Official Offseason Thread 9.0: The Long Road to October

[Knightro]

A little under 3 months until Magic basketball returns.

[RichCollab]

A little under 3 months until Magic basketball returns.

It’s going to be brutal waiting for the season.

[RookieStar]

3 months?

We have Olympics for now... what else is gonna tide us over? We need our FIX!!!!

[drsd]

A little under 3 months until Magic basketball returns.

[MasterGMer]

lol. Enjoy the game today, fellas!

[thelead]

I’ve been so busy with work for over a decade now that I actually kinda enjoy a mini vacation from all the games. Sure, I do miss the season but I have so much going on that the summer break doesn’t phase me… especially now that we’re headed in a good direction.

[Message Boar]

Thankfully European football is just about to get underway to give me something to watch at least, and American football should be having training camp/preseason soon, too. And the US Open in tennis should be good once that gets underway, even though imo that's the least important Grand Slam of the year.

For now I'm having fun (kind of) watching some sports I don't usually watch in the Olympics; sadly the first weekend has been an unmitigated disaster for The Netherlands. Oh and the basketball tournament, obviously. Hopefully Germany can medal!

Hopefully Paolo, Suggs and the rest of our squad that's not in Paris use the long summer to take their games to the next level.

[Skybox]

Thankfully European football is just about to get underway to give me something to watch at least, and American football should be having training camp/preseason soon, too. And the US Open in tennis should be good once that gets underway, even though imo that's the least important Grand Slam of the year.

For now I'm having fun (kind of) watching some sports I don't usually watch in the Olympics; sadly the first weekend has been an unmitigated disaster for The Netherlands. Oh and the basketball tournament, obviously. Hopefully Germany can medal!

Hopefully Paolo, Suggs and the rest of our squad that's not in Paris use the long summer to take their games to the next level.

just got back from the Netherlands...inspired me to ride my bike again

*In case anyone was worried about me - not seeing 10 trade ideas a day

[eyriq]

I was thinking about our 5th seed finish last season relative to where our offense and defense ranked within the Eastern conference. From what I can see about the relationship, here is the rank improvement needed from each factor for a 1 seed improvement.

eFG% 2.31 rank improvement for a 1 seed jump
defensive eFG% 2.53 rank improvement for a 1 seed jump
TOV% 4.66 rank improvement for a 1 seed jump
defensive TOV% 5.66 rank bump for a 1 seed jump
ORB% 7.14 rank bump for a 1 seed jump
defensive FT/FGA 8.87 rank bump for a 1 seed jump
Experience 9.95 rank bump for a 1 seed jump
DRB% 10.28 rank bump for a 1 seed jump
FT/FGA 12.23 rank bump for a 1 seed jump

Right away you can see that there is a slight advantage for offense over defense. Defense may win championships but offense wins in the regular season. The second thing that stands out is that shooting efficiency is king.

So what does that mean for Orlando? We were 5th in both offensive and defensive eFG%. Did we improve there relative to the Eastern conference?

The top 4 in eFG% where the Pacers, Celtics, Bucks, and Cavs.
The top 4 in defensive eFG% were the Celtics, Cavs, 76ers, and Bucks.

On offense I don't really see us jumping any of them. On defense? Maybe.

I think the best chance of earning home court advantage will come from improving ball control. We were pretty much the worst team in the conference here. If we can jump into the top 8 here and maintain relative performance everywhere else I think we are looking good.

Overall:
5th seed
#10 offense
#1 defense
#14 in experience (super young team)

Offensive Four Factors:
#5 in eFG%
#14 in TOV%
#3 in ORB%
#1 in FT/FGA

Defensive Four Factors:
#5 in eFG%
#1 in TOV%
#1 in DRB%
#12 in FT/FGA

[Residual-Heat]

I appreciate that these boys dont get into any real off-court drama (at least so far). No driving like idiots (Lamelo), no DUIs or assault charges, no baby mama drama, etc... I know its not a huge accomplishment for most normal people, but for young NBA players its different lol.

[sChOlaRlY_Magi]

Great thread title! Lol

[JoshuaPotter]

I think this is it for me guys....I am going to drop off until training camp is underway or until Suggs is signed.

@Skybox, I am currently drinking some Aldi coffee with a tiger on it.....its alright. I think it does give me heartburn though.

@VFX , just a regular and 1 that we are just watching management never change. That shouldn't change while I am taking a break.

