What can the Magic expect from Bamba, Fultz and Isaac in the weeks ahead? (Robbins)

[Knightro]

Read on Twitter

Nothing too earth shattering in this latest Robbins article.

-Bamba is on and will likely continue to be on a minutes restriction this season
-Clifford is non-committal about who his backup C will be when the games start to count, he hinted that both Bamba and Birch could end up sharing backup C minutes
-Fultz will likely play in Monday's scrimmage
-Isaac is "getting closer” to playing, but no timeline still
-Clifford says the entire team isn't where it needs to be conditioning wise, so he expects to widen his rotation from the normal 9-man rotation he would normally use

https://theathletic.com/1951943/2020/07/25/orlando-magic-x-factors/ ($)

[thelead]

We can expect them to be coddled while teams like Denver roll out Bol Bol and MPJ.

[Bakomagic]

I don’t see how Birch deserves minutes over Bamba ! I feel like Mo has easily showed to be more impactful this year and especially post All star break.

Am I just a Bamba homer ? I can see them needing to play more players due to the amount of games being played and the lack of cardio, but in that case I’d rather Coach alternate Dnp’s between Bamba and Birch so they can give Bamba a legit run every other game at least.

I don’t like giving them 6-8 minutes each every game. Hard for Mo to get into a rhythm that way imo.

[MagicStarwipe]

I don’t see how Birch deserves minutes over Bamba ! I feel like Mo has easily showed to be more impactful this year and especially post All star break.

Am I just a Bamba homer ? I can see them needing to play more players due to the amount of games being played and the lack of cardio, but in that case I’d rather Coach alternate Dnp’s between Bamba and Birch so they can give Bamba a legit run every other game at least.

I don’t like giving them 6-8 minutes each every game. Hard for Mo to get into a rhythm that way imo.

Birch hasn't been very good this year. Old school coaches always go with the vet though.

[KillMonger]

I don’t see how Birch deserves minutes over Bamba ! I feel like Mo has easily showed to be more impactful this year and especially post All star break.

Am I just a Bamba homer ? I can see them needing to play more players due to the amount of games being played and the lack of cardio, but in that case I’d rather Coach alternate Dnp’s between Bamba and Birch so they can give Bamba a legit run every other game at least.

I don’t like giving them 6-8 minutes each every game. Hard for Mo to get into a rhythm that way imo.

Birch hasn't been very good this year. Old school coaches always go with the vet though.

and in this case it's a shame because birch has been lackluster to say the least....there is no reason he should be taking minutes from bamba.....no rim protection....barely any rebounding.....net zero offensively....We spent a 6th on bamba but we're taking it so slow on him to the point where it could be another JI situation where his rookie deal is about to be up and we still haven't seen glimpses of the full potential on any consistent basis

[The Effect]

I don’t see how Birch deserves minutes over Bamba ! I feel like Mo has easily showed to be more impactful this year and especially post All star break.

Am I just a Bamba homer ? I can see them needing to play more players due to the amount of games being played and the lack of cardio, but in that case I’d rather Coach alternate Dnp’s between Bamba and Birch so they can give Bamba a legit run every other game at least.

I don’t like giving them 6-8 minutes each every game. Hard for Mo to get into a rhythm that way imo.

Birch hasn't been very good this year. Old school coaches always go with the vet though.

and in this case it's a shame because birch has been lackluster to say the least....there is no reason he should be taking minutes from bamba.....no rim protection....barely any rebounding.....net zero offensively....We spent a 6th on bamba but we're taking it so slow on him to the point where it could be another JI situation where his rookie deal is about to be up and we still haven't seen glimpses of the full potential on any consistent basis

Funny, just a year ago, Birch was considered one of the best interior defenders in the NBA
https://www.nba.com/magic/news/birch-has-evolved-one-nbas-best-interior-defenders-20190401

