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

[fklt]

To be fair JI has spent his entire career focusing on his ankle conditioning so we shouldn't expect him to attempt to learn how to play basketball for another few years once he is up for a 20 million contract.

AG meanwhile out hoisting up his fadeaways in warmpups makes you realize he is trying to shoot these things on purpose and someone in his circle is telling him it's "his move".

i reckon because he is an "athletic" player. wiggins was doing the same thing. since they theoretically should be able to get seperation easily, they think this would be their killer, unstoppable move if they can get it right.

both of these guys have the high ambitions of being MVP level players at some point. that's why they feel like just being effective players that might help a team win is kinda beneath them. so they keep on chucking the hard ones.

[dsg2021]

Some really good points here lately. I'll trust the youngsters in the end tho, they working their butts off to get better. Experience adds everything.

[BadMofoPimp]

If Clifford has the balls, he should bench Fournier and start Ross. Ross is so much better than Fournier and offense actually flow when he is in.

Sorry. But Ross is just a chucker who shoots about every time the ball is in his hands who is shooting 37% this year and 39% last year. And, he doesn't create for others. His only saving grace is his defense.

[j-ragg]

If Clifford has the balls, he should bench Fournier and start Ross. Ross is so much better than Fournier and offense actually flow when he is in.

Sorry. But Ross is just a chucker who shoots about every time the ball is in his hands who is shooting 37% this year and 39% last year. And, he doesn't create for others. His only saving grace is his defense.

He doesn't create but he moves the ball better than any other guard.

Fournier isn't lighting it up either with his percentages, just as bad.

[BadMofoPimp]

If Clifford has the balls, he should bench Fournier and start Ross. Ross is so much better than Fournier and offense actually flow when he is in.

Sorry. But Ross is just a chucker who shoots about every time the ball is in his hands who is shooting 37% this year and 39% last year. And, he doesn't create for others. His only saving grace is his defense.

He doesn't create but he moves the ball better than any other guard.

Fournier isn't lighting it up either with his percentages, just as bad.

Great. He can dribble. He don't pass and chucks while shooting 37%. That is not a recipe for success.

[darthmerrick]

I'm tired of seeing the same guys lose every night. I understand Vuc and Fournier are our best offensive talents. But we haven't done squat with them leading us for years. Weham get off your arsed and blow it the hell up. Everyone but Bamba can go. Tired of being competitive to miss out on top 3 lottery picks. Really blow it up this time for picks and expirings.

Players that I want traded by end of December:
Vucevic
Fournier
Augustin

Players to trade by deadline:
Ross
Gordon
Simmons

Players to trade on draft night:
Jonathan Issac

[j-ragg]

Sorry. But Ross is just a chucker who shoots about every time the ball is in his hands who is shooting 37% this year and 39% last year. And, he doesn't create for others. His only saving grace is his defense.

He doesn't create but he moves the ball better than any other guard.

Fournier isn't lighting it up either with his percentages, just as bad.

Great. He can dribble. He don't pass and chucks while shooting 37%. That is not a recipe for success.

Do you think moving the ball means dribbling?

Also, again Evan shooting 39% and 28% from 3 isn't carrying us either.

[Def Swami]

This doesn't give me hope, John.

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[PrimeThyme]

This doesn't give me hope, John.

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Lol && he is still trying to build the narrative that this is just a slow start and they will get going eventually. When you have already lost by 25+ plus at home twice 7 games into the season and guys are seemingly already not playing hard again I think you have a huge problem on your hands. This core of guys has never shown resiliency. Usually, they give up in December or January but to see it this early is a concern and already seals their fate as a 27< win team imo.

[OrlandO]

He doesn't create but he moves the ball better than any other guard.

Fournier isn't lighting it up either with his percentages, just as bad.

Great. He can dribble. He don't pass and chucks while shooting 37%. That is not a recipe for success.

Do you think moving the ball means dribbling?

Also, again Evan shooting 39% and 28% from 3 isn't carrying us either.

Ross doesn't move the ball though. He puts shots up, doesn't dribble much because he's awful at driving. He has nearly the same excessive shot rate and awful shooting percentages as fournier, but with significantly worse assist rate. The big difference is Fournier is in a slump... Ross is not. If you bench Fournier for Ross it's not for offense, it's for defense and energy. I'd be ok with that if fournier doesn't settle down soon... he might actually get his efficiency back playing against bench units and he can run his two man game with bamba. But just keep in mind you take fournier out of the starting lineup and that just means more dj augustin trying to score on 7 footers in the paint.

[npiper17]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anyone is saying play BIG together and they will light up the league. Nah... play them so we can properly see what we have. See how they handle responsibility. See how much potential for growth there is in their games. See if they show any signs of being able to play together. See which ones are really expendable. See how they look when you run plays for them all night. See how quickly they learn, or if they learn at all. And tank for a better pick while doing it. We suck either way!!

It's looking like we know what AG is going to be now. But at the same time, I'm pretty sure he's going to play a lot better on another team. Why? Because of something that has been clear here for years. THIS TEAM DOES NOT LIKE PLAYING TOGETHER AND HAS HORRIBLE CHEMISTRY.

