Regular Season Game 51: Oklahoma City Thunder (31-18) at Orlando Magic (20-30) - 7:00 PM ET

[paperboymafia]

i just want it all to blow up so that we have some different names to complain about in a few years

[MaxFischer]

So what did I miss? Looking at Isaac's and Bamba's box scores, it appears they did pretty well. But from the comments you would think they were awful.

Isaac was one of 2 starters to finish with a positive +/- (+5). 11pts, 8rebs, 2 stls, 1 blk . 50% FG, 33% from 3

Bamba finished -16, but was 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from 3. 6rebs

The worst thing that happened to these two was getting drafted at 6. They are projects. Probably will never be anything more than solid contributors to a team, either starting or off bench. That's who they are.

Seems like the anger and frustration should be placed more on the FO. These two were not picked as offensive saviors, yet the board goes crazy when they don't score. Were they wasted picks? Maybe, time will tell. I still think they can provide value to the team in a specific role. They could also be traded for better pieces.

I think people need to chill with the game to game analysis. There will be ups and downs. That's life.

[NotACat]

He will also never be defensive star either...

This is just a stupid comment. He's already a top 10 defender at the forward spot

I don't see it at all. He's a good defender but nowhere near Top 10 defender among forwards. Draymond, Kawhi, PG13, Covington, Giannis, Millsap, PJ Tucker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jimmy Butler, Siakam, Aminu, Justise Winslow are all clearly better off the top of my head.

I think Gordon is better than the ones I bolded.

[OrlandO]

C’mon... every practice shot needs to be a 3?

BTW, where is the worse half of buddy ball? I defended his awful shooting through November saying that it was just a slump...

Let’s not criticize the guy that’s actually putting in work for not practicing exactly how you think he should when there are other players that should be out there with him.

You think he was out there for long after a game? This was more a PR stunt than practice. Look who recorded the video right on the court so soon after the game. That's fine, I don't mind AG sending a message to fans that he knows he sucked tonight and is working hard to be better. That's why I said it was nice. But fadeaways is the wrong message. That's the last thing we need from him.

Who cares about Fournier? Sure I'd like for him to be playing better instead of having this weird year, but our rebuild never hinged on Evan freaking Fournier developing into a star and at this point he's viewed as a placeholder until we can find a replacement. Plus, if you haven't noticed his role has been decreasing for a while and he's now at fourth in attempts and usage over the past month. Gordon on the other hand... we used a 4th pick on him, he's in his 5th year now as our highest paid player on a new contract, he wants to be the man, fans already act like he's the man... and yet the bar is set so low as if we have unlimited time for him to develop into a consistent player. We don't.

You may be right, but you really don't know for sure. And I'm certain if it were Vuc you'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I've seen enough players do it to feel this way. I wasn't going to say anything about the pageantry of it because as I implied that part doesn't bother me, but thelead kept pushing... and now you're getting defensive over it instead of trying to understand what I'm actually concerned about. I don't care about benefit of the doubt... I care about AG becoming consistent. Period.

[fendilim]

C’mon... every practice shot needs to be a 3?

BTW, where is the worse half of buddy ball? I defended his awful shooting through November saying that it was just a slump...

Let’s not criticize the guy that’s actually putting in work for not practicing exactly how you think he should when there are other players that should be out there with him.

You think he was out there for long after a game? This was more a PR stunt than practice. Look who recorded the video right on the court so soon after the game. That's fine, I don't mind AG sending a message to fans that he knows he sucked tonight and is working hard to be better. That's why I said it was nice. But fadeaways is the wrong message. That's the last thing we need from him.

Who cares about Fournier? Sure I'd like for him to be playing better instead of having this weird year, but our rebuild never hinged on Evan freaking Fournier developing into a star and at this point he's viewed as a placeholder until we can find a replacement. Plus, if you haven't noticed his role has been decreasing for a while and he's now at fourth in attempts and usage over the past month. Gordon on the other hand... we used a 4th pick on him, he's in his 5th year now as our highest paid player on a new contract, he wants to be the man, fans already act like he's the man... and yet the bar is set so low as if we have unlimited time for him to develop into a consistent player. We don't.

Relax. You’re really missing how significant the growth curve has been for him. Through college he was used as a PF and even C. All they used him for was defense and hustle points. In his first two seasons he was given the same level of responsibility. Over the past 3 seasons he’s added a 3pt shot, handles, and a passing game. He’s 23, and sure he’s slow to develop compared to the present elite, but let’s wait until he is in his proper prime before getting pissy with him.

People must forget how bad Oladipo’s playmaking looked at age 23. He struggled to finish at the rim and often settled for a pull up two from 10-15ft out. AG is in a similar position now where he gets shy and either settles or looks for a bail out pass. He may get to another level, he may not, but it’s not worth crucifying him over at 23. If you expected him to be a star this season then you set your own expectations too high.

It took Vuc until he was 28 to finally put together a competent season. Gordon might take that long too. But he’s the most promising young piece we’ve got right now so it’s more valuable to appreciate his improvements than to pine over his shortcomings.

oh my lawd...