Birch, a second-year NBA center, has been one of the driving forces behind the Magic’s late-season surge. Since Feb. 2, when Birch took over the back-up center duties for an injured Mo Bamba, the 6-foot-9, 233-pounder ranks first in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed in the restricted area (47 percent) when he’s the closest defender (among players who have contested at least 60 shots), per Second Spectrum Sports. To put that lofty standing into perspective, he ranks ahead of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (49 percent), Most Improved Player candidate Montrezl Harrell (50 percent), MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo (50 percent), Detroit’s Thon Maker (50 percent) and elite Miami Heat shot blocker Hassan Whiteside (51.1 percent) from Feb. 2 to Monday. Birch posted those numbers over a 25-game stretch – one where the Magic have gone 17-8.

I mean id love for bamba to take over for birch and realisticall Vuc at some point, but hes done nothing to prove he can handle that. He hasnt shown hes above average on either end of the court, he doesnt hustle, hes never been in BBall shape, he doesnt really.........Do anything out of the ordinary.

Is he better than Birch? Debatable........But even that isnt saying much

Sure he was the #6 pick, but that wasnt based on any actual skill, he was drafted solely on defensive potential and wingspan, nothing else. And even before the draft, many complained about his laziness, offense and that he only plays big-play defense....all those are still true when he got to the NBA

[thelead]

Birch was a man on a mission last year. He got paid and stopped caring. It is not debatable that Bamba has been better this year.

[Bakomagic]

Birch hasn't been very good this year. Old school coaches always go with the vet though.

and in this case it's a shame because birch has been lackluster to say the least....there is no reason he should be taking minutes from bamba.....no rim protection....barely any rebounding.....net zero offensively....We spent a 6th on bamba but we're taking it so slow on him to the point where it could be another JI situation where his rookie deal is about to be up and we still haven't seen glimpses of the full potential on any consistent basis

Funny, just a year ago, Birch was considered one of the best interior defenders in the NBA
https://www.nba.com/magic/news/birch-has-evolved-one-nbas-best-interior-defenders-20190401

Birch, a second-year NBA center, has been one of the driving forces behind the Magic’s late-season surge. Since Feb. 2, when Birch took over the back-up center duties for an injured Mo Bamba, the 6-foot-9, 233-pounder ranks first in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed in the restricted area (47 percent) when he’s the closest defender (among players who have contested at least 60 shots), per Second Spectrum Sports. To put that lofty standing into perspective, he ranks ahead of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (49 percent), Most Improved Player candidate Montrezl Harrell (50 percent), MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo (50 percent), Detroit’s Thon Maker (50 percent) and elite Miami Heat shot blocker Hassan Whiteside (51.1 percent) from Feb. 2 to Monday. Birch posted those numbers over a 25-game stretch – one where the Magic have gone 17-8.

I mean id love for bamba to take over for birch and realisticall Vuc at some point, but hes done nothing to prove he can handle that. He hasnt shown hes above average on either end of the court, he doesnt hustle, hes never been in BBall shape, he doesnt really.........Do anything out of the ordinary.

Is he better than Birch? Debatable........But even that isnt saying much

Sure he was the #6 pick, but that wasnt based on any actual skill, he was drafted solely on defensive potential and wingspan, nothing else. And even before the draft, many complained about his laziness, offense and that he only plays big-play defense....all those are still true when he got to the NBA

The conversation you quoted has nothing to do with Vuc and Bamba has definitely been better than Birch this year.

How birch played last year (next to Isaac) also has nothing to do with a conversation about Bamba deserving minutes over Birch this year.

