there. That reverse layup was something I didn’t expect, and his 3 ball was looking nice. I think he is the 5th option right now and it’s mainly due to who he is playing with.

I think if we ran with Grant, Ross, JI, AG and Bamba we would have beaten the Heat by 10 or more easily last night. I just can’t see who will want Vuc or DJ in a trade, but playing Vuc a lot is probably the only way to build the guys value. It sucks but I don’t really see any other way to get rid of him. Benching him does not do much because he will simply get minutes as the backup, and that won’t change much. The only solution is to get him off the floor, and we can’t do that without hurting his trade value.

[Knightro]

Read on Twitter

Arguably the most exciting three possession stretch of basketball since Dwight left.

[VFX]

Read on Twitter

Arguably the most exciting three possession stretch of basketball since Dwight left.

One of the more exciting moments in the last 6 years

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Other than a few flashes from JI, I’m not going to get entirely excited about him until Vuc is gone. He was in foul trouble last night, but he needs time with Bamba and Gordon on the floor. That’s not going to happen soon if Clifford considers Vuc irreplaceable on the floor.

The cap to this team is with the point guards and offensive production from Gordon. Gordon was amazing from 3 last night and kept Orlando in the lead due to lack of scoring elsewhere. If those shots aren’t falling, which is usually the case, it’s going to be a struggle. If JI can actually create some offense, it’s going to open things up for Evan and Gordon.

Yeah they aren’t using JI enough on offense. Granted he passes a lot, but he did a few things out there. That reverse layup was something I didn’t expect, and his 3 ball was looking nice. I think he is the 5th option right now and it’s mainly due to who he is playing with.

I think if we ran with Grant, Ross, JI, AG and Bamba we would have beaten the Heat by 10 or more easily last night. I just can’t see who will want Vuc or DJ in a trade, but playing Vuc a lot is probably the only way to build the guys value. It sucks but I don’t really see any other way to get rid of him. Benching him does not do much because he will simply get minutes as the backup, and that won’t change much. The only solution is to get him off the floor, and we can’t do that without hurting his trade value.

wouldn't be shocked if Vuc is here till seasons end... unless there is an injury to playoff team C whose willing to give up a 2nd round pick..

[YosemiteSam]

I can't even with this....

Read on Twitter

if you want to know what is being lost in all these one-and-done guys it is the fundamentals. I hope he was joking but I wonder.....

[rcklsscognition]

I don't think this is an addition by subtraction scenario right now. We need Bamba AND Vuc to be playing great for us to have a good season. We need our normal starters to play great and we need the bench to still play with fire like last night. If either doesn't happen, we're not going to do anything positive this season.

[Optimus_Steel]

Read on Twitter

Arguably the most exciting three possession stretch of basketball since Dwight left.

One of the more exciting moments in the last 6 years

Best sequence since this team was a contender. Crazy how long its been.

[OrlandO]

I can't even with this....

Read on Twitter

if you want to know what is being lost in all these one-and-done guys it is the fundamentals. I hope he was joking but I wonder.....

lol that's pretty funny. He credited Clifford for preaching boxing out, so the hire is already paying off if he's going to follow through. He wasn't joking either... It was pretty obvious last season he would just stare at the ball waiting for a rebound, which resulted in lots of second chance points for opposing players. Tobias did the same thing while here. Another thing to keep an eye on is rotating... last year he wasn't much help, but so far it seems Cliff has him more engaged and willing. Would be nice to see him use that athleticism to come up with more steals/blocks.

[fendilim]

Man the advanced stats geek are gonna hate this

Read on Twitter

[Skin]

I think Bamba was probably #3 on WeHam's board... Possibly #2. All I know is they didn't expect him to be there at 6 and must have jumped for joy like 6 year old little girls when we got him.

I agree with tanking hard, but I think in the last 2 years, we have gotten lucky "enough". WeHam got who they wanted without having to move up to get them.

Our new core building blocks are Isaac and Bamba. Everyone else is window dressing tbh. I think they like Gordon and are interested to see how he meshes, but if it doesn't work really well, I can easily see Gordon being traded. I hope it does work out because I'm such a fan of AG, but I'd be fooling myself if I called him a WeHam guy.

