With a new coach, a new system and new players, next season will be interesting and unpredictable. Answer all of some of these questions and explain why you chose yes or no. 1) Will Fran Vazquez prove that he was worth the #11 pick? 2) Will Grant Hill stay healthy and have another All-Star season? 3) Will Dwight Howard become a bigger part of our offense? 4) Will the Magic make the playoffs? If so, how far will they get? 5) Will the Magic make any trades before the trade deadline? Which ones? 6) Who will be the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assists leader? 7) Will anyone on our team be All-Stars? Who will it be? 8) Will Dwight Howard put up similar, better or worse stats then last season? 9) What will be our starting lineup? 10) Who will be the most productive player coming off the bench? This should start up some pretty good discussions and I encourage you guys to fill out some or all of questions.
With a new coach, a new system and new players, next season will be interesting and unpredictable. Answer all of some of these questions and explain why you chose yes or no. 1) Will Fran Vazquez prove that he was worth the #11 pick? Probably not at the beginning of the year, because of the language barriers and adjustments to playing the NBA, but I think he will prove to be a valuable addition to our team with Dwight towards the end of the year 2) Will Grant Hill stay healthy and have another All-Star season? Yes and No. I think Hill will be healthy for most of the year(70 games), but I think we are going to focus more on Dwight this year and Grant Hill is the type of person who will give Dwight some of his touches for the better of the team. 3) Will Dwight Howard become a bigger part of our offense? Yep, I'm hoping for at least 12-15 shots a game, rather than the 8 that he got last year 4) Will the Magic make the playoffs? If so, how far will they get? Yes, but a 6th, 7th or 8th seed against either Miami, Detroit, or Indiana 5) Will the Magic make any trades before the trade deadline? Which ones? If Fran proves to be a valuable member, then look for Cato to be dealt to a team looking to rebuild. Also if we are struggling and Jameer shows that he is capable of leading the team, look for us to trade Francis to a contender for a draft pick and expirings. I would be shocked to see Christie on our team the whole season as well. 6) Who will be the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assists leader? Scorer-Francis with 21 ppg, Rebounder-Howard with 11 rpg, Assists-Grant Hill with 7 apg 7) Will anyone on our team be All-Stars? Who will it be? Francis will be an all-star and Dwight will lead the sophmore class in the freshman/sophmore game and Hedo in the 3 pt competition. 8) Will Dwight Howard put up similar, better or worse stats then last season? Better by far, he will get more touches, more respect from the referees and he will work hard this offseason on his offensive game. 9) What will be our starting lineup? Beginning of the year: Jameer, Francis, Hill, Dwight, Cato/Battie, End of Year: Francis, Stevenson, Hill, Fran, Dwight 10) Who will be the most productive player coming off the bench? Hedo and Jameer. I also think Stevenson will be productive if given the mins, he can come in and provide energy to make our bench better.
1) Will Fran Vazquez prove that he was worth the #11 pick? Possibly, but not this season. There will be an adjustment period for him to the NBA style of play compared to his old league. It will be even tougher for him to adjust due to the language barrier I believe that will take at least the first half of the season to over come like it did Yao his rookie season. Once that is out of he way he will need to improve his strength and we will have to see how well he plays power forward in the NBA since he is originally a center to begin with. Also we will have to see how he handles players in the post on defense since at times he will be over powered or over matched. 