Could We Have Seen This Coming?

[EAS Law]

I don't think so. This level of shooting is very unexpected, who knew AG could make this sort of leap. He went from brick city to nearly automatic.

Gordon did. Remember all the folks that laughed at him when he said he planned to compete in the 3-point contest at some point?

Are there many examples of guys going from a supposed crap 3pt. Shooter to competing in the 3 pt. Competition?

I’d be pretty happy for AG just to make it there eventually.

[TreasureCoast]

I don't think so. This level of shooting is very unexpected, who knew AG could make this sort of leap. He went from brick city to nearly automatic.

Gordon did. Remember all the folks that laughed at him when he said he planned to compete in the 3-point contest at some point?

Are there many examples of guys going from a supposed crap 3pt. Shooter to competing in the 3 pt. Competition?

I’d be pretty happy for AG just to make it there eventually.

Lebron during Miami years??

[NBAchamps2017]

BIG difference must be the maturity in the locker room. With playoff tested players like Simmons, Mack and Speights (even 'game face' Afflalo) coming on board; it spells accountability. Gordon is in 'pay me now double' mode, all these mix together resulting in a exciting concoction. Now keep the 3ball rolling, keep finding the open man, let Speights have his way; wing defense of Ross and Isaac's interior shot blocking then we're good. CONSISTENCY.

We finally have an 'Alpha'.

[tiderulz]

BIG difference must be the maturity in the locker room. With playoff tested players like Simmons, Mack and Speights (even 'game face' Afflalo) coming on board; it spells accountability. Gordon is in 'pay me now double' mode, all these mix together resulting in a exciting concoction. Now keep the 3ball rolling, keep finding the open man, let Speights have his way; wing defense of Ross and Isaac's interior shot blocking then we're good. CONSISTENCY.

We finally have an 'Alpha'.

who is the "Alpha"?

[NBAchamps2017]

BIG difference must be the maturity in the locker room. With playoff tested players like Simmons, Mack and Speights (even 'game face' Afflalo) coming on board; it spells accountability. Gordon is in 'pay me now double' mode, all these mix together resulting in a exciting concoction. Now keep the 3ball rolling, keep finding the open man, let Speights have his way; wing defense of Ross and Isaac's interior shot blocking then we're good. CONSISTENCY.

We finally have an 'Alpha'.

who is the "Alpha"?

Jonathon Simmons.

He was 'Mic' few games ago, and he was extremely vocal (considering he just arrive. like a new kid on the block). Encouraging, correcting, interacting and like bringing guys together in a huddle. Its been a while a Magic player did that.

[Optimus_Steel]

Our progression and structure reminds me of the raptors a bit.

They won 34 games when they traded Rudy Gay mid season and won 48 games the next year. Been a top team in the east ever since. Reminds me of the Ibaka trade.

Or Boston when they acquired Thomas, suddenly they became a top east team. Charlotte that one year won like 48 games out of nowhere, Atlanta won 60 games out of nowhere, they had a good team but come on noone precited anything close to 60 wins. It does happen and you know what its our turn now.

[dsg2021]

No offense to the pesimistic posters, but I saw this coming. And what I mean here mainly is the EF/NV/AG trio more than anything else.

I didn’t post much about Vooch extending to the 3 but I saw it coming and And1’d the more consistent posters who mentioned it. He was always just way too skilled and too much of a cerebral player to ever give up on. Excellent passing, the shrinking game positionally helping, and a smart sharp shooting offense.

Always loved the EF and Vooch game too, individually and together. It has its growing pains and its not amazing, but its really, really great. (And amazing so far this season).

Always loved watching about 10 random college games of Aaron, as a complete non-NCAA fan. The kid had D and a relentless will. Constantly improving and flashing the extreme range of his skills. Patience is a virtue.

There’s just not enough patience and maturity in here sometimes, mainly with the players you trust the most. Those were those mentioned three for me. I had to post for positivity on AG and Fournier the most the past couple seasons which is a real shame. Surprisingly, more for AG than EF. And it’s something I respect out of the Mario fans. If you go with the waves always, you’ll never see something great coming. And it’s really all like this kind of blend of fundamental basketball scouting and thinking with your own natural instinct. Things any single team fan would notice over time, if they stuck with the team and saw many of its games. I don’t know, maybe I rewind 20 seconds on way too many defensive and offensive possessions to get the insights I do, but I don’t think I know anything more than most fans in truth.