The reports after the draft were that they were very excited that Bamba fell to them. And there were reports Danny Ainge was trying to make a deal to get him too. I had thought before the draft that there was a possibility he could be there at 6 and that he was a intriguing prospect especially when it came out that he had been working on his shot.

While I would like to believe Isaac and Bamba were the top priority in those drafts, I don't think there has been a front office that has come out after the draft and said they didn't like their picks ever.

Yeah, but in this case it's obvious that they got the length the highly coveted.

[The Effect]

Other than a few flashes from JI, I’m not going to get entirely excited about him until Vuc is gone. He was in foul trouble last night, but he needs time with Bamba and Gordon on the floor. That’s not going to happen soon if Clifford considers Vuc irreplaceable on the floor.

The cap to this team is with the point guards and offensive production from Gordon. Gordon was amazing from 3 last night and kept Orlando in the lead due to lack of scoring elsewhere. If those shots aren’t falling, which is usually the case, it’s going to be a struggle. If JI can actually create some offense, it’s going to open things up for Evan and Gordon.

I agree, im still waiting to see this version of JI that others here seem to be seeing. To me hes a role guy with below average Bball skills but gets by because he hustles\tries really hard

[magicman112]

Other than a few flashes from JI, I’m not going to get entirely excited about him until Vuc is gone. He was in foul trouble last night, but he needs time with Bamba and Gordon on the floor. That’s not going to happen soon if Clifford considers Vuc irreplaceable on the floor.

The cap to this team is with the point guards and offensive production from Gordon. Gordon was amazing from 3 last night and kept Orlando in the lead due to lack of scoring elsewhere. If those shots aren’t falling, which is usually the case, it’s going to be a struggle. If JI can actually create some offense, it’s going to open things up for Evan and Gordon.

I agree, im still waiting to see this version of JI that others here seem to be seeing. To me hes a role guy with below average Bball skills but gets by because he hustles\tries really hard

The way I see it he's still in his rookie year because of all the games he missed last season. He did some good things but got into a little foul trouble and the backup unit plus AG got hot so Clifford rode that lineup. If he can come in and get some buckets and make a difference on defense then that's all we need for now.

[PrimeThyme]

Can you believe that we have lost 11 straight games to Charlotte? Thats just bad, especially since they've been a below .500 team. I'm just tired of losing to them, hopefully, they rally behind Clifford tomorrow going up against the team that just fired him and get us a win.

[PennytoShaq]

Other than a few flashes from JI, I’m not going to get entirely excited about him until Vuc is gone. He was in foul trouble last night, but he needs time with Bamba and Gordon on the floor. That’s not going to happen soon if Clifford considers Vuc irreplaceable on the floor.

The cap to this team is with the point guards and offensive production from Gordon. Gordon was amazing from 3 last night and kept Orlando in the lead due to lack of scoring elsewhere. If those shots aren’t falling, which is usually the case, it’s going to be a struggle. If JI can actually create some offense, it’s going to open things up for Evan and Gordon.

I agree, im still waiting to see this version of JI that others here seem to be seeing. To me hes a role guy with below average Bball skills but gets by because he hustles\tries really hard

The way I see it he's still in his rookie year because of all the games he missed last season. He did some good things but got into a little foul trouble and the backup unit plus AG got hot so Clifford rode that lineup. If he can come in and get some buckets and make a difference on defense then that's all we need for now.

Yeah, agree. He drew some quick fouls, but I think he just needs some time to find his spot in the offense. He is a team player to a fault, and sometimes does not look for his shot enough.

[PennytoShaq]

Can you believe that we have lost 11 straight games to Charlotte? Thats just bad, especially since they've been a below .500 team. I'm just tired of losing to them, hopefully, they rally behind Clifford tomorrow going up against the team that just fired him and get us a win.

I remember bringing this up last year and my theory was that Clifford knew how to attack us. He really owned Vogel in that regard.

Kemba just put up 40 so I think we see another heavy dose of Grant at the point. We have to slow him down and in the past we simply did not have the defense to do that.