2) Will Grant Hill stay healthy and have another All-Star season? Will he stay healthy? I believe so he proved that his recent ankle surgery was the final one last season, and that he could still perform at a high level of play, but will he be a all star next season my answer to that would have to be no. Last season though his stats were good they did not blow anyone away the simple fact he remained healthy and was the feel good story of the year was what got him into the all star game. I do not believe he will start the all star game and if he is in it without averaging at least twenty points at all star break it will be because of the respect level the coaches have for him and what he has done. 3) Will Dwight Howard become a bigger part of our offense? At times yes depending on the matchups he will be facing. Since we will be asking him to adjust to playing center in the NBA some nights when he is facing veteran people or just young strong centers he will not get many touches and if he does it will simply be as a distraction tool. By veteran centers I mean guys like Shaq, possibly Z, Ben Wallace, and young powerful centers I mean guys like Eddy Curry. 4) Will the Magic make the playoffs? If so, how far will they get? With their current roster no they will not. They did not address there need in the NBA draft which is a tall guard/ swing man that could shoot the ball they drafted another smaller guard who although might have talent was not what they needed. Unless they sign a player through free agency who could play in the backcourt and be affective on offense/ defense like Antonio Daniels then I think they will struggle. Also they should think about acquiring a big man and keeping Howard at the power forward position I believe that is were he would be most affective for the team. If they do make it, it will be one and out in the first round. 5) Will the Magic make any trades before the trade deadline? Which ones? I can only partially answer that question, because I do not know what their roster will look like before the trade deadline. However, if they are still on the team I see Christie, Battie, and possibly Hedo getting traded before the trade deadline. Not all of them unless it is in a package but guys I do think will leave will be Christie this off-season and Hedo before the trade deadline arrives. 6) Who will be the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assists leader? The leading scorer on the team will be Steve Francis he is by far the most offensively gifted player on this team at this point in his career. I think he will average around 24- 26 points a game, and use this season as a redemption season to return to all-star form. After his suspension late last season and the teams melt down with him as the anchor he has a lot to prove. The leading rebound man will be Dwight Howard. I think he will average around 9.7 to 11 boards a game. He will be able to get more boards off of missed baskets from plays we will run for him. As well as get more opportunities to rebound the ball with this team who I believe will be run and gun all the way. The leader in assists will be Jameer Nelson he will need to average at least 7 assists a game to be the teams leader in assists since Steve Francis does have a career average of six assists a game. With improved minutes, and possibly a better supporting cast Jameer Nelson will flourish in his new starting spot this season for the team. The team will have a lot of scorers for him to dish the ball to all he needs to do is have ball control and a solid ability when passing the ball which I am sure he has. 7) Will anyone on our team be All-Stars? Who will it be? Yes, Steve Francis will be an all-star this season. Like I said earlier in this post I believe he will average around 24-26 points a game this season if he plays shooting guard for the team, and with Pierce possibly moving out of the conference a spot will be open for Steve Franchise. 8) Will Dwight Howard put up similar, better or worse stats then last season? Better, I do not see any reason why he would put up worse numbers then last season. He will have more experience and get more touches this season under a new coach and new system. He will also hopefully have more talent on the team surrounding him which will allow him to improve his assists total as well possibly averaging KG type stats. Not expecting Howard to dominate in terms of 20 and 11 for the season but a higher assist number like around four or five a game. 9) What will be our starting lineup? Jameer Nelson or Antonio Daniels Steve Francis Grant Hill Dwight Howard Kelvin Cato That is my lineup and I am sticking to it at least for opening day. I know the team says there moving Howard to center, but I do not buy that. 10) Who will be the most productive player coming off the bench? Probably Jameer nelson if we sign Daniels. Also if he remains on the team Hedo I have us trading him before the trade deadline, but that is not knock on him. I just think he is a player who we could probably trade and get someone to fill a need on the team.
