Who should be the starting point guard?

[Skybox]

Other guys came back too. It wasn't just Fultz.

Gary Harris missed 27 of the first 33 games
Cole Anthony missed 17 of the first 21 games
Jalen Suggs missed 24 of the first 39 games
Wendell Carter missed 18 of 19 games in November and December

Even Paolo missed 7 straight games in November.

Fultz makes us better. No argument here.
Fultz is likely our best PG. Agreed.

But he's not good enough to take ORL to the next level. We're banging against a ceiling with such a limited guy in the most important position. Next big leap for this team comes from an upgrade at Lead Guard.

Regarding Suggs...he's a keeper, but I don't hear that many here are calling him our next PG...maybe, maybe not but he'll have a big role, regardless of title or whether he's starting.

It's not clear Fultz makes us better

I was trying to be nice

Compared to who? Honestly, of the three at hand, I'd give Cole another shot. Last year, he was a bit of a mess in that role, he's got a lot more help this year and he's got the tools to spread the floor and finish at the rim...let's see if he can become more of a leader...or, just wait until the summer and see what's available.

[basketballRob]

Suggs is 48th in overall Raptor now. Franz is 46th, and Cole is 86th.

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[fendilim]

If Fultz is the starting PG of this team, the make or break of this rebuild will be Fultz’ ability to become a respectable outside shooter.

[pepe1991]

I missed the story behind Xatticus. Why did he leave? He was such a quality poster!

i'm pretty sure that in his beef with ezzp there were strong rumors / kind a facts where it was exposed that he was editing his old posts to look better

and his departure was hilarious. He just joined OKC forum and started posting as OKC fan.

Bro, what... everyone here has made regrettable posts.

yea, it's part of being fan. Some things you get right, some you don't.

[drsd]

If Fultz is the starting PG of this team, the make or break of this rebuild will be Fultz’ ability to become a respectable outside shooter.

Fulytz breaking his toe made his training very difficult. A healthy off-season will tell us if there is an further growth in his game, or if this is just who Felt is.

Pre-season will tell us a huge amount about were Orlando is in a PG rotation.

[fendilim]

If Fultz is the starting PG of this team, the make or break of this rebuild will be Fultz’ ability to become a respectable outside shooter.

Fulytz breaking his toe made his training very difficult. A healthy off-season will tell us if there is an further growth in his game, or if this is just who Felt is.

Pre-season will tell us a huge amount about were Orlando is in a PG rotation.

Yep. His toe really affected his shot.

[pepe1991]

"non of them pass 2022-23" should be option, and voted 100%

[jonbob17]

MF the last 30 days:

16.5/4.7/5.9 with 1.4 steals on 52.5% FG% and 91% from the line. That's a pretty nice line. 0.5 threes per game is a problem.

If Fultz could play defense at a high level, i think that would help even more. i think he has a path to being a a good starting NBA player, but it's not a great fit with Magic as currently constructed.

The last game I watched, I was watching Fultz shoot FTs and they looked like his 3 point attempts, as in a push shot. They went in. I don't recall them looking this way early in the season. I do wonder if the shoulder is tired, but 91% from the line seems like something.

I guess the point is if he can get make his shot work however it is comfortable to him...so be it. Lonzo's shot looks horriffic, but it goes in. Jaren Jackson Jr. has a push shot and makes it work. Granted they aren't as short as MF

[jonbob17]

It's not clear Fultz makes us better

Is there a better lead ball handler currently on this team?

[basketballRob]

Another reason Suggs is open is that he can get past most two's and three's. Theoretically, if he shoots from 3 better, it'll open up drives to the basket.

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[jonbob17]

It's a reason why draftees don't want to come here. Bamba didn't want to come here because we had centers. As far as we know, Suggs didn't want to come here either because we had PGs. Even Greg Anthony called out the Magic for doing this.

This is not a thing

People keep trying to pencil him in as a SG when his best position and the one he wants to play is PG. One of the main reasons he went to Gonzaga was that they were willing to let him play PG. He has a 6'6" wingspan, and that's never going to be big enough to be a top tier SG.

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I am hopeful Suggs is the PG for the world champion Orlando Magic...BUT he has a long way to go. He has a lot of deficiencies as a PG. I am sure he wants to play PG. So did RJ Hampton. Every combo guard does. And the FO wants every combo guard to make it as a PG. Because combo guards are either a PG with nice size or an undersized 2 guard.

Suggs is going to be a player in this league for a long time, most likely a starter, and has real upside if he can get his offense together.

With that said, I do wish the FO would commit to giving Suggs more minutes as the lead guard, and putting him in positions he does not appear comfortable, like pick and roll (this last point probably goes for all Magic players). The only way Suggs will ever have a chance to get better as a lead guard is if he gets time to fail and learn at NBA game speed.

I feel like the former FO over committed to Oladipo as a PG, and we missed out on him becoming a good basketball player. I am sure all the PG reps helped him in the long run, but it's like they figured out he wasn't a PG so why bother. Still a hell of a SG (when he was healthy)

[basketballRob]

This is not a thing

People keep trying to pencil him in as a SG when his best position and the one he wants to play is PG. One of the main reasons he went to Gonzaga was that they were willing to let him play PG. He has a 6'6" wingspan, and that's never going to be big enough to be a top tier SG.

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I am hopeful Suggs is the PG for the world champion Orlando Magic...BUT he has a long way to go. He has a lot of deficiencies as a PG. I am sure he wants to play PG. So did RJ Hampton. Every combo guard does. And the FO wants every combo guard to make it as a PG. Because combo guards are either a PG with nice size or an undersized 2 guard.