@eyriq - HOLD THE LINE! I am going down for enhancements to my AI code.

@anyone and everyone. I really enjoy this place and what you add even if I didn't mention you directly. Just that seems like all the summer excitement I can take for a few months.

When I return I expect everyone to tell me the status of the code words for the drinking game.

[eyriq]

I think this is it for me guys....I am going to drop off until training camp is underway or until Suggs is signed.

@Skybox, I am currently drinking some Aldi coffee with a tiger on it.....its alright. I think it does give me heartburn though.

@VFX , just a regular and 1 that we are just watching management never change. That shouldn't change while I am taking a break.

@eyriq - HOLD THE LINE! I am going down for enhancements to my AI code.

@anyone and everyone. I really enjoy this place and what you add even if I didn't mention you directly. Just that seems like all the summer excitement I can take for a few months.

When I return I expect everyone to tell me the status of the code words for the drinking game.

Enjoy your summer! Come back recharged and ready to double down on Agenda 2025, the AB agenda, aka Mosley needs to play AB enough to ensure that he makes the rising stars game agenda.

[eyriq]

I think the number one "level up" factor is JI staying healthy and scaling up usage.

Paolo, Franz, and Suggs development is a close second.

Cole bouncing back and AB development is 3rd.

[yoyojw17]

I think the number one "level up" factor is JI staying healthy and scaling up usage.

Paolo, Franz, and Suggs development is a close second.

Cole bouncing back and AB development is 3rd.

Agreed.

will probably flip Paolo, Franz, and Suggs improvement to the top as i think we forget how young they are and how far they've come in a short time. Greatly improved individuals will be taking the court next year.... and that could be just a shift in experience, maturity, and mindset.

Isaac being able to get to get to a consistent 25 min a night would be huge for us and our bench.

Cole getting his groove back and leading the 2nd unit would be huuuuuuuge. His inconsistency last season hampered us towards the end of the season.

I'm actually just as.... or maybe even more excited about our bench as I am our starting lineup

[RichCollab]

WCJ health and having a bounce back year could be major.

[eyriq]

I think the number one "level up" factor is JI staying healthy and scaling up usage.

Paolo, Franz, and Suggs development is a close second.

Cole bouncing back and AB development is 3rd.

Agreed.

will probably flip Paolo, Franz, and Suggs improvement to the top as i think we forget how young they are and how far they've come in a short time. Greatly improved individuals will be taking the court next year.... and that could be just a shift in experience, maturity, and mindset.

Isaac being able to get to get to a consistent 25 min a night would be huge for us and our bench.

Cole getting his groove back and leading the 2nd unit would be huuuuuuuge. His inconsistency last season hampered us towards the end of the season.

I'm actually just as.... or maybe even more excited about our bench as I am our starting lineup

WCJ health and having a bounce back year could be major.

This makes me think that we probably have one of the highest upsides in the East.

[yoyojw17]

I think the number one "level up" factor is JI staying healthy and scaling up usage.

Paolo, Franz, and Suggs development is a close second.

Cole bouncing back and AB development is 3rd.

Agreed.

will probably flip Paolo, Franz, and Suggs improvement to the top as i think we forget how young they are and how far they've come in a short time. Greatly improved individuals will be taking the court next year.... and that could be just a shift in experience, maturity, and mindset.

Isaac being able to get to get to a consistent 25 min a night would be huge for us and our bench.

Cole getting his groove back and leading the 2nd unit would be huuuuuuuge. His inconsistency last season hampered us towards the end of the season.

I'm actually just as.... or maybe even more excited about our bench as I am our starting lineup

WCJ health and having a bounce back year could be major.

This makes me think that we probably have one of the highest upsides in the East.

And yup... love me some WCJ. especially the one that was pretty much at the top of the league in shooting percentage defense at the rim. I feel like he gets flack for not having the defensive counting stats....but back then he did his thing by making it hard for players to score at the basket. The one thing i would loooooooove to see him reincorporate is.... a post game. Switch it up a lil. 270 lb is something that he should use more down low. Actually just his overall aggression... which i felt he had to start last year before the hand injury.

[MagicTownBaller]

Any updates on Suggs extension?

[BadMofoPimp]

Would ya'll consider Vooch for WCJ. Could possibly be constender last 2 years of his contract. Play Vooch less minutes to get the best from him and play more Goga. Vooch can provem all wrong again!