Official Brandon Ingram Thread

[JB7]

They need to prove it first. Their offence has been bottom 10 for over a decade. The idea that Bane is just going to turn that around could be wishful thinking.

They do need to prove it, but Bane is a 20-24 ppg scorer and an elite volume 3pt shooter who passes well. He has availability concerns, but he also directly addresses a core problem with Orlando's offense. And Suggs, I mean, they were on 47-win pace last year when he was playing, he's one of their most important defensive pieces.

I think it is. 47 and 41 win team last 2 years who still have all the same deficiencies as they always have. I am not ready to make them a HCA lock, let alone top 3 seed lock.

What is their lineup? Suggs/Bane/Franz/Paolo/WCJ? That is 1 above average shooter. We talk about the Raptors being deficient from 3 but we at least have 2 starters who can shoot (IQ/Ingram) and Barrett is still a better shooter than every Magic starter not named Bane.

They just have 0 offence. After Bane, they have 0 shooters.

Not really sure I trust a team whose offence is most likely going to be bottom 5/10 to be a 50+ win team.

I hear you, but again, they're going to have a large boost defensively, AND Bane's presence. I don't really see too many teams in the East who can challenge them.

With Bane as their lone shooter, what do you think opposing defences will do to him? I wouldn’t be surprised if Bane’s shooting numbers drop in Orlando. Orlando’s success will be tied to Banchero, Wagner and Suggs 3pt shooting.

Defensively they will be great. But their O will only get out of the bottom rankings if those guys improve their 3pt shooting.

[DreamTeam09]

We were 3-1 against Orlando last year, missing several players, + no Ingram CMB Mamu. Not a lot of these teams should be definitive favs for anything in this age of parity. I understand giving reciency results/bias prevelance tho

They were, however, missing Franz and/or Suggs for several of those wins. And they didn't have Bane in any of them, obviously.

We too we're also missing several of our guys, playing tanking lineups and were obviously without our rookie & BI in any of them

[tsherkin]

With Bane as their lone shooter, what do you think opposing defences will do to him? I wouldn’t be surprised if Bane’s shooting numbers drop in Orlando. Orlando’s success will be tied to Banchero, Wagner and Suggs 3pt shooting.

Defensively they will be great. But their O will only get out of the bottom rankings if those guys improve their 3pt shooting.

They will be better on offense regardless, simply with health, and for Bane's presence. And with Suggs around, their D will be that much better. I think you're probably underestimating them a little. I doubt they'll be a top-5 offense or anything nutty like that, for sure, but they will definitely be far better than they were last year.

[Los_29]

Quite a few teams in the East got worse. Orlando got better. I’d be shocked if they weren’t in the top 3 next year.

I think their offense will ultimately cost them deep in the playoffs but they should at least be able to get through the first round or two.

[Shakril]

But they havent played that well to deserve a top spot.

They were on 47-win pace with Suggs last year, Paolo only played 46 games and Franz only played 60. Not a TON of reason to suspect those guys will be heavily unhealthy this year, so yeah, they've done pretty well all told, I'd think.

I dont see orlando beating the cavs or the knicks. Which makes them automaticly a tier lower. I though agree that they are the 3rd best team in the west projection wise.

[tsherkin]

But they havent played that well to deserve a top spot.

They were on 47-win pace with Suggs last year, Paolo only played 46 games and Franz only played 60. Not a TON of reason to suspect those guys will be heavily unhealthy this year, so yeah, they've done pretty well all told, I'd think.

I dont see orlando beating the cavs or the knicks. Which makes them automaticly a tier lower. I though agree that they are the 3rd best team in the west projection wise.

Sure, but they're irrelevant because we were discussing Orlando in the context of being the third seed in the East anyway, no?

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Palo had major surgery, so a lot depends on that. But, in theory if him and Franz are healthy...that is a very tough team.

They could fall into injuries just like us though.

[DreamTeam09]

Bi takes up 23% of the cap
Barnes + Bi + IQ = 69% of the cap

Bane + Franz = 48% or 49% + PB incoming 25% or 30%
Cavs big 3 = 80% - Mitchell Allen Mobley

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Bi takes up 23% of the cap
Barnes + Bi + IQ = 69% of the cap

We're going to need a lot of things to go right.

[DreamTeam09]

Bi takes up 23% of the cap
Barnes + Bi + IQ = 69% of the cap

We're going to need a lot of things to go right.

I'm on the opposite side of the fence, we are going to be just fine

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Bi takes up 23% of the cap
Barnes + Bi + IQ = 69% of the cap

We're going to need a lot of things to go right.

I'm on the opposite side of the fence, we are going to be just fine

30% doesn't look like much runway imo.

[canada_dry]

Heres the thing with the magic. We know they're 47 wins if healthy in a NORMAL east even if they don't improve at all. Same strengths. Same weaknesses. In THIS east? Just logically That 47 becomes something like 50.

50 wins in a really weak east this year... if thats not the 3rd seed who is? It has to be someone right?

Maybe its another injury riddled season and this debate is pointless. But all things being equal the magic don't have to fix their weaknesses or be much better to be 3rd seed is my point. Not this year.

And what if they actually do improve?