You want to know something crazy too? The moment I realized that Fournier and Vooch would be phenomenal players was an ORL-DET game 2-3 seasons ago. Honestly, it might have been 4 seasons ago. But those two, and a lot of those Magic players really, really played with A LOT of passing and good shooting. And with many smart drives and penetrations too. That game was always the template for me in this era of Magic, and always what cemented Fournier and Vooch as big pieces to me. Sure, you can go with the template of the GSW offense or the template of some starry team featuring LeBron or Kobe, but I was always hooked on a Spurs-like template. Better passing, period.

Feel free to watch that ORL-DET game. I will pinpoint which exact season and game if someone wants to know. Peace out and Go Magic!


Right now, I’m only worried that the shooting might crash for a stretch or two, but they need to keep everything else up!! The passing, the drives, the defense, and most of all, the intensity!!

Edit:
http://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=400578442
http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400578442

Stan Van Gundy got to watch his kind of basketball Monday night.

Unfortunately for him it was his old team playing that style not his new one.

Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 14 rebounds and the Orlando Magic hit 13 3-pointers in a 107-93 victory over the Detroit Pistons Monday night.

"That's the way we've got to play," Vucevic said. "We shared the ball, we moved it well and we were aggressive all the way around. No one cares who is scoring on this team, as long as we are making the right plays."

It was the first time Van Gundy had coached against the Magic since they fired him in 2012.

"They shot the ball well, and we didn't defend," Van Gundy said. "They played a nice game, but we never did anything to impact their offense."

Van Gundy's trademark has been to put shooters around a dominant inside player, and that's how Orlando played at the Palace. Vucevic was the only Magic player with more than five rebounds, but the other four starters combined to go 11 for 19 from the 3-point line.

"That's how we want to play every game," Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn said. "That's team basketball."

- Fournier leads the playmaking with 8 assists and 3-6 3PT.
- Vooch goes 25, 14, and 3 assists.
- Team goes 33 assists and 13-26 3PT.

- The 2017-2018 iteration of the Magic have a 18.3 Assist Ratio. Assist Ratio is the percentage of a team's possessions that ends in an assist. The Magic are in the top 3 of the league in this statistic.

[BlueBalls]

So now we’re tanking and no, didn’t see this coming either.

[pepe1991]

I'm torn between putting Simmons in SL or letting him be one of best 6th men out there. Guy is pure energy and brings a lot of "balls" to a team. I knew he is good player but i didn't think he will bring so much competitve spirit

[Optimus_Steel]

After this great start if we dont get out PG situation straighten out we are going to flame out quickly, we are already seeing signs of last year and frustration. BTW how is Ross shooting so badly? He is getting nothing but open looks and he is bricking them badly. WTF happened?

[OrlChamps2030]

I'm torn between putting Simmons in SL or letting him be one of best 6th men out there. Guy is pure energy and brings a lot of "balls" to a team. I knew he is good player but i didn't think he will bring so much competitve spirit

I think we need Simmons off the bench, he’s the only bench guy we have who can break a defense down off the dribble

But if Ross continues to be this bad we may not have a choice

[MagicMadness]

I'm torn between putting Simmons in SL or letting him be one of best 6th men out there. Guy is pure energy and brings a lot of "balls" to a team. I knew he is good player but i didn't think he will bring so much competitve spirit

Right now I'd prefer him coming off the bench. I'd also like to see us upgrade from T. Ross later in the season via trade.

The fact that we're 6-4 with 2nd/3rd string PGs and a terribly inefficient T. Ross speaks volumes for how good this team could eventually be.

[drsd]

I want a healthy Payton !!!!


..

[Jiwol]

I'm torn between putting Simmons in SL or letting him be one of best 6th men out there. Guy is pure energy and brings a lot of "balls" to a team. I knew he is good player but i didn't think he will bring so much competitve spirit

Right now I'd prefer him coming off the bench. I'd also like to see us upgrade from T. Ross later in the season via trade.

The fact that we're 6-4 with 2nd/3rd string PGs and a terribly inefficient T. Ross speaks volumes for how good this team could eventually be.

Yes, but on the other hand we have AG and Evan playing on ridiculous percentages. Ross will get better and those two won't be able to maintain such high FG and 3PT %.