Orlando Magic: A Surprising 19-13 Start

 It seems like Skiles has elevated Evan Fournier above Oladipo as the starting SG…. Fournier is gonna get paid when his deal expires & you can’t keep both….. Phila is Desperate for a SG who can slash & score….

 I think Noel would be Perfect for Orlando & would really put that team over the top…. Noel is a freak athlete who is a dynamo on Defense & an excellent shot blocker…. he runs the floor, scores in transition….. & on a team like Orlando they don;t need him to score…… he’ll score 12-15 pts a game just on put backs & transition,….

What do people think? 

 It seems like Skiles has elevated Evan Fournier above Oladipo as the starting SG…. Fournier is gonna get paid when his deal expires & you can’t keep both….. Phila is Desperate for a SG who can slash & score….

 I think Noel would be Perfect for Orlando & would really put that team over the top…. Noel is a freak athlete who is a dynamo on Defense & an excellent shot blocker…. he runs the floor, scores in transition….. & on a team like Orlando they don;t need him to score…… he’ll score 12-15 pts a game just on put backs & transition,….

What do people think? 

 they are overflowing w/ young talent….. These guys will all come into their own in 2 or 3 years & Orlando will be a nightmare to deal with…..

 As far as that Noel idea…. If I was an Orlando fan I’d luv it b/c it’s clear Skiles is phasing out Oladipo….. & Noel’s defense & athleticism in transition would make Orlando that much tougher…. plus Noel is only 21, so he could grow w/ those young stars…..

 But from Phila’s side, I know they desperately need guards, but Oladipo is not a good shooter, I still think he’s an excellent player w/ crazy athleticism…… Buit how do you give up on a 6’11” athletic freak who can basically guard all 5 positions, blocks shots, runs the floor, defends the pick & roll, & scores in transition…. Noel exploded as soon as Phila regained Ish Smith…..

 Imagine if they get a top level guard what Noel can do…. He’s just not a guy who can utilize back to basket post moves….. But those type of Centers are really being phased out in the current NBA so who cares…..

 they are overflowing w/ young talent….. These guys will all come into their own in 2 or 3 years & Orlando will be a nightmare to deal with…..

 As far as that Noel idea…. If I was an Orlando fan I’d luv it b/c it’s clear Skiles is phasing out Oladipo….. & Noel’s defense & athleticism in transition would make Orlando that much tougher…. plus Noel is only 21, so he could grow w/ those young stars…..

 But from Phila’s side, I know they desperately need guards, but Oladipo is not a good shooter, I still think he’s an excellent player w/ crazy athleticism…… Buit how do you give up on a 6’11” athletic freak who can basically guard all 5 positions, blocks shots, runs the floor, defends the pick & roll, & scores in transition…. Noel exploded as soon as Phila regained Ish Smith…..

 Imagine if they get a top level guard what Noel can do…. He’s just not a guy who can utilize back to basket post moves….. But those type of Centers are really being phased out in the current NBA so who cares…..

 I wouldn’t trade Noel just yet, he’s been playing better since Ish Smith’s return, plus they don’t know if Embiid will ever be healthy and if they have a high enough pick to pick Simmons or Brown, so I say no to this trade.

 I wouldn’t trade Noel just yet, he’s been playing better since Ish Smith’s return, plus they don’t know if Embiid will ever be healthy and if they have a high enough pick to pick Simmons or Brown, so I say no to this trade.

 I don’t think it’s really a surprise, they’ve been rebuilding for 3 years now, and have made some really solid moves in that time to aquire nice young talent. They won the Dwight trade by getting Vucevic, stole Tobias and Fournier, and then lucked out that the Cavs are incompetent at drafting. 

The team is playing well under Skilles, and anyone who watched the Magic over the past two seasons will tell you that Vaughn was the absolute WORST coach in the entire NBA. He had no idea what he was doing, and most of the sets he would run had nothing to it. I also think the past two years were experimental, as we saw a lot of Olidipo at the point, and other wierd matchups. 

The one thing that was most troubling about the Magic last year was that the only player on the team that could create their own shot was Willie Green(…), but now they have multiple players who can score off the dripple. Fournier and Tobias have played great, and I think they are getting more from their bench than ever before.

As it stands though, their team kind of confuses me. Their young talent is rotation of:

Vucevic

Gordon- Nicolson

Tobias- Hezonja

Fournier- Olidipo

Payton- Shabazz

That’s a fantastic group of players, but as mentioned above, there is just no way you are going to be able to keep all those guys. I think Aaron Gordon is going to be a really good player, and will probably start next year at PF, but if that’s the case, I find it troubling that 3 our of 4 of their future starters can’t space the floor that well in Dipo, Payton, and Gordon…Their team is just a wierd fit to me, and I agree that the Magic need to make moves. 