Theres no way you can compare Dipo at 23 and Gordon’s 23. Dipo, as a rookie, was already a better shot creator than Gordon as a 5-yr veteran.

Dipo has, from the very start, shown his ability to create off the dribble as a rookie.

Gordon has been been the same Aaron Gordon since his rookie days in Arizona, except he’s shooting better and has become more mature on his shot selection.

[fendilim]

This is just a stupid comment. He's already a top 10 defender at the forward spot

I don't see it at all. He's a good defender but nowhere near Top 10 defender among forwards. Draymond, Kawhi, PG13, Covington, Giannis, Millsap, PJ Tucker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Jimmy Butler, Siakam, Aminu, Justise Winslow are all clearly better off the top of my head.

I think Gordon is better than the ones I bolded.

[PrimeThyme]

Just think about this for a second, we have lost 20 of the last 26 games. I saw on Reddit that since Vuc and Evan came out and said that every game the rest of the way for us is a game 7 we are 1-7 (if that dosent sum up the Vuc/Evan era I don’t know what does).

I came into the season very skeptical about Clifford as a coach for us, but tbh, he has gotten guys to play hard this year and has elevated the play of most of the players on this roster with his coaching. He’s nowhere near perfect but he has exceeded my expectations for the most part.

WeHam dosent get a pass from me tho. We knew the day Rob was fired that this collection of players isnt good enough to win anything. Despite WeHam trying to convince us that injuries is what held this roster back last year, we knew that the real problem is we just aren’t good enough.

You have to break this veteran group up imo. Whether that be Vuc, Evan, or AG you have to cash in on atleast one of them (I would take pennies on the dollar to get rid of Fourniers contract while AG would have to be in a trade for someone like McCollum) and try a different formula. This group isn’t good enough to win together and they aren’t bad enough to justify us keeping them together and drafting outside of the top 5 every year.

Time for WeHam to stop sitting on their hands for the first time since they picked up a pen to sign their contracts and make some moves at the deadline.

[fendilim]

Just think about this for a second, we have lost 20 of the last 26 games. I saw on Reddit that since Vuc and Evan came out and said that every game the rest of the way for us is a game 7 we are 1-7 (if that dosent sum up the Vuc/Evan era I don’t know what does).

I came into the season very skeptical about Clifford as a coach for us, but tbh, he has gotten guys to play hard this year and has elevated the play of most of the players on this roster with his coaching. He’s nowhere near perfect but he has exceeded my expectations for the most part.

WeHam dosent get a pass from me tho. We knew the day Rob was fired that this collection of players isnt good enough to win anything. Despite WeHam trying to convince us that injuries is what held this roster back last year, we knew that the real problem is we just aren’t good enough.

You have to break this veteran group up imo. Whether that be Vuc, Evan, or AG you have to cash in on atleast one of them (I would take pennies on the dollar to get rid of Fourniers contract while AG would have to be in a trade for someone like McCollum) and try a different formula. This group isn’t good enough to win together and they aren’t bad enough to justify us keeping them together and drafting outside of the top 5 every year.

Time for WeHam to stop sitting on their hands for the first time since they picked up a pen to sign their contracts and make some moves at the deadline.

“We’re not going to do it fast, we’re going to do it right” -Weltman

The problem with the current built of this team is no one else is capable of creating their own shots after Vuc and Fournier. Well, maybe DJ. Thats why we keep going back to them ever since we traded Tobias and Oladipo.

None of our other players have been capable of creating for their own and even in small sample size, the percentages have been really bad.

Clifford has done a really good job putting our players in a position to succeed, imo. And has generated wins more than what we, as a fan, want.

[Nemesis21]

Just think about this for a second, we have lost 20 of the last 26 games. I saw on Reddit that since Vuc and Evan came out and said that every game the rest of the way for us is a game 7 we are 1-7 (if that dosent sum up the Vuc/Evan era I don’t know what does).

I came into the season very skeptical about Clifford as a coach for us, but tbh, he has gotten guys to play hard this year and has elevated the play of most of the players on this roster with his coaching. He’s nowhere near perfect but he has exceeded my expectations for the most part.

WeHam dosent get a pass from me tho. We knew the day Rob was fired that this collection of players isnt good enough to win anything. Despite WeHam trying to convince us that injuries is what held this roster back last year, we knew that the real problem is we just aren’t good enough.

You have to break this veteran group up imo. Whether that be Vuc, Evan, or AG you have to cash in on atleast one of them (I would take pennies on the dollar to get rid of Fourniers contract while AG would have to be in a trade for someone like McCollum) and try a different formula. This group isn’t good enough to win together and they aren’t bad enough to justify us keeping them together and drafting outside of the top 5 every year.

Time for WeHam to stop sitting on their hands for the first time since they picked up a pen to sign their contracts and make some moves at the deadline.

You are 1000% right. Blow this mofo up. Vuc and Evan definitely have to go. I would also explore Gordon trades. Just like last season and the season before, this season was over before it started. If the Magic go into next season with 75% of this current roster still intact, WeHam must go.