1) Will Fran Vazquez prove that he was worth the #11 pick? I agree with what you guys are saying. I think it will take him awhile to adjust to playing with the best players in the world and having to learn a whole new language. We will put him in the starting lineup at some point but I don't think he will have the type of impact that we are looking for until the end of the season or the season after that. Once Fran is able to communicate with his teamates and starts to learn the basics of playing in the NBA, I think he will be a good player and give us 8 PPG and 7 RPG. He will only score 8 PPG since Francis, Hill, Howard and Jameer will all be bigger parts of the offense. Fran will score most of his points under the basket, cleaning up his teamates misses. If he could do this and play good defense next to Howard, I would be happy that we picked him. 2) Will Grant Hill stay healthy and have another All-Star season? I think Grant Hill will stay healthy for most of the season but will miss some games in the middle of the year. I'm guessing he will play about 50 games and have another great year. I don't think he will be an All-Star because I think his numbers will go down a little bit from playing in a new system with a new coach. I have a feeling we will be giving Dwight more oppurtunities on offense so Grant's stats might decrease. I think Hill will average 18 PPG and 6 APG next season. He will be an important player for our team but won't be playing in Houston for the All-Star game. 3) Will Dwight Howard become a bigger part of our offense? Yes, Howard will have more plays designed for him to score and we will get him the ball in the paint. I think we will see a significant improvement in Howard's ability to score in the paint and at times, he will look like an All-Star calibur player. I have a feeling Dwight will improve his numbers this season and will average 14 PPG and 10 RPG. That is very impressive for a young center/power forward and I think he will continue to improve each year and will become a type of player that is a lock to be an All-Star each year. I have seen a lot of positive things from Dwight and if he continues to rack up the double doubles and plays solid defense, a lot of people will start to see what a great player he is and he will finally get some respect. 4) Will the Magic make the playoffs? If so, how far will they get? I believe the Magic will make the playoffs and they will make it to the second round. They will be the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the Pacers who we match up well against. I think we will beat the Pacers and will move on to play the Pistons in the second round. We will lose there because we aren't at the Pistons level yet but will still be happy that we made it to the second round. We aren't quite a great team yet but in a few years when Fran, Jameer and Dwight have all developed and are in their primes, I think we will be one of the best teams in the East and will be considered contenders. 5) Will the Magic make any trades before the trade deadline? Which ones? I have a feeling that the Magic will trade Doug Christie and Kelvin Cato. Both have expiring contracts and I don?t see why we wouldn?t get something for them. With Stevenson and Battie playing well for us, there is no need to keep Christie and Cato. I think we will trade them for draft picks or maybe a veteren guard or power forward. We might trade Steve Francis but by the looks of our draft it looks like he is staying in Orlando for now. 6) Who will be the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assists leader? Leading Scorer: Steve Francis 22 PPG Leading Rebounder: Dwight Howard: 10 RPG Assists Leader: Steve Francis 7.5 APG 7) Will anyone on our team be All-Stars? Who will it be? I think Steve Francis will be an All-Star reserve. He will average 20+ PPG next season and will get some respect from the coaches. Grant Hill will put up numbers close to an All-Star but won?t be one. Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson will school Fran Vazquez in the rookie game and Hedo will light it up at the Three Point Shootout like Gators said. 8) Will Dwight Howard put up similar, better or worse stats then last season? I think he will put up better numbers because I think we will run more plays to get him to score. I think we will give him opportunities down low to post up his defender and score. My guess is that he averages 14 PPG and 10 or 11 RPG. I really hope Dwight improves because his development is a very important part of this team. 9) What will be our starting lineup? PG- Jameer Nelson SG- Steve Francis SF- Grant Hill PF- Fran Vazquez C- Dwight Howard We might also try Francis, Stevenson, Hill, Howard and Battie depending on if this lineup has any success. 10) Who will be the most productive player coming off the bench? The most productive player coming off the bench will be Hedo Turkoglu. He is the best long range shooter on our roster and is also good in transition. He always hustles and gives his 100% on offense and defense. I think he is a great player and with coming off the bench and that along with Diener, Stevenson, Battie and Cato, they will give us an advantage against a lot of teams who don?t have as much depth as we do.
