Cole World: Orlando Magic Select Cole Anthony at #15

[SOUL]

Cole is great for the locker room. We get so insecure whenever a player has personality here and question everything. He obviously is shot happy but not to the extent of a lot of guys we've seen here, including Bacon and Ross and even MCW right now.

[Knightro]

I wish Cole was just more talented, because the guy genuinely loves basketball and has unflappable confidence and belief in himself.

[Skybox]

Cole seems, IMO, to be a perfect successor to TRoss...perhaps, ultimately even more complete offensively. 2nd unit microwave off the bench, capable of big games but not every night. He can definitely take over and win some for us. But I wouldn't pencil him in as a solid starter.

I like him but that's about as far as I can project what I've seen so far.

[Bensational]

He certainly gives big energy after big plays. Gonna need some of that in the dark days of losses coming.

“It’s what I do! 30% of the time, I hit every time!”

[basketballRob]

Cole and KPJ working out.

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[tiderulz]

Cole and KPJ working out.

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as long as he doesnt pick up any of KPJ's off court habits

[D J C]

(very) small sample size and probably too early to even be looking at this, but promising start to the season for Cole

17 PPG | 7 RPG | 5.8 APG on 41.3/31.4/80 splits
31.8 AST% | 15.6 PER

His 3 isnt falling but he's finding ways to score. He's at 78% from 0-3ft and 47% from 3-10ft, both ~20% higher than last year.

Again, way too early, but so far he's on line with Kemba's sophomore jump.

Not a coincidence either that his two best games have been the two games we've been competitive in. It'll be interesting to see his role when everyone is back healthy.

[p0peye]

Cole lacks experience, but can fill the role DJ had.

[Skin]

He's so cringy when he speaks after games.

[fendilim]

He's so cringy when he speaks after games.

He is cringy everytime he speaks.

Not hating. Just my observation.

I still like his bball IQ but his shot selection has to improve. A LOT.

[Def Swami]

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[pepe1991]

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cringe

[Skybox]

Love Cole's attacking attitude. TRoss hasn't brought out the flamethrower off the bench this year, I think that's Cole's very important role when Fultz gets back. Cole should get a lot of minutes and sometimes finish games. I see him as a good NBA player but I just don't see him as the starting PG on a good team.

[Def Swami]

I'm still riding the train. Very interested to see what kind of consistency Anthony can maintain this year. I'm a fan of his overall disposition.

[basketballRob]

I'm still riding the train. Very interested to see what kind of consistency Anthony can maintain this year. I'm a fan of his overall disposition.

Cole Train!

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[drsd]

I'm still riding the train. Very interested to see what kind of consistency Anthony can maintain this year. I'm a fan of his overall disposition.

Anthony currently has the 12th higest PER for PGs. As he is putting up stats for a horrible team, this is truly an impressive achievement. For example, Anthony's stats are over Ball as the other second year PG that is playing well.

Anthony is outplaying from his draft class the PGs of Killian Hayes, Tyrese Haliburton, Kira Lewis Jr., Tyrese Maxey, and Payton Pritchard, for example.

Whether Anthony can stay in the cluster that includes Ball, Lewis, and Maxey is what we all want to see.
Still to have a draft with four starting-level guards that can play on the ball, it is a nice collection of players.

[D J C]

Cole joins Steph, Luka, LeBron, and Trae as the only players 21 & under with 30+ points, 8+ rebounds, 8+ assists, 5+ 3PM in a game

And so far this year:

Cole - 19.4/7.6/5.6 on 45/44.6/81
vs
Lamelo - 20.1/6.1/6.1 on 43/44.1/93

Neither player is going to sustain that 3pt shooting, but remarkable how close the two young PGs have been

Some other young Gs from the last couple drafts

Tyrese Maxey - 14/3/4 on 49/32/89
Tyrese Haliburton - 12/4/6 on 46/30/88
Davion Mitchell - 8/2/3 on 35/21/50

[SOUL]

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[YosemiteSam]

Hollinger spotlighted Cole today in an article on Unheralded Players so far this year:

Cole Anthony, Orlando

As some expected, Orlando has been led to something approaching competence by a young, charismatic point guard.

Unexpectedly, that player is Cole Anthony. A year ago, Anthony was a bad player on a bad team, getting tons of minutes and shots because he was their first-round pick and injuries had denuded the roster, but struggling to make an impact. Things started turning a little more in his favor later in the year, but that didn’t stop the Magic from taking a player at Anthony’s position in the lottery.

So, fast forward to 2021-22 and … folks, Anthony has figured it out. His usage rate is the same as a year ago, but the efficiency is way up. Anthony has boosted his assist rate even while splitting on-ball reps with rookie lotto pick Jalen Suggs. Meanwhile, Anthony’s ability to get into 3s off the dribble and knock them down (44.6 percent on 10.1 attempts per 100) has added a spacing threat to an Orlando offense that, on paper, looked dismal heading into the season.

As a side benefit, the 6-2 Anthony is rebounding like a power forward. I’m not sure anybody saw this coming. His 12.2 rebound rate is the third-best on the team, and his 21.1 percent rate on the defensive boards gives the Magic some grab-and-go juice that should only expand once high-flier Jonathan Isaac returns.

Yes, the Magic remain a work in progress, and they’re getting torched on defense. But with Anthony at the controls, the 19th-ranked offense is about 10 spots higher than most people expected. He’s going to be a strong contender for the Most Improved Player Award if he keeps this up; he may also force the Magic into some hard decisions once Markelle Fultz returns.

Seven NBA players you might not know but need to

[JTG_92940618]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/11/4/22762718/nba-breakthrough-players-miles-bridges-ja-morant-tyler-herro

And we complain that the nation media ignores us.

Mo also gets his own section.

Cole Anthony, Orlando
“There was 14 dudes picked ahead of me,” Cole Anthony said after scoring 24 points last month against the Raptors. “You think there’s 14 dudes better than me in that draft? I’m just curious. What do you think?”

Hey Cole, great question. Right now, there aren’t. As a rookie, you were an inefficient small guard who took a ton of shots only because the Magic stunk and had no choice but to feed shots to their first-rounder. All of the growing pains have been worth it, though. Now you’re averaging 18.7 points and 5.4 assists while shooting 40.3 percent from 3. Good job!

The encouraging sign for Magic fans wondering whether Anthony is for real is that he got progressively better last season. Decisions were happening quicker, and the tough shots he tends to take were falling. That’s just been ramped up even more. After all, Anthony was an elite high school prospect. Maybe he just needed time to adjust.