lmao lmao he’s inefficient and their team isn’t very good despite their “stars” lmao lmao lmao you forgot we have had a lot of injuries to more important players lmao lmao (I would write in a more articulate way, but maybe this style will resonate better.)
- Cade went 1st overall; we had the second pick, so we couldn’t pick him. - Paolo was a completely different draft, good try though. - If you think subbing Jalen for Franz Wagner would make us the 1 seed, then I don’t know what to tell you, man.
How on earth does that have anything to do with what he said? Also, this narrative that Stone sits on his butt because he has allowed our young players to grow and develop collectively rather than making rash, shortsighted moves is actively stupid.
Beginning of the season everyone had the Magic at a tier above the Rockets because like OKC they had their "1A superstar" in Paolo 3 months later the Magic are below .500 and Paolo has a 51% ts. At this point it's a insult to Jalen to compare Paolo to him.
i agree. I was never impressed with Banchero and believe Jabari ends up being the better all-around player.
Bancharo probably will always be the better scorer but Jabari will be more desirable fit for contending teams.
Banchero is actually getting a TON of criticism, there's a civil war with Orlando fans about him. You should look up the numbers with him on and off the court, or their record when he plays vs when he doesn't. They're a 50 win team without him and a 30 win team when he plays, or something around there. It really is the ultimate hoopers vs calculator boy debate. It's really hard to make a case that Banchero is good unless you think all numbers and stats are fake nonsense made up by nerds. Everything is worse when he's in, everything is better when he sits, they win more games when he's out, they lose more games when he suits up.
I've been critical of Banchero from the beginning. I think he's very overrated and too inefficient, borderline liability on defense. Chet might be moving toward the "too injury-prone" label. Keegan Murray has been ass this season. Not upset we ended up with Jabari at all.
Anyway, with Jalen, I'm really happy to see his shooting rebounding like this after that pre-ASB slump he went into. Hope he keeps it up. After being extremely skeptical for much of the past year, I'm back to being right there on saying "okay he's at least a high-end starter and is worth his contract/worth keeping around unless a major upgrade, top 15-20 type of player becomes available." I do think he's crossed that, "Is he actually a positive out there? Would you trade him straight-up for Desmond Bane?" threshold now--I think I'd say "no" at this moment in time, I would not trade him for Desmond Bane.
I’m really happy with Bari, too. He’s not as flashy as those other guys, but he’s the type you look back on in 15 years and realize he made a staggering amount of money and was a part of a ton of winning teams.
I think what people miss is that small things in real life can majorly shift future stats. Say he comes back with a better 3PT shot? Drives could become more efficient simultaneously, which would double boost his advanced offensive metrics. However more realistically, I'm not surprised because PF's who can neither shoot or defend seem to share this curse. He reminds me of Julius Randle in terms of style. He's better than Randle at the same age but what I'm theorizing is that those player types seem to struggle at tying their production to wins. One thing I've learned the hard way is that to this day, people undervalue and underrate defense. Even people who love defense will sometimes treat it as a supporting stat like rebounding or steals. Paolo has to be hidden to not be a negative on defense and as Kenneth Faried would tell you no amount of rebounds and acting tough can make up for that. Assists are a part of half the game. Defense is one full half of the game. The difference between a bad defender and an average defender is exactly as vast as the difference between the best scorer in the NBA and an average scorer in the NBA. We're not conditioned to think about it that way because of ESPN, but that's what's going on. If you just calculate it as being equally important to offense, advanced numbers and eye test get much closer to each other which is a great feeling. Have you ever thought about just how "random" it is that most champions are a top 10 offense and defense? Why would it end up so neatly as top 10 on both sides despite all these rule changes, offensive inflation, etc how come it's not turning into "top 5 offense and top 15 defense"? That's the rabbit hole that led me to truly appreciate and understand how all the different stats we know fit right into one formula.
Talking disparagingly about a rival who whopped the Rockets' behind in Ime's debut. I do not think any level headed fan would even respond but another one bites the dust. I am fighting fire with fire. Also if that is what you want to get out of it, please. I don't mind at all. Both teams are talented. The Magic have a proactive plan how to go about trade things. The only personnel that the Magic do not have are FVV and Amen. FVV is not impossible to get. And Udoka is somewhat better than Jamal Mosley but Mosley is no exact slouch and not emotional.
Stone articulated his plan when Harden forced his way out. He has stuck to it and has positioned this team to be contenders for a decade. That being said, this upcoming off-season and the early part of next season should help to define if he and Ime are the right leaders for the next step. Banchero has always been overinflated by the media. He is very mediocre and if he being their anchor, they are going to sink.