1) Will Fran Vazquez prove that he was worth the #11 pick? I'd say maybe after the All Star break like Howard did he'll warm up to playing. 2) Will Grant Hill stay healthy and have another All-Star season? He will stay healthy but not be an All-Star Stevio or depending on how good Dwight is then Dwight will be in the All-Star game. 3) Will Dwight Howard become a bigger part of our offense? Of Course BHill knows hes our Future he'll run alot of plays for him. 4) Will the Magic make the playoffs? If so, how far will they get? Maybe if we make some type of change either on defense or player wise. 5) Will the Magic make any trades before the trade deadline? Which ones? I taught of this one just now Trade Doug,Kato,Garity for Webber. We move Dwight to Center have a good shoter Pf plus a vet will help us make the playoffs. 6) Who will be the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assists leader? Francis Points, Howard Rebs, Francis Assists. 7) Will anyone on our team be All-Stars? Who will it be? Francis or Dwight maybe GHill 8) Will Dwight Howard put up similar, better or worse stats then last season? Better more touches more minutes no fouling trouble. 9) What will be our starting lineup? In the Start: Francis,Dougy,Ghill,Howard,Kato if no trades or free agents come in. 10) Who will be the most productive player coming off the bench? Hedo+Nelson maybe Deiner and Vasquez if Nelson starts and Quez grabs alot of rebs.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting FlaBoy:</div><div class="quote_post">7) Will anyone on our team be All-Stars? Who will it be? Francis or Dwight maybe GHill 9) What will be our starting lineup? In the Start: Francis,Dougy,Ghill,Howard,Kato if no trades or free agents come in.</div> A few interesting things I noticed. You said Dwight Howard might be an All-Star and that we might start Christie. I doubt Christie will be on our roster for most of the season since he has said twice now that he wants out of Orlando. I hope Dwight puts up All-Star numbers but I don't think it will happen with the way we run our offense and since he will be adjusting to whole new positon.
Heres what needs to happen: Trade Steve Francis for something better. After watching him and his terrible attitude towards the end of the season we found out that Houston got the better end. Now that we can admit that, trade Francis and start building around Dwight Howard. Hire another great coach to specifically help Dwight. We fired our entire staff and that included his old coach who was doing great things for him. Get a deeper bench. Picking up some cheap vets and other FAs is a must, if Orlando wants back in the playoffs. Give the younger guys minutes. They need to make the mistakes to learn, because Dwight, Nelson.. and even Franny. What will probably happen: We keep Francis and stay the same except for possibly more bench depth. And miss the playoffs. Again.
1) Will Fran Vazquez prove that he was worth the #11 pick? I really hope. However, not in the upcoming season and I don't think we're going to give him the time to develop not to speak of the right coaching to help him develop. They just fired one of the best big man coaches which could've really helped him. 2) Will Grant Hill stay healthy and have another All-Star season? Everything can happen. He can have a car accident or one bad landing on the floor or a collision with another player and he could even injure his ankle again. However, unlike the other times after surgery, it proved that this time the ankle can hold together. But just as Swish15, I believe he'll have another All-Star season, but he might play in the ASG if the fans vote him in. The only way he'll put up similar Stats than last season is when we trade Francis. 3) Will Dwight Howard become a bigger part of our offense? I truely hope. I hope with the new coach we'll have some plays especially for him and that he'll learn some new moves. 4) Will the Magic make the playoffs? If so, how far will they get? Playoffs are out of reach for at least one more season, we're still in the rebuilding stage and need to find more players who fit our team and complement Dwight. 5) Will the Magic make any trades before the trade deadline? Which ones? I'll see a Steve-O trade, maybe Cato. DC is either traded before the season starts or I just see him being waived (which would save us 8 Million luxury tax according to the new CBA). 6) Who will be the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assists leader? As long as Francis is around, he'll be leading scorer and maybe leads us even in assists and Dwight should lead us. 7) Will anyone on our team be All-Stars? Who will it be? No All-Star this season. Dwight and Jameer will hopefully play in the Rookie - Sophomore game, Francis is hopefully gone by the time the ASG is and Grant won't have the stats to deserve to play (but fans might vote him in). 8) Will Dwight Howard put up similar, better or worse stats then last season? I would be surprised if he didn't improve: PPG and RPG go up, his FT% as well, the other stats might stay the same. 9) What will be our starting lineup? PG Francis SG Stevenson SF Hill PF Howard C Cato 10) Who will be the most productive player coming off the bench? Nelson / Hedo
