Official Speculation Thread '19-'20 V: Purgatory

[SOUL]

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[drsd]

Lockdown? you telling me they can't find a place (quietly) where this professional athlete can get some shots up? I wonder if ORL is limited in what they can provide him due to contract status. Could be some absurd liability issue too. I fantasize that they are secretly building a basketball monster 12 hours a day in a secret rehab/hoop lab.

Vučević used his neighbours rim.



LINK

And this:

Three days into quarantine, Markelle Fultz pulled into an Orlando-area Walmart to get a basketball hoop.

“Just cause I was in a crazy rhythm at the end of the season,” Fultz said on Monday during a ZOOM conference with members of the media. “My biggest thing was I didn’t want to lose that rhythm.”

Too nervous to enter a store during the COVID-19 pandemic, he ordered the hoop online and picked it up. Then came the difficult part: assembling it.

“I never knew how hard it was to put a basketball hoop together,” he said. “But I figured it out.”

Once he did, he said he felt like a kid again.

OPP link



But back to your point. I cannot understand how Orlando is allowed to buy gym equipment for a player (Okeke) not on their roster. This must have actually been directed through Lakeland, somehow.


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[drsd]

Could we add Joe Johnson? After watching him play on (Overseas elite) in The basketball tournament, he's still an NBA talented player. When he was in the NBA, I thought he was mostly just a scorer. Not really a winning player, did he help in a playoff win? That being said, I think he's a top 100 player in the NBA right now and if he landed on the Magic, He might be the best player on the team.

Sideline Cancer, the 22-seed and the Jimmy-V charity made the finals. Beating Overseas Elite (the roster Johnson is on), is one of the greatest upsets in basketball history. And I mean that!
For a Jimmy-V team to have a massive upset game is inspiring, to say the least.






{{ the biggest upset in history must be in Jan. 5, 1971, in Martin, Tennessee. Red Klotz drilled a jumper for the Generals to beat the Globetrotters; taking the team to something like 3 wins and 17,000 loses, at the time }}

The Washington Generals, the worst sports team of all time LINK
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[Magic_Johnny12]

I really wouldn't mind ISO Joe on this team, all things considered he may actually be a better fit than Ennis. A little older and may be a little slower so him starting may be a bit far-fetched, but I like what he can provide off the bench for a team deprived of scoring.

[drsd]

I really wouldn't mind ISO Joe on this team, all things considered he may actually be a better fit than Ennis. A little older and may be a little slower so him starting may be a bit far-fetched, but I like what he can provide off the bench for a team deprived of scoring.

If Ross is traded, Johnson on vet LLE deal could be a nice replacement!


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[Skybox]

How old is Johnson now? I'd rather take Iverson

[MagicFan101]

I really wouldn't mind ISO Joe on this team, all things considered he may actually be a better fit than Ennis. A little older and may be a little slower so him starting may be a bit far-fetched, but I like what he can provide off the bench for a team deprived of scoring.

Fine. I don’t mind this post.

Calling Joe Johnson better than James Ennis, eh why not?

Calling Joe Johnson the best player on this team today ... wtf man!?

lol. That was hilarious.

[Magic_Johnny12]

I really wouldn't mind ISO Joe on this team, all things considered he may actually be a better fit than Ennis. A little older and may be a little slower so him starting may be a bit far-fetched, but I like what he can provide off the bench for a team deprived of scoring.

Fine. I don’t mind this post.

Calling Joe Johnson better than James Ennis, eh why not?

Calling Joe Johnson the best player on this team today ... wtf man!?

lol. That was hilarious.

Where the fawk did you read that

[Knightro]

Read on Twitter

[nymets1]

Oh hold up, Jamel Artis who was just playing for Sideline Cancer in The basketball tournament, He was on the Orlando Magic during the 2017-2018 season.

[MagicFan101]

I really wouldn't mind ISO Joe on this team, all things considered he may actually be a better fit than Ennis. A little older and may be a little slower so him starting may be a bit far-fetched, but I like what he can provide off the bench for a team deprived of scoring.

Fine. I don’t mind this post.

Calling Joe Johnson better than James Ennis, eh why not?

