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The season isn't over, but it's getting close, and after many ups and downs it's feeling like the team is finding an identity.

At the start of the season I was bold and confident in many of my opinions. Here's a list of some of the things I feel I really misjudged...


We would be a playoff team: Whilst the most optimistic were expecting us to hit .500 or slightly over, I was quietly expecting us to be a surprise story of the league this year. I expected us to unleash a defensive beast of a team that ground teams down and squeaked out wins. We had one small stretch and sniff of that potential at the start of the season, then the wheels just completely came off the bus and we seemed to stop playing defense altogether.


The Ibaka Trade: I thought he'd be unicorn PF we needed next to Vuc/Biz. I thought he'd help us anchor a league leading defense. He did neither of those (albeit for a 4-5 game stretch). Given the new, fast paced, small ball success we're having, perhaps Oladipo would've been a better fitting piece from the start? The silver-lining is that we've got Ross now who's doing much of what Oladipo would've done anyway, but he might also be a better fit with his movement off the ball and better 3pt shot.


Aaron Gordon as a SF: I didn't expect him to become a star overnight, but I expected a lot more growth and better use of his handles. I expected a much improved 3pt shot (which he showed glimpses of, before plummeting back down to his averages). I expected to see the budding of a future star. Since shifting him back to become a small-ball PF like many/most of you wanted at the start of the season, he has truly blossomed. I was glad very defensive in my stance on giving AG his turn at SF, but I'm happy to admit I was wrong now that we can see him back and playing a more natural and fitting game.


Biz would become a DPOTY C: I never quite proclaimed that he'd be a DPOTY C, but I did expect him to make a much bigger jump and impact as a defender, especially with him joining a team and Vogel's tutelage. I also thought he'd be able to make a much bigger difference by finally giving this team a roll-man, but he's hardly been used in that fashion, and even if he was his hands of stone probably wouldn't allow him to complete the play. It seems like he is what he is, a great hustle, energy, character guy who can get after it on defense, but he's no Ben Wallace. I still hope that he's got a lot of room to grow under Frank, but I'm certainly not going to expect it now.


Vucevic isn't a good C: Massive credit to him, he's completely transformed his defensive presence this season. He's no longer a weak link. His passing game continues to grow, and he's a great teammate who finds the open man, not just his favourite man. He seems truly dedicated and committed to this team as a player and a person.


Frank Vogel would turn this team around: I expected a lot more. A LOT more. Especially on defense. I'm hoping that he's now finally found the rhythm that this team best plays to, because they're looking fresh and exciting. It's basically the same lineup Skiles ended last season with, so it's not like Frank has reinvented the wheel.


Jeff Green and DJ Augustin were great veteran signings: I thought they'd anchor our bench and bring us stability, with the capacity to light up a scoreboard every once in a while and help carry us over the line for some wins. It's happened very occasionally, but more often than not, they seem like a hindrance and roadblock to the growth of our young team.


Overall, this season has been quite humbling for me. We watch these games and players for years, and you feel like you've got a feel for the game. Where we are now, is not where I expected to be. Devastating is too strong a word, but this season has not been enjoyable to say the least; as a fan, and for my ego.

So to anyone that I got into heated discussions with or that I may have dismissed earlier in the season, I apologise. We're all fans, we all have our own opinions, but I definitely got drunk on my own opinions this season.

That said, though, I'm happy to see what the team is doing on the court recently. Well, even that's conflicted. God damn I'd love to secure a top 3 pick, but Elf, AG, Ross and Fournier seem to have found a rhythm and chemistry on the court now, and whilst that's great, it's also killing our chances of landing a top 3 pick.

I'd say supporting Jeff Green signing was my biggest mistake. I saw him as a veteran locker room presence and backup, insurance, to AG. But seeing him play a bigger role than what I expected is disgusting. Obviously had some domino effect, getting into AG, Mario and to an extent Biz and Ibaka's minutes as well.

For some reason I still like the ibaka trade. It was just a poor fit. But it made sense for us at that time; so I don't know how to go about it. I was wrong for expecting Ibaka to be able to be a 2nd option on offense though. I thought he was capable of that as the 3rd star of the Thunders. Boy, has he proven he is more of a role player.

And of course, a playoff team. lol

I never committed to the Playoffs thankfully. I said we could possibly hover around a .500 record, which may or may not get us to the Playoffs. Who knows what could have happened without poor coaching and the wonky Ibaka fit.

Great post! My mis judgement was vast haha. I came into the season VERY optimistic and happy about our coaching staff. I really expected Mario to really take off this year. Glad to see him finally playing bigger minutes and finding some success! Hopefully his confidence continues!

I agree on many points. I thought Vogel would turn the team around and we'd sneak into the playoffs. I hated the ibaka trade the moment it happened because I really like oladipo. Once the sting was gone I embraced it, as I embraced the second ibaka trade. All in all I'm thrilled with how it all turned out considering oladipo's contract and abilities compared to ross. The Worc pick is a plus too. I never thought green and dj were good signings. I felt like they were glad for the opportunity and were signed just to fill out the team. I was hoping greens expiring would be used at the deadline. I was sure it would be. I was wrong there. He is definitely the most frustrating player to watch because he has all the tools and talent to be a star he just doesn't put it together very often. I felt like Vuc was already a good center. His defense is better but I expected more from him offensively. I like biz but I don't see him as a DPOTY. Maybe in a couple years. I think he needs to find a way to score to be on the court enough to have that kind of impact. As for AG at the 3 I felt like he should at least get some time there. How do you know if we don't try it? If he goes back and spends the rest of his career at the 4 I don't see where it hurts to have half of a losing season to gain perspective of the court from another position. That's how I viewed oladipo playing the point. I think if we had a 4 that was athletic andirector shot the 3 well and played that hard running up and down the floor small ball like ag does I feel like he could play the 3 in that kind of lineup. But if he works at the 4 for us I'm good with that. The biggest thing I was wrong about was I thought ag and Elf would increase their 3 point shooting %. I'd love it if they started to do that now and didn't make a liar out of me. I also thought Mario would play more and start to show some improvement. That is starting to look like it might happen though.