[The Effect]

and in this case it's a shame because birch has been lackluster to say the least....there is no reason he should be taking minutes from bamba.....no rim protection....barely any rebounding.....net zero offensively....We spent a 6th on bamba but we're taking it so slow on him to the point where it could be another JI situation where his rookie deal is about to be up and we still haven't seen glimpses of the full potential on any consistent basis

Funny, just a year ago, Birch was considered one of the best interior defenders in the NBA
https://www.nba.com/magic/news/birch-has-evolved-one-nbas-best-interior-defenders-20190401

Birch, a second-year NBA center, has been one of the driving forces behind the Magic’s late-season surge. Since Feb. 2, when Birch took over the back-up center duties for an injured Mo Bamba, the 6-foot-9, 233-pounder ranks first in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed in the restricted area (47 percent) when he’s the closest defender (among players who have contested at least 60 shots), per Second Spectrum Sports. To put that lofty standing into perspective, he ranks ahead of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (49 percent), Most Improved Player candidate Montrezl Harrell (50 percent), MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo (50 percent), Detroit’s Thon Maker (50 percent) and elite Miami Heat shot blocker Hassan Whiteside (51.1 percent) from Feb. 2 to Monday. Birch posted those numbers over a 25-game stretch – one where the Magic have gone 17-8.

I mean id love for bamba to take over for birch and realisticall Vuc at some point, but hes done nothing to prove he can handle that. He hasnt shown hes above average on either end of the court, he doesnt hustle, hes never been in BBall shape, he doesnt really.........Do anything out of the ordinary.

Is he better than Birch? Debatable........But even that isnt saying much

Sure he was the #6 pick, but that wasnt based on any actual skill, he was drafted solely on defensive potential and wingspan, nothing else. And even before the draft, many complained about his laziness, offense and that he only plays big-play defense....all those are still true when he got to the NBA

The conversation you quoted has nothing to do with Vuc and Bamba has definitely been better than Birch this year.

How birch played last year (next to Isaac) also has nothing to do with a conversation about Bamba deserving minutes over Birch this year.

The conversation i quote shows exactly what i said it did, and what was said about Birch. It was said in the post i quoted that birch wasnt a rim protector........I said it was just a year ago that he was one of the best, AKA he has the ability to do it.

[KillMonger]

Birch hasn't been very good this year. Old school coaches always go with the vet though.

and in this case it's a shame because birch has been lackluster to say the least....there is no reason he should be taking minutes from bamba.....no rim protection....barely any rebounding.....net zero offensively....We spent a 6th on bamba but we're taking it so slow on him to the point where it could be another JI situation where his rookie deal is about to be up and we still haven't seen glimpses of the full potential on any consistent basis

Funny, just a year ago, Birch was considered one of the best interior defenders in the NBA
https://www.nba.com/magic/news/birch-has-evolved-one-nbas-best-interior-defenders-20190401

Birch, a second-year NBA center, has been one of the driving forces behind the Magic’s late-season surge. Since Feb. 2, when Birch took over the back-up center duties for an injured Mo Bamba, the 6-foot-9, 233-pounder ranks first in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed in the restricted area (47 percent) when he’s the closest defender (among players who have contested at least 60 shots), per Second Spectrum Sports. To put that lofty standing into perspective, he ranks ahead of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (49 percent), Most Improved Player candidate Montrezl Harrell (50 percent), MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo (50 percent), Detroit’s Thon Maker (50 percent) and elite Miami Heat shot blocker Hassan Whiteside (51.1 percent) from Feb. 2 to Monday. Birch posted those numbers over a 25-game stretch – one where the Magic have gone 17-8.

I mean id love for bamba to take over for birch and realisticall Vuc at some point, but hes done nothing to prove he can handle that. He hasnt shown hes above average on either end of the court, he doesnt hustle, hes never been in BBall shape, he doesnt really.........Do anything out of the ordinary.

Is he better than Birch? Debatable........But even that isnt saying much

Sure he was the #6 pick, but that wasnt based on any actual skill, he was drafted solely on defensive potential and wingspan, nothing else. And even before the draft, many complained about his laziness, offense and that he only plays big-play defense....all those are still true when he got to the NBA

not debatable this season though, birch undoubtedly has taken a step back this season and that was obvious to me looking at the film.....my issue is that Clifford said in an interview after the game that bamba would still have to split time with Birch and i'm thinking.....wha......huh? The 8 minutes Mo played looked better than anything birch has done this season.....Mo's presence was felt on defense, he was altering shots without even blocking them and he was active on offense and hit 3's while birch is a liability offensively.....why does he still need to be splitting time with a G-league player?