I haven’t checked the stats but the eye test suggests that Gordon prefers playing with the bench. I can’t imagine why

[npiper17]

This doesn't give me hope, John.

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Lol && he is still trying to build the narrative that this is just a slow start and they will get going eventually. When you have already lost by 25+ plus at home twice 7 games into the season and guys are seemingly already not playing hard again I think you have a huge problem on your hands. This core of guys has never shown resiliency. Usually, they give up in December or January but to see it this early is a concern and already seals their fate as a 27< win team imo.

I wonder how long it takes John to find stats that paint the positive picture he’s always looking for. It must be getting harder and harder to find any with this team.

[Xatticus]

I know you need someone to pass but AG not being involved is as much on him as anyone else. He is just not present out there on offense. He isn't assertive and has no idea what to do with the ball. The dude was practicing fadeaway elbow turnaround jumpers during halftime of the Kings game. He didn't know you had to box out to get rebounds. He will be 30 and on his 4th contract before he learns the fundamentals.

I don't know how you speed that up but whatever we are doing isn't working. It's just taking too long for everyone we draft to put the pieces together.

I'm starting to wonder if unlike talented draft picks, these athletic guys who don't know how to play need to be developed differently. Maybe high load forced offense is what they need. Force them to put up 15 fgas a game. Give them individual tasks each game. Maybe we are too afraid of gifting minutes and creating entitled players. Can't hurt to try something else.

I'm starting to find this "assertiveness" crap really irritating. Offense isn't at all about five guys fighting for field goal attempts. It should be five people working together towards a common goal. It is really difficult for anyone to be effective when they are frozen out at the offensive end and it is really difficult for an offense to be effective when it is only utilizing two players.

I do not care what someone's usage rate is. I only care about how effective they are. John Stockton had a career usage rate of 18.9 and he didn't even crack 16.0 until his age 25 season. Team usage is the same regardless of the combination of players on the floor. You can throw any five players out there together and their usage will total up to 100% while they are on the floor.

I think Clifford has a primitive approach to offense. He has seen buddy ball and he likes it. It has never been more prominent over the last four years than it is right now and that is indisputably coming at the expense of the usage rates of whoever they share the floor with. Fournier, in particular, has expanded his shot selection this year.

Clifford also really likes Terrence Ross. He has said that the offense will run through him whenever he is on the floor. As a result, we have seen his usage rate spike this season.

This is what Clifford wants and this is what we are going to get until our front office decides to sack up and shuffle the deck.

[VFX]

I know you need someone to pass but AG not being involved is as much on him as anyone else. He is just not present out there on offense. He isn't assertive and has no idea what to do with the ball. The dude was practicing fadeaway elbow turnaround jumpers during halftime of the Kings game. He didn't know you had to box out to get rebounds. He will be 30 and on his 4th contract before he learns the fundamentals.

I don't know how you speed that up but whatever we are doing isn't working. It's just taking too long for everyone we draft to put the pieces together.

I'm starting to wonder if unlike talented draft picks, these athletic guys who don't know how to play need to be developed differently. Maybe high load forced offense is what they need. Force them to put up 15 fgas a game. Give them individual tasks each game. Maybe we are too afraid of gifting minutes and creating entitled players. Can't hurt to try something else.

I'm starting to find this "assertiveness" crap really irritating. Offense isn't at all about five guys fighting for field goal attempts. It should be five people working together towards a common goal. It is really difficult for anyone to be effective when they are frozen out at the offensive end and it is really difficult for an offense to be effective when it is only utilizing two players.

I do not care what someone's usage rate is. I only care about how effective they are. John Stockton had a career usage rate of 18.9 and he didn't even crack 16.0 until his age 25 season. Team usage is the same regardless of the combination of players on the floor. You can throw any five players out there together and their usage will total up to 100% while they are on the floor.

I think Clifford has a primitive approach to offense. He has seen buddy ball and he likes it. It has never been more prominent over the last four years than it is right now and that is indisputably coming at the expense of the usage rates of whoever they share the floor with. Fournier, in particular, has expanded his shot selection this year.

Clifford also really likes Terrence Ross. He has said that the offense will run through him whenever he is on the floor. As a result, we have seen his usage rate spike this season.

This is what Clifford wants and this is what we are going to get until our front office decides to sack up and shuffle the deck.

Exactly. This isn’t on Clifford. It’s on WeHam and their inability to make moves for the roster. Clifford is going to use buddy ball until he’s given an alternative. I’m surprised WeHam can still feel their hands by how long they’ve been sitting on them. Unfortunately, they need to make sweeping changes because I don’t think free agency will alleviate the issues plaguing this roster.

[Mauro Pedrosa]

Trae Young is a phenomenal passer

[NickAnderson]

Why did we trade Victor Oladipo

[Skin]

Why did we draft Mario Hezonja

[Mauro Pedrosa]

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[OrlandO]

Bonus: Fournier addresses the elephant in the room.... his hair.

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[Def Swami]

Every night in the NBA is just a plot to make me feel even worse about the Magic.

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