Calling Joe Johnson the best player on this team today ... wtf man!?

lol. That was hilarious.

Where the fawk did you read that

Check out nymets’ post. lol

[pepe1991]

so allegedly, teams and players are snitching on each other about protocol violations on campus.
This will be hilarious.
Imagine being in middle of nba finals and stars test positive...

[Ducklett]

so allegedly, teams and players are snitching on each other about protocol violations on campus.
This will be hilarious.
Imagine being in middle of nba finals and stars test positive...

Just shut it down at this point.

[NotACat]

I finally got around to writing up a season recap of the Orlando Magic, you can check it out here: https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2020/7/15/21325517/orlando-magic-season-recap-so-far

I also put in spoilers here if you don't want to open another link, let me know what you think:

Spoiler:

The Orlando Magic (30-35) have had a good season marred by injuries. Just when it seemed like the Magic gained their footing, someone went down with an injury causing yet another lineup shift. Despite the hardship, the Magic find themselves going into the bubble gunning for the 7 seed with Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets testing positive for COVID-19 and having to sit out of the restart. How did the Magic find themselves in this position? What can fans look forward to in the restart? Let’s find out.

The Magic had a rough start to the season, going 7-11 through November, a 32-win pace. A critical factor in the early woes was the play of the bench unit which was ranked 5th worst in the league through end of November. Terrance Ross was deservedly taking some heat to start the season: he shot less than 20% from 3-point range and less than 30% from the field in his first 7 games. There were shifts in the bench unit with Markelle Fultz being promoted to the starting line-up, but neither of those two factors was as detrimental than Al-Farouq Aminu.

Aminu, who signed with a 3-year, $29M contract in July, was brought in to provide depth at the forward position and so that Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac in tandem without having to stagger their minutes. Aminu played a total of 18 games before suffering a torn meniscus on November 29th against the Raptors. After Aminu’s injury, which will likely keep him from playing in the restart, the Orlando Magic bench unit has ranked as the 9th best in the league by net rating and helped the Magic finish the season 23-24, on-pace for 40-wins.

Wes Iwundu and Michael Carter-Williams have been huge for the second unit and have really stepped up. When Iwundu and MCW play together, Orlando has +6.29 net rating! It will be fun to see them matchup against the playoff teams in the bubble and if they can keep up their play.

Coach Clifford deserves a ton of respect from fans for his ability to keep the Magic in a position to win as they continuously lost players to injuries throughout the seasons, forcing the team to constantly adjust who was available to suit up that night. Other than Jonathan Isaac who played a total of 32 games, no other missed more than 11 games, but it was rare for those injuries to overlap. Coach Clifford has already deployed 286 different lineups so far, nearly 80 more than all of last season.

Speaking of the starters, they have played as well as one could expect. While he did not get an all-star bid this year, Nikola Vucevic has kept up his great play and has continued to be an offensive weapon for the Magic. Evan Fournier has had an exceptional bounce-back year and he’s shooting over 40% on 3-pointers at nearly 7 attempts a game! Evan’s 18ppg and his floor spacing threat has also helped Fultz find his stride. His numbers aren’t mightily impressive, only averaging 12/3/5, but he’s been great at making Orlando’s offense work. When receiving a pass from Fultz, all the starters (excluding Jonathan Isaac due to sample size), have shot much better from deep:

3pt % when receiving a pass from Fultz

Evan Fournier
40.6 -> 42.5
+1.9%

Aaron Gordon
30.1 -> 42.3
+12.2

Nikola Vucevic
32.9 -> 34.2
+1.3

These numbers are a great sign for the team and the change in Aaron Gordon’s shooting is remarkable. Its clear that Fultz has been able to break down defenses and set up his teammates for great shots. Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon have been taking some ball handling duties away from Fultz, it will be interesting to see how Coach Clifford balances facilitator duties in the restart.

Before going down for the season after a knee-collision against the Wizards, Jonathan Isaac was playing remarkably well. His defense was elite on and off the ball – even getting national praise and developing a case for Defensive Player of the Year. His offense had made significant strides and was much more comfortable dribbling the ball, attacking the basket, and shooting off the dribble. One of the more underrated developments was his ability to score in the post against smaller players. I was very happy to see this because Toronto was able to defend Isaac with the 6’0 Kyle Lowry which led to matchup advantages for Toronto since Isaac couldn’t take advantage.

