Mo Bamba & Expectations for Season 2

[p0peye]

I've dropped expectations dramatically for Bamba. I'm happy with him as a complement to Vuc, meaning coming off the bench and providing a defensive presence. With Vuc taking his man out of the paint often, I'd like Bamba primarily as a rim protector as a contrast. Its okay if he occasionally tried a three, when its in rhythm and makes sense in the offense, but I don't want him to force the issue. I just want to see him stay healthy for a year now rather than make any huge projections for him, and especially considering our investment in Vuc. Bamba's stock has fallen quite a bit, and so too has expectations.

Indeed. Friend of mine is a scout for one NBA franchise and occasionally I get a chance to pick his brain. Although he was quite high on Bamba last summer, he's not so much of a fan right now. Nothing regarding to minutes, but him and some of his colleagues are placing question mark on intangibles first and foremost.

[Blue_and_Whte]

6 points per game
-17 net rating
33% from all shots outside 3 feet
58,7% FTs

This is prime example why every data needs contexts

Most while playing against backups

Got it.... he wasn't great last year.... shoot maybe not even good. But noone should have expected him to light this league on fire.... and if you did.... you were delusional. His physical limitation should have been expected at 220lb... let's see how he does after a disappointing year before painting the rest of his picture. Him and Isaac will be taking huge steps forward this year and i'm excited to watch it.

nobody expected him to light the league on fire. What people realistically expected was a guy with “the longest wing span in combine history” (at the time), faster sprint than Westbrook, the next center in line to be “better than Vooch”, to at least be competent at something. To show us something other than a poor mans Channing Frye. That’s not an unfair expectation. Hopefully it’s a different story moving forward.

[pepe1991]

Most while playing against backups

Got it.... he wasn't great last year.... shoot maybe not even good. But noone should have expected him to light this league on fire.... and if you did.... you were delusional. His physical limitation should have been expected at 220lb... let's see how he does after a disappointing year before painting the rest of his picture. Him and Isaac will be taking huge steps forward this year and i'm excited to watch it.

nobody expected him to light the league on fire. What people realistically expected was a guy with “the longest wing span in combine history” (at the time), faster sprint than Westbrook, the next center in line to be “better than Vooch”, to at least be competent at something. To show us something other than a poor mans Channing Frye. That’s not an unfair expectation. Hopefully it’s a different story moving forward.

If you go on his thread before start of last season, lot of fans ( at least ones who posted there ) thought that objective expetations for him is to replace Vučević in starting lineup around allstar break ,with Vuc being either benched or traded.

[Furinkazan]

this thread is becomng a Bamba hate fest

Im simply expecting him to slowly and steadily improve and develop.

[JBSouthpaw]

Bamba playing well, also gives us one of the best trade chips come the trade deadline.
Birch on a very good contract. 3M for 2 years could pull a great pick.

[ezzzp]

Indeed. Friend of mine is a scout for one NBA franchise and occasionally I get a chance to pick his brain. Although he was quite high on Bamba last summer, he's not so much of a fan right now. Nothing regarding to minutes, but him and some of his colleagues are placing question mark on intangibles first and foremost.

hey man, could you elaborate a little on what your friend and his colleagues meant by "question mark on intangibles" ...are they talking about off court stuff/work ethic etc?

[pepe1991]

Every time you have C who takes 50% of all shots outside 10 feet, and shoots 28% from them, you have to question his BBIQ and effort.

[MagicFan101]

this thread is becomng a Bamba hate fest

Im simply expecting him to slowly and steadily improve and develop.

Correction:

This FANBASE is becoming a Bamba hate fest.

[basketballRob]

Bamba playing well, also gives us one of the best trade chips come the trade deadline.
Birch on a very good contract. 3M for 2 years could pull a great pick.

That's true, we could move Vucevic.

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[basketballRob]

this thread is becomng a Bamba hate fest

Im simply expecting him to slowly and steadily improve and develop.

Correction:

This FANBASE is becoming a Bamba hate fest.

I think the majority like him. If you make a poll, I would imagine most would trade Vucevic before Bamba.

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[Knightro]

Just my opinion, but posters pointing out how absolutely terrible Mo was last season (combined with the fact the Magic completely took off once he got hurt) doesn’t necessarily mean at all that said posters think he’s going to be bad forever or that he’s a bust or anything of the sort.