[basketballRob]

Read on Twitter

Nothing too earth shattering in this latest Robbins article.

-Bamba is on and will likely continue to be on a minutes restriction this season
-Clifford is non-committal about who his backup C will be when the games start to count, he hinted that both Bamba and Birch could end up sharing backup C minutes
-Fultz will likely play in Monday's scrimmage
-Isaac is "getting closer” to playing, but no timeline still
-Clifford says the entire team isn't where it needs to be conditioning wise, so he expects to widen his rotation from the normal 9-man rotation he would normally use

https://theathletic.com/1951943/2020/07/25/orlando-magic-x-factors/ ($)

I like Isaac as backup center against the Raptors. They have Serge coming off the bench and thats a good matchup for him.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[basketballRob]

and in this case it's a shame because birch has been lackluster to say the least....there is no reason he should be taking minutes from bamba.....no rim protection....barely any rebounding.....net zero offensively....We spent a 6th on bamba but we're taking it so slow on him to the point where it could be another JI situation where his rookie deal is about to be up and we still haven't seen glimpses of the full potential on any consistent basis

Funny, just a year ago, Birch was considered one of the best interior defenders in the NBA
https://www.nba.com/magic/news/birch-has-evolved-one-nbas-best-interior-defenders-20190401

Birch, a second-year NBA center, has been one of the driving forces behind the Magic’s late-season surge. Since Feb. 2, when Birch took over the back-up center duties for an injured Mo Bamba, the 6-foot-9, 233-pounder ranks first in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed in the restricted area (47 percent) when he’s the closest defender (among players who have contested at least 60 shots), per Second Spectrum Sports. To put that lofty standing into perspective, he ranks ahead of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (49 percent), Most Improved Player candidate Montrezl Harrell (50 percent), MVP frontrunner Giannis Antetokounmpo (50 percent), Detroit’s Thon Maker (50 percent) and elite Miami Heat shot blocker Hassan Whiteside (51.1 percent) from Feb. 2 to Monday. Birch posted those numbers over a 25-game stretch – one where the Magic have gone 17-8.

I mean id love for bamba to take over for birch and realisticall Vuc at some point, but hes done nothing to prove he can handle that. He hasnt shown hes above average on either end of the court, he doesnt hustle, hes never been in BBall shape, he doesnt really.........Do anything out of the ordinary.

Is he better than Birch? Debatable........But even that isnt saying much

Sure he was the #6 pick, but that wasnt based on any actual skill, he was drafted solely on defensive potential and wingspan, nothing else. And even before the draft, many complained about his laziness, offense and that he only plays big-play defense....all those are still true when he got to the NBA

not debatable this season though, birch undoubtedly has taken a step back this season and that was obvious to me looking at the film.....my issue is that Clifford said in an interview after the game that bamba would still have to split time with Birch and i'm thinking.....wha......huh? The 8 minutes Mo played looked better than anything birch has done this season.....Mo's presence was felt on defense, he was altering shots without even blocking them and he was active on offense and hit 3's while birch is a liability offensively.....why does he still need to be splitting time with a G-league player?

It's not up to Cliff, he gets a list of minutes that players are allowed to play. They probably want to show Birch is worthy of his contract next season so they can include him in a trade.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[KillMonger]

Funny, just a year ago, Birch was considered one of the best interior defenders in the NBA
https://www.nba.com/magic/news/birch-has-evolved-one-nbas-best-interior-defenders-20190401


I mean id love for bamba to take over for birch and realisticall Vuc at some point, but hes done nothing to prove he can handle that. He hasnt shown hes above average on either end of the court, he doesnt hustle, hes never been in BBall shape, he doesnt really.........Do anything out of the ordinary.