That leaves Aaron Gordon, the most contentious piece of the Orlando Magic roster. Aaron is doing his best to fill multiple roles for Orlando, at times asked to lead the offense which he simply isn’t equipped to do. He is still a good defender, but his long-term fit next to Jonathan Isaac is in question due to his inconsistent shooting. The Magic do as well as Aaron shoots:

3pt % in losses: 25.9

3pt % in wins: 34.5

Aaron Gordon will only fit on this team if his role is changed. He is shooting a paltry 28.4% on pull-up 3s, but a passable 32% on catch-and-shoot 3s. Even if gives up some of his ball handling duties and is relegated more to catch-and-shoot scenarios, it’s a tough sell to put him next to Isaac and Fultz who both also need to develop their shooting. With so many teams desiring a versatile defender like him, it will be interesting to see how the Magic front-office sees his fit here.

The most promising stat is from earlier, Aaron Gordon has shot 42% from 3pt-range when receiving a pass from Markelle Fultz. That’s not sustainable, but even if it averages out to 35%, that’s more than good enough to buy into the tandem of Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon. At the very least, it boosts Aaron Gordon’s trade value if the Magic brass truly believe in Chuma Okeke who has yet to suit up or officially start his rookie contract.

Coach Clifford had the team playing their best basketball before the league shut down, lets hope they keep up what was going well and make some noise in the playoffs.

[j-ragg]

so allegedly, teams and players are snitching on each other about protocol violations on campus.
This will be hilarious.
Imagine being in middle of nba finals and stars test positive...

Just shut it down at this point.

Because they gave out a few warnings? lol this has been a massive success so far I hope it keeps up.

[Statlanta]

Our players have the biggest advantage in this environment, particularly when it comes to weather and the connections of the people here(who to bring in the bubble).

We need as many of our young players to play in these playoffs as possible, in order to escape purgatory.

One of the biggest reasons Kobe was so good was because he played championship level teams at a young age('97 Jazz, '98 Jazz, '99 Spurs, 00 Blazers/Pacers)

It's probably why JI is a pseudo-DPOY candidate. Because of the zenkai boost from playing the NBA champions.

[Bakomagic]

so allegedly, teams and players are snitching on each other about protocol violations on campus.
This will be hilarious.
Imagine being in middle of nba finals and stars test positive...

Just shut it down at this point.

Because they gave out a few warnings? lol this has been a massive success so far I hope it keeps up.

I heard an unknown player on an unknown team missed a jump shot in practice!

"Just shut it down at this point"

haha all jokes aside it has gone pretty well at this point, once the games start maybe people will be more content with staying home to watch? I know I will.

Maybe the NBA restart helps spreading more than it hurts ?

[Skybox]

They should snitch...a couple of idiots is all it takes to throw this whole thing into a historical mess. The NBA is really trying to do something great in a very tough situation but it's obviously a fragile bubble. Anybody that violates the guidelines should really be fined back to the Stone Age. One little slip is all it will take to ruin a good thing. Simple math.

[Village Idiot]

I finally got around to writing up a season recap of the Orlando Magic, you can check it out here: https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2020/7/15/21325517/orlando-magic-season-recap-so-far
When receiving a pass from Fultz, all the starters (excluding Jonathan Isaac due to sample size), have shot much better from deep:

3pt % when receiving a pass from Fultz

Aaron Gordon
30.1 -> 42.3
+12.2


These numbers are a great sign for the team and the change in Aaron Gordon’s shooting is remarkable. Its clear that Fultz has been able to break down defenses and set up his teammates for great shots. Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon have been taking some ball handling duties away from Fultz, it will be interesting to see how Coach Clifford balances facilitator duties in the restart.

Great write-up. Fultz was more effective than my infrequent observations lead me to believe.

As a Blazer fan with a strong interest in Gordon those percentages are encouraging considering the looks he'd receive from Lillard (and McCollum depending on the specific deal). They also show that letting Gordon handle the ball so much for the Magic is detrimental. BTW, where did you get those passing -> percentage statistics?

[Knightro]

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