Suggs is going to be a player in this league for a long time, most likely a starter, and has real upside if he can get his offense together.

With that said, I do wish the FO would commit to giving Suggs more minutes as the lead guard, and putting him in positions he does not appear comfortable, like pick and roll (this last point probably goes for all Magic players). The only way Suggs will ever have a chance to get better as a lead guard is if he gets time to fail and learn at NBA game speed.

He's light years ahead of RJ at PG. A lot of Suggs' problems could be cured with repetitions.

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[pepe1991]

Another reason Suggs is open is that he can get past most two's and three's. Theoretically, if he shoots from 3 better, it'll open up drives to the basket.

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He is open because he shoots 25% for 3 for career.

[pepe1991]

It's not clear Fultz makes us better

Is there a better lead ball handler currently on this team?

Does it matter ?

With near $40M to spend it's clear that Magic best investment , money vise, is in PG and SG spot ( and backup C ).

There are 14 meaningless games left to play, we can move on from this season. For what it's worth you might start Houstan at PG for rest of a year.

[jonbob17]

It's not clear Fultz makes us better

Is there a better lead ball handler currently on this team?

Does it matter ?

With near $40M to spend it's clear that Magic best investment , money vise, is in PG and SG spot ( and backup C ).

There are 14 meaningless games left to play, we can move on from this season. For what it's worth you might start Houstan at PG for rest of a year.

No it's just a matter of fact. He's currently the best PG on the team, suggesting otherwise is just a falsehood.

Yes I agree I hope we can do better than the current version of MF, and if we want to be a contender we will need to. There are a couple/few internal options, including MF himself (though I am not counting on it)

I don't really see a FA available this offseason that is going to be a remarkable improvement, unless we get in on Kyrie. I don't think FVV is available, and probably not Kyrie either.

The MF we have seen over the last month plus is a top 25ish PG in this league. If we can draft a higher upside PG or trade for one by all means lets explore it, but its going to be tough. Scoot is the only one in the draft imo. Maybe you could make an arguement for Amen, but i'm not making it.

Starting Houstan at PG is a waste of a valuable resource (minutes). Start Suggs. Cole still has a chance....so does Fultz, use those minutes to work on weaknesses, and let him (them all) fail, and figure out how to succeed.

[basketballRob]

Another reason Suggs is open is that he can get past most two's and three's. Theoretically, if he shoots from 3 better, it'll open up drives to the basket.

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He is open because he shoots 25% for 3 for career.

So are a lot of PGs after 100 games. My point is that he'll always be somewhat open because he can get by most two's and three's.

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[eyriq]

Fultz makes us better. No argument here.
Fultz is likely our best PG. Agreed.

But he's not good enough to take ORL to the next level. We're banging against a ceiling with such a limited guy in the most important position. Next big leap for this team comes from an upgrade at Lead Guard.

Regarding Suggs...he's a keeper, but I don't hear that many here are calling him our next PG...maybe, maybe not but he'll have a big role, regardless of title or whether he's starting.

It's not clear Fultz makes us better

I was trying to be nice

Compared to who? Honestly, of the three at hand, I'd give Cole another shot. Last year, he was a bit of a mess in that role, he's got a lot more help this year and he's got the tools to spread the floor and finish at the rim...let's see if he can become more of a leader...or, just wait until the summer and see what's available.

Haha I know! It still baffles me that his value isn't visible in on/off and lineup analysis. I can only chalk it up to him getting outplayed consistently by opposing team starting PGs. Just a tough position to play in today's game. He'd be dominant off the bench I think.

[Bergmaniac]

Haha I know! It still baffles me that his value isn't visible in on/off and lineup analysis. I can only chalk it up to him getting outplayed consistently by opposing team starting PGs.

It's largely because the lineups where he has played with Paolo while Franz has been on the bench are struggling on both ends. Half of these minutes have been with Fultz, Paolo and Cole playing together which had predictably led to bad results on the defensive end (125 DRTG). And in the minutes without Cole the offense has struggled mightily (107 ORTG) while the defense has been subpar (117 DRTG).

[eyriq]

Haha I know! It still baffles me that his value isn't visible in on/off and lineup analysis. I can only chalk it up to him getting outplayed consistently by opposing team starting PGs.

It's largely because the lineups where he has played with Paolo while Franz has been on the bench are struggling on both ends. Half of these minutes have been with Fultz, Paolo and Cole playing together which had predictably led to bad results on the defensive end (125 DRTG). And in the minutes without Cole the offense has struggled mightily (107 ORTG) while the defense has been subpar (117 DRTG).

Interesting, good call. How do you divvy out responsibility here?

[Bergmaniac]

Haha I know! It still baffles me that his value isn't visible in on/off and lineup analysis. I can only chalk it up to him getting outplayed consistently by opposing team starting PGs.

It's largely because the lineups where he has played with Paolo while Franz has been on the bench are struggling on both ends. Half of these minutes have been with Fultz, Paolo and Cole playing together which had predictably led to bad results on the defensive end (125 DRTG). And in the minutes without Cole the offense has struggled mightily (107 ORTG) while the defense has been subpar (117 DRTG).

Interesting, good call. How do you divvy out responsibility here?

The fit between Fultz and Paolo is not good (two poor shooters from 3 who are much more effective with the ball in their hands than off-ball) and this stands out more when they play without Franz who is excellent off-ball and our best player by some margin. And playing two PGs together and sometimes 3 guards lineup as we often do when Franz sits is also suboptimal, especially on D.