1) Will Fran Vazquez prove that he was worth the #11 pick? I think Franny will prove he?s worth an 11th pick. I thought Orlando would get a guard for sure, but at least they get one of the most NBA-ready big men in the draft. Dwight and Franny is a pretty tough front court right there. Very, very athletic. 2) Will Grant Hill stay healthy and have another All-Star season? Sorry to be a pessimist, but I don?t think so. He already showed signs of breaking down last season and at age 33 (almost), he?s not getting any younger. If he stays healthy and is a solid contributor, I still don?t know if he can make the all-star team either. With a lot of these young players getting better and better and more popular, I think Grant will be snubbed. 3) Will Dwight Howard become a bigger part of our offense? Yes, he will. After he showed what he can do last season, the Magic better make him a big part of their offense. Last season, with cats like Francis, Hill, Hedo and a little bit of Mobley dominating the ball, Dwight still managed to average 12 points which is pretty good for a rookie; let alone an 18-year-old high school rookie. I see him averaging about 17 points next season and making the all-star team if he?s listed at center. 4) Will the Magic make the playoffs? If so, how far will they get? I see them getting into the postseason. They should have last season, but I think they beat themselves to it mentally. Where they go in the postseason is a toughie. The first round could be a possibility because there is a lot of competition in the East around the 3-8 seeds. 5) Will the Magic make any trades before the trade deadline? Which ones? Probably; I see them eventually getting rid of Francis and letting Jameer take over there. Who they get for Stevie is the only question. 6) Who will be the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assists leader? Scorer: Francis: (If here. If not, Howard) Rebounding: Howard Assist: Nelson 7) Will anyone on our team be All-Stars? Who will it be? If Dwight plays center, he will make the team. If Francis is still around, he might make the team. 8) Will Dwight Howard put up similar, better or worse stats then last season? He will put up much better stats (as scary as that sounds). 9) What will be our starting lineup? PG: Nelson SG: Francis SF: Hill PF: Vazquez C: Howard 10) Who will be the most productive player coming off the bench? Hedo Turkoglu always had a nice shooting touch and the fact that he gets to work with a developing low post threat, two penetrators and being 6?10 with an adept shooting touch, easily makes him the most productive player. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Swish15:</div><div class="quote_post">This should start up some pretty good discussions and I encourage you guys to fill out some or all of questions.</div> I like this thread and I was just wondering, would you mind if I stole this and put this in the Knicks forum?
1) Will Fran Vazquez prove that he was worth the #11 pick? No he wont,he should just head to the NBDL and improve his game and come back in 06-07 season. The Magic really dont have a problem at the C spot, Cato aint do too bad at the spot last year, no need for Vazquez. 2) Will Grant Hill stay healthy and have another All-Star season? He will be productive for the Orlando Magic, but his all-star days are over unless fans keep voting em in for his past. 3) Will Dwight Howard become a bigger part of our offense? Yea he will, and the Magic will be a good team and will make the playoffs as long as Hill is playing when they need em, cause hes really their most consistent scorer. Howard's numbers will improve. 4) Will the Magic make the playoffs? If so, how far will they get? They will make the playoffs and will go to the 2nd round as long as Grant Hill is eligible to play in the playoffs. THey need to add some 3 point shooting too. 5) Will the Magic make any trades before the trade deadline? Which ones? They dont really need any trades, they look like a pretty good team and if Jameer Nelson says hes ready to start, i wont go against it. And theirs no way the Magic gonna trade Steve Francis. 6) Who will be the team's leading scorer, rebounder and assists leader? Scorer- Hill Rebounder- Howard Assist- Nelson
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MrJ:</div><div class="quote_post">I like this thread and I was just wondering, would you mind if I stole this and put this in the Knicks forum? </div> Sure but I would pick some different questions. lol
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">A few interesting things I noticed. You said Dwight Howard might be an All-Star and that we might start Christie. I doubt Christie will be on our roster for most of the season since he has said twice now that he wants out of Orlando. I hope Dwight puts up All-Star numbers but I don't think it will happen with the way we run our offense and since he will be adjusting to whole new positon.</div> Yea Dwight might make it if the Orlando fans and other fans or coaches vote him in if they dont vote for GHill. I said Dougy if no trades go down or no FA signings we cant trade a player coming of a surgery and no team has seen him play or even sign him. Brian Hill would want Dougy playing as his Def. is good but your right he doent want to be here so its hard to convince someone who doesnt want to be somewhere to do something.