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[Merit]

I think that his scoring totals, though, say that he's closer to Demar than Steph/KD. If he was capable of Steph/KD volume, it'd reflect in his ppg rizz.

Is there really a big difference between 24 and 27 ppg?

Yes. Especially when the 27ppg guys are doing it on 64-65% TS vs 58% TS.

Sure. That’s MVP/GOAT level. BI isn't there, but he’s an excellent scorer still. KD and Steph are at the tail end of their careers while BI isn't quite in his prime yet. I would like to see more from him, especially defensively, but the comparison to Demar is inaccurate. They’re wildly different players, except for their penchant for middies. Put it this way, I’d rather have BI than Randle, for example.

[Shakril]

They were on 47-win pace with Suggs last year, Paolo only played 46 games and Franz only played 60. Not a TON of reason to suspect those guys will be heavily unhealthy this year, so yeah, they've done pretty well all told, I'd think.

I dont see orlando beating the cavs or the knicks. Which makes them automaticly a tier lower. I though agree that they are the 3rd best team in the west projection wise.

Sure, but they're irrelevant because we were discussing Orlando in the context of being the third seed in the East anyway, no?

We were discussing tiers, not relevancy. Indiana also was "only" 2nd tier last year and nearly won it all. (one of the biggest what if's with tyrese injury)

[tsherkin]

We were discussing tiers, not relevancy. Indiana also was "only" 2nd tier last year and nearly won it all. (one of the biggest what if's with tyrese injury)

The post which got me into this conversation was discussing them as the clear #3, as it happens, so that's how I've been discussing them. I think they distance themselves well enough from anyone that was listed below them, but I suppose we'll have to wait for the season to start getting a better read on them. They were .500 last year with under half a season from Suggs, just over half a season from Paolo, 60 games from Franz and no Bane, so I rather think they're poised to look extremely good this year.

[CPT]

Bi takes up 23% of the cap
Barnes + Bi + IQ = 69% of the cap

Bane + Franz = 48% or 49% + PB incoming 25% or 30%
Cavs big 3 = 80% - Mitchell Allen Mobley

That doesn’t look too bad except for the idea that the 3 Raptors might be the 7-8-9 players in that group. I don’t personally think that (especially if it’s Allen and not Garland), but the general perception probably isn’t too far off.

Hopefully a decent season ups the value/perception of our guys and we can capitalize on that wiggle room.

[JB7]

With Bane as their lone shooter, what do you think opposing defences will do to him? I wouldn’t be surprised if Bane’s shooting numbers drop in Orlando. Orlando’s success will be tied to Banchero, Wagner and Suggs 3pt shooting.

Defensively they will be great. But their O will only get out of the bottom rankings if those guys improve their 3pt shooting.

They will be better on offense regardless, simply with health, and for Bane's presence. And with Suggs around, their D will be that much better. I think you're probably underestimating them a little. I doubt they'll be a top-5 offense or anything nutty like that, for sure, but they will definitely be far better than they were last year.

I believe it was Zach Lowe who was saying they have been a bottom 10 offence for over a decade.

I don’t see how Bane alone is going to turn that around.

If this doesn’t work for the Magic, they could have screwed themselves.

I liked the deal from Memphis's perspective. They are going the depth route with Iisalo, and his coaching style of a high pressure and pace system, which worked really well for him in Europe. The draft picks just give them more options to add to the team. I think Memphis could surprise teams this year.

[tsherkin]

I believe it was Zach Lowe who was saying they have been a bottom 10 offence for over a decade.

Yeah, but that's not suuuper salient to the current roster, the majority of which hasn't even been in the league that long. It's just a dramatic way of saying that Orlando's been in the crapper for a while.

Even at somewhat reduced efficiency, having an efficient 20+ ppg scorer who opens the floor up with his shooting in Bane is going to make a large difference. We're basically hoping for the same out of Quick and BI, remember. Meantime, again, if their guys are healthy, it's going to be a lot better for them than they were this past season. That's somewhat inescapable.

[JB7]

I believe it was Zach Lowe who was saying they have been a bottom 10 offence for over a decade.

Yeah, but that's not suuuper salient to the current roster, the majority of which hasn't even been in the league that long. It's just a dramatic way of saying that Orlando's been in the crapper for a while.

Even at somewhat reduced efficiency, having an efficient 20+ ppg scorer who opens the floor up with his shooting in Bane is going to make a large difference. We're basically hoping for the same out of Quick and BI, remember. Meantime, again, if their guys are healthy, it's going to be a lot better for them than they were this past season. That's somewhat inescapable.

Two of Banchero, Wagner and Suggs need to become efficient 3pt shooters to open up their offence more. If they don’t, defences will just stick to Bane and make him a less efficient shooter. While they brought in Bane, it also cost them 2 of their more consistent 3pt shooters in Anthony & KCP.

For the Raps, they already have 4 shooters in BI, IQ, Agbaji and Dick, plus they are hoping RJ and JKW can be more efficient shooters.

Over the last 12 seasons, Orlando has only been above .500 twice (2018-19 they were 42-40 and in 2023-24 they were 47-32). I just don’t believe they are a lock for the 3rd seed, and are set up to be one of the more disappointing teams this season, just because of those expectations.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Wagner's probably a better scorer than BI at this point. More durable also. They'd have to implode for us to catch them.