Is he better than Birch? Debatable........But even that isnt saying much

Sure he was the #6 pick, but that wasnt based on any actual skill, he was drafted solely on defensive potential and wingspan, nothing else. And even before the draft, many complained about his laziness, offense and that he only plays big-play defense....all those are still true when he got to the NBA

not debatable this season though, birch undoubtedly has taken a step back this season and that was obvious to me looking at the film.....my issue is that Clifford said in an interview after the game that bamba would still have to split time with Birch and i'm thinking.....wha......huh? The 8 minutes Mo played looked better than anything birch has done this season.....Mo's presence was felt on defense, he was altering shots without even blocking them and he was active on offense and hit 3's while birch is a liability offensively.....why does he still need to be splitting time with a G-league player?

It's not up to Cliff, he gets a list of minutes that players are allowed to play. They probably want to show Birch is worthy of his contract next season so they can include him in a trade.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

you're probably right, but i want to see what we have in Bamba sooner rather than later.....Bamba/JI/Fultz it's becoming a pattern that we tend to go overboard with the coddling now it's not without reason as these guys have been injured.....but if these guys are supposed to be the future the level of responsibility needs to rise as time moves forward....We have seen what JI can do on the defensive end, arguably top 5 defender in the league.....However the responsibility he has on the offensive end imo doesn't do him justice....It's year 3 of JI and clifford in his own words says he doesn't call plays for JI and that's kinda hard for me to understand

Fultz has had some good momentum and things are looking up with him but there are still those times where he's playing along side DJ and HE'S the one standing in the corner deferring to a player that is not as good as he is. Same thing with Bamba, sure he has a ways to go body wise but the opportunities he getting offensively is lacking he gets no plays called for him....you can call a pick and pop play for bamba all day long but in this offense he's more or less a garbage man

I don't even want to think what kind of training wheels they're going to put on chuma next season....It doesn't help either that Clifford isn't really in development mode he wants to win games and logically the vets gives you the best chance to do so....but man it sucks to see the future core being held back in a way, it's hard for me not knowing what these kids can handle, i want to see what their limits are....but it'll never happen when either they're not getting minutes and opportunity(bamba) or they are getting minutes but not enough responsibility(JI/Fultz)

The future is kinda blurry man.............

[OrlandO]

splitting backup minutes won't work very long... cliff is probably thinking of playing birch and bamba together.

[bigdogdylan5]

Patience is key with Bamba everyone knew he needs to put on some weight which he did but rushing him into playing 20+ minutes a game is reckless until he gets acclimated to new playing weight. Especially with a shorter time table for conditioning.

[pepe1991]

We can expect them to be coddled while teams like Denver roll out Bol Bol and MPJ.

This is loud of crap and you know it
Michael Porter Jr is "rolling " in 14 min a game. In last game before corona he played grand total of 4 min and 44 sec.

Bol is yet to play single sec of pro basketball in his life.

Isaac is hurt, Fultz missed 1 week of training camp and Bamba is on min restriction set by medical stuff.

I still don't see upside of Isaac playing this year. It's not like team will end up being anything better than knocked down in first round. With or without him.

[thelead]

We can expect them to be coddled while teams like Denver roll out Bol Bol and MPJ.

This is loud of crap and you know it
Michael Porter Jr is "rolling " in 14 min a game. In last game before corona he played grand total of 4 min and 44 sec.

Bol is yet to play single sec of pro basketball in his life.

Isaac is hurt, Fultz missed 1 week of training camp and Bamba is on min restriction set by medical stuff.

I still don't see upside of Isaac playing this year. It's not like team will end up being anything better than knocked down in first round. With or without him.

I don’t disagree regarding Isaac but why is Bamba on a 8 minute restriction???

And the other side of the equation is the role our young guys play. Why the F does Clifford have Fultz playing any time at sg standing in the corner while DJ ‘runs’ the offense?