I think they need to figure out who they are going to keep, and who they are going to ship, because Olidipo is struggling coming off the bench and playing a slower pace, yet he arguably has the most potential out of any player on their roster. I like him as a super sub in the Manu role, but he just hasn’t been able to produce since going to hte bench. Same with Payton. While I love his game, and think he has All-Star potential, I just question whether or not you can effectively build a team around him because of his shot. He has shown me a lot this year though, and is shooing 30% from 3, but he’s still only shooting 26% from 16 feet and out…So ultimately I think it comes down to Payton and Fournier vs Payton and Olidipo, and you trade off whichever SG you ultimately send to the bench. For me, I would trade Evan, as I think Olidipo is just too good to give up on, and looks like a championship player. 

If I was the Magic I would def. do a trade, something along the lines of Fournier for Ryan Anderson, or Fournier for Jarret Jack, or a similar high end sub who can also start.

Another bad trade idea, and one I would actually love to see, would be Fournier/Tobias/2 first round picks to the Knicks for Carmelo Anthony. 

 I don’t think it’s really a surprise, they’ve been rebuilding for 3 years now, and have made some really solid moves in that time to aquire nice young talent. They won the Dwight trade by getting Vucevic, stole Tobias and Fournier, and then lucked out that the Cavs are incompetent at drafting. 

The team is playing well under Skilles, and anyone who watched the Magic over the past two seasons will tell you that Vaughn was the absolute WORST coach in the entire NBA. He had no idea what he was doing, and most of the sets he would run had nothing to it. I also think the past two years were experimental, as we saw a lot of Olidipo at the point, and other wierd matchups. 

The one thing that was most troubling about the Magic last year was that the only player on the team that could create their own shot was Willie Green(…), but now they have multiple players who can score off the dripple. Fournier and Tobias have played great, and I think they are getting more from their bench than ever before.

As it stands though, their team kind of confuses me. Their young talent is rotation of:

Vucevic

Gordon- Nicolson

Tobias- Hezonja

Fournier- Olidipo

Payton- Shabazz

That’s a fantastic group of players, but as mentioned above, there is just no way you are going to be able to keep all those guys. I think Aaron Gordon is going to be a really good player, and will probably start next year at PF, but if that’s the case, I find it troubling that 3 our of 4 of their future starters can’t space the floor that well in Dipo, Payton, and Gordon…Their team is just a wierd fit to me, and I agree that the Magic need to make moves. 

I think they need to figure out who they are going to keep, and who they are going to ship, because Olidipo is struggling coming off the bench and playing a slower pace, yet he arguably has the most potential out of any player on their roster. I like him as a super sub in the Manu role, but he just hasn’t been able to produce since going to hte bench. Same with Payton. While I love his game, and think he has All-Star potential, I just question whether or not you can effectively build a team around him because of his shot. He has shown me a lot this year though, and is shooing 30% from 3, but he’s still only shooting 26% from 16 feet and out…So ultimately I think it comes down to Payton and Fournier vs Payton and Olidipo, and you trade off whichever SG you ultimately send to the bench. For me, I would trade Evan, as I think Olidipo is just too good to give up on, and looks like a championship player. 

If I was the Magic I would def. do a trade, something along the lines of Fournier for Ryan Anderson, or Fournier for Jarret Jack, or a similar high end sub who can also start.

Another bad trade idea, and one I would actually love to see, would be Fournier/Tobias/2 first round picks to the Knicks for Carmelo Anthony. 

 The Magic own a lot of picks going forward and have a fair few none starters who would have good trade value. They have a decent young core which we would have hoped would have continued to improve year on year but I thought they maybe lacked that one player with superstar potential to take the team back into genuine contention.

Teams such as the Hawks have achieved great success through a hard work ethic without a major star on board and the Magic might be a similar type of team.

There are still 50 games to go and the Magic may fall back a bit but I think they have a legit chance of being a play off team this spring.

 The Magic own a lot of picks going forward and have a fair few none starters who would have good trade value. They have a decent young core which we would have hoped would have continued to improve year on year but I thought they maybe lacked that one player with superstar potential to take the team back into genuine contention.

Teams such as the Hawks have achieved great success through a hard work ethic without a major star on board and the Magic might be a similar type of team.

There are still 50 games to go and the Magic may fall back a bit but I think they have a legit chance of being a play off team this spring.