I know that’s not how I feel about him anyway.

He had a really bad rookie year, which is indisputable. But it certainly doesn’t mean he’s going to be that way forever.

[SOUL]

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[basketballRob]

Just my opinion, but posters pointing out how absolutely terrible Mo was last season (combined with the fact the Magic completely took off once he got hurt) doesn’t necessarily mean at all that said posters think he’s going to be bad forever or that he’s a bust or anything of the sort.

I know that’s not how I feel about him anyway.

He had a really bad rookie year, which is indisputable. But it certainly doesn’t mean he’s going to be that way forever.

It's disputable. If you look at basketball reference he was a plus offensive compared to defensive rating. His TS was better than Vuc in the majority of years that he played. Some just look for stats that support their argument.

You can find stats that say he was good too.

I personally prefer to use the stats from basketball reference that say he was pretty good last year

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[Knightro]

It's disputable. If you look at basketball reference he was a plus offensive compared to defensive rating. His TS was better than Vuc in the majority of years that he played. Some just look for stats that support their argument.

You can find stats that say he was good too.

I personally prefer to use the stats from basketball reference that say he was pretty good last year

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I mean look if you want to cite Bamba's raw stats (which aren't anything spectacular in their own right) and completely ignore his actual impact on the team's success, which was near bottom of the league bad, that's completely your prerogative.

[MagicStarwipe]

A rookie C that needs to be setup playing most of his minutes with Jerian Grant and Jonathon Simmons. What could possibly go wrong?

[ezzzp]

It's disputable. If you look at basketball reference he was a plus offensive compared to defensive rating. His TS was better than Vuc in the majority of years that he played. Some just look for stats that support their argument.

You can find stats that say he was good too.

I personally prefer to use the stats from basketball reference that say he was pretty good last year

Offensive rating is better the higher the number, defensive rating is better the lower the number. What do you mean by "he was a plus offensive compared to defensive?"

Also, NBA.com is the official stat site for the NBA. Their Offensive/Defensive Ratings are the correct data. The reason is because NBA.com has exact possession statistics based on the NBA's camera tracking technology. Basketball-Reference only approximates them - its why they have a disclaimer on each stat block about the accuracy of their stats in relation to the NBA's official stats.

In addition, to attain ORTG/DRTG, Basketball-References uses per100 possessions for the player; the NBA uses per100 possessions for the team when the player is on the court. The NBA formula is a way more accurate depiction of the player's impact for the team when he's on the court.

TS% doesn't mean anything without volume and role context. Bamba's volume, role and competition level were entirely different than Vucevic's. For example, Amile Jefferson had an elite .692 TS%, but of course we all know that his volume was low (16 FGA's) and that he only played vs garbage time squads. That high TS% doesn't mean that he's better than Vucevic. Same thing with Bamba, not only did he play vs bench units, but his volume is dramatically lower + his role in the offense was not as the primary option that defenses honed in on.

[ezzzp]

A rookie C that needs to be setup playing most of his minutes with Jerian Grant and Jonathon Simmons. What could possibly go wrong?

Bamba has tremendous upside and I feel he will be a very good player with time. But we also need to be realistic about his rookie season. While a lot of it can be attributed to playing with Simmons and Grant, he didn't exactly do well with DJ either, or in lineups with top starters:



That doesn't mean he won't improve...but he just was not good last season. Though he was starting to show signs of improvement right before his injury. I expect a much better player this season.

[thelead]

I would like to see him with a good starting caliber PG. Hint: not anyone he played with last year.

[pepe1991]

I would like to see him with a good starting caliber PG. Hint: not anyone he played with last year.

While DJ isn't great PG by any mean, he was pretty damn useful last year.
Also if player X needs others around him to be great to thrive, it's direct knock on his level of talent.

Evan, Vuc and Gordon never in their careers played with top 15 PG.

[Blue_and_Whte]

this thread is becomng a Bamba hate fest

Im simply expecting him to slowly and steadily improve and develop.

Accurately describing his rookie year=hate. Standard.
Everyone is expecting him to slowly and steadily develop. Pointing out How awful he was last season isn't hating. Its stating fact. Good thing we had an all star caliber center to carry us. Hopefully Mo pays attention and learns something.

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