It's great to see such a humbling post owning up to wrongs. Good for you. At least our wrongs aren't as bad as d-rose saying the knicks were going to be a super team.

I thought we were a playoff team and a top 5 defense. I don't feel bad about thinking that. I'm still not entirely sure why that was so far away from being the truth.

"Well clearly we just weren't good enough."

Well yeah, but even so, I still look at that team and I'm baffled why we couldn't be a top defensive team (which would have had us in the playoff picture).

I think the only thing I was wrong about was the defense. I thought it would at least be a top 10... Everything else that has happened with the team is what I kind of projected to occur before the season.

FFBlitzace wrote:I thought we were a playoff team and a top 5 defense. I don't feel bad about thinking that. I'm still not entirely sure why that was so far away from being the truth.

"Well clearly we just weren't good enough."

Well yeah, but even so, I still look at that team and I'm baffled why we couldn't be a top defensive team (which would have had us in the playoff picture).

Chemistry, bad fitting. Bad communication. Lack of a good system.

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Mine is similar to OP

- We will be a playoff team
- Frank Vogel is a good coach
- AG is better suited at 3
- DJ Augustin would be our first good backup PG in over a decade
- Ibaka would be our best player since Dwight

I thought Elf would look significantly better having Ibaka to spread the floor, giving him more space to maneuver and get into the paint.

I was only partially correct, as it appears that spacing has come in the absence of Ibaka and at the presence of Ross.

Wrong about Gordon's projected growth and disappointed overall with him this year.

Ben got big balls to admit his mistakes.

nothing to brag about but I wasnt wrong about anything ...still it makes me uber disappointed
I wanna be proven wrong

I was wrong because I thought they will end up as 39-win team and 9th seed.

The first step towards enlightenment is admitting when you are wrong. We are proud of you grasshopper.

Preaseason I had my win total at 37-38 wins. I revised that to 30 after the terrible opening night against Miami, our current win % would put us right at 30 wins.

Things I was wrong about:

-Thought we would easily be a top 10 defense. We were for about 3 weeks back in Nov/Dec but that has long been passed.

-Thought the offense would'nt be any worse than the previous year. We are next to last currently in efficiency and in the bottom 5 of just about any offensive stat. Bkln has better offense than we do, think about that BKLN! We are actually last in offense since January 1st and last in 3pt shooting. Yikes.

-Thought Mario was in for a big year, although playing better lately he has floudered overall, and I didnt appreciate that he said next season will be his rookie year, that is loser talk.

-Thought Vuc was the odd man out and would be traded, or Biz. Didnt think it would be Ibaka.

-Thought the bench would be upgraded as compared to last year. Very wrong.

-Thought that AG would make a noticable improvement in his 3pt shot. He has not, neither has Elf.

"4TH IN THE EAST .... BOOK IT!!!'
lol... i guess i meant 4th in the league..... from the bottom.

I was probably most wrong about Gordon's transition to the 3.

Either way I'm glad they know now he's better at the 4, so hopefully next season we'll see active AG all year.

I expected us to be in the 37-40 win range. I didn't think we would make the playoffs but we would be right on the outside looking in.

I also didn't think there was any way we could regress from last year, man I was wrong on that. Really wrong

I honestly have been right about a lot this season. The roster always looked weird once the Ibaka trade happened and I didn't have high expectations, but I thought 35-38 wins was attainable with no playoff appearance. I was wrong on the win total. I didn't expect much out of Payton, his shot hasn't improved but he's been a much better player this season overall. I have hopes for him whereas before I had none. It's arguable he's been our best overall player outside of Vucevic.

Definitely had higher expectations for Vogel, but he gets a pass because of the shaky roster and organizational instability. I expect things will improve there once he has a full offseason with the team.


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I thought we were going to play small ball with a 3 man front court of AG/serge/Biz and trade Vuc for a SF so I was pretty excited for the season.What I didn't expect was our bench to still be awful but it really is. I figured Mario would be 1-2 years away, but I do think he can be, at worst, a very nice reserve for us.

I knew Jeff Green was not great, but I expected more. The fact that he is on a 1 year deal makes it a lot less painful to me.

Knew we'd suck at shooting but I never expected it to be as bad as I saw in the first half of the season. It was very ugly offense. Just unwatchable.

But for me, I have no problem with us finishing the season as a top 5 bad team. I do not want to be stuck in the middle, so this is fine. It is a black mark on the Magic FO for selling the playoffs and saying they believed we would make them. It's on Vogel as well. But as much crap as Vogel takes for his rotations and offense, he has improved the confidence of our young guys a lot more than Skiles. He made Vuc into a solid C on both ends as well.