It looks like the 04-05 roster is complete, if no more trades go down before the season starts. Question is, whos going to be on the Injured list? If Hill is ready, this is my prediction for the Starting 5, Bench and IL: Starting 5 C-Cato PF-Howard SF-Hill SG-Mobley PG-Francis Bench C-Battie PF-Garrity SF-Turkoglu SG-Stevenson PG-Nelson SF-Augmon PF-DeClercq IL SG-Bogans C-Kasun PF-Bradley If Hill is injured, then Turkoglu will start, and Bogans will come off the IL.
Wow. I haven't posted in awhile. Anyways, there's no way in hell Bogans has a "phanton injury" and goes on the IL. I can see Augmon going there before him. And most likely, someone will having a nagging injury and be placed there. It wouldn't shock me if Nelson was on there at the start of the season for 2 reasons: 1)Struggles in the pre-season. 2)Watch and learn.
I understand your point, but I do feel different. I can't see Augmon going on the IL at all, he never has and never will-otherwise he wouldn't have signed with Orlando. Augmon would have asked for 2 things before he signed-having #2 on his jersey (which he got yesterday) and some playing time. He averaged 20 minutes a game last season, so for him to sign with a team that would put him on the IL would be crazy. This organisation has undertaken a major turnaround and the focus is "Team" and "Defense"-and that is why Augmon was signed. But your right about someone having a nagging injury, theres always going to be someone injured-thats apart of the NBA. Players like Bogans, Kasun and Nelson are young and have many years ahead of them.
Yea I sort of disagree with this, I think that Bogans and Nelson can both be starting to make a quicker yet shorter lineup... PG - Franchise SG - Nelson?/Mobley (if Nelson stuggles at SG) SF - Hill?/Bogans (if Hill hurt) PF - Howard C - Cato Looks better, I think if they are playing someone with a bigger 2 guard (like the Rockets TMac [6-7]) then they will start Mobley, but if they play someone like Iverson, i'll go with Nelson...
The Magic will deffiantly not be starting Jameer at SG,he is a pure PG so thats what he will play!If Jameer was starting(he wont),then he would be playing PG and they would be rotating Steve Francis to SG. But I am 95% sure C.Mobley will be the Magic starting SG,he is a proven vet and a good player there is no reason for him to come off the bench,and I doubt Francis would approve that if it were to happen.
Yeah you don't put a guy who is only 6'0 tall on a good day at the SG position, unless you want him to be killed. Cat will be the opening day starter for the Magic at the SG position. He is one of the perfect running mates for Francis, only person I could think of better is T-Mac. The future looks bright for the Magic, and I expect a top 5 playoff spot for them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MavsJ33:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah you don't put a guy who is only 6'0 tall on a good day at the SG position, unless you want him to be killed. Cat will be the opening day starter for the Magic at the SG position. He is one of the perfect running mates for Francis, only person I could think of better is T-Mac. The future looks bright for the Magic, and I expect a top 5 playoff spot for them.</div> A TOP FIVE PLAYOFF SPOT!?!? , in 3 years yes but right now no, they have question marks at the 3 with Grant Hill's injury, Howard needs to learn how to be a top 10 power forward (He is not going to be LeBron)...Maybe next year or the year after.... EDIT: ------- I didn't see that you said the future looks bright, my bad...
Top 5 is not out of the question..... Considering how weak the East is, I don't think that Top 5 is asking for to much. New Orleans came 5th last season in the East with a 41-41 record. Now this Orlando team is much deeper and better, so 41-45 wins is not out of the question. They have 10-12 players capable of putting up 20 points on any given night, so scoring is not going to be a issue. They have great defenders on the team, and a bunch of 'scrappy' players willing to do the dirty work. I like the chances of this Orlando Team, and I think that yeah they could make Top 5, if not, The Playoffs for sure.
My Ideal Lineup C-Cato PF-Dwight SF-Turkoglu SG-Mobley PG-Franchise Bench Bogans Nelson Garrity Kasun Battie Hill Stevenson IR- Declerq Bradley Augmon More than likely they will swap Kasun and Declerq(but I hate Declerq, so that's why he's on my bench) Hell they will probably start Declerq at Center and bring Cato and Battie off the bench. Hill should come off the bench, he shouldn't start. At the beginning of the season(about 1st 20-25 games) set a limit of 20-25 mins a game. Don't let him get anymore than that, so he slowly gets back into game strength. I really like our starting lineup, when Franchise drives to the basket, he will have 2 guys that can spot up and shoot. Bogans, Stevenson, and Hill are good backups for SG/SF, they will all get good playing time. I still don't really understand signing Augmon, because we are so loaded at SG/SF(Just for the record, I like Augmon and know what he brings, but I can't understand playing him over the younger guys) Bogans WILL not be on the IR at all this season(unless of course he gets injured) We are a little weak at the PG spot, if either of Jameer or Franchise gets injured we are screwed there. We need one more guy who can step in and do the job. We needed to pick up a PG instead of another SG/SF. Kasun, Battie, and Declerq are good off the bench with their hustle. I hope Kasun sees the most time though, since he might have a future with us. Probable Lineup(with Johnny Davis) C-Declerq PF-Dwight SF-Hill(30-40 mins a game, and forces another injury) SG-Mobley PG-Franchise I see us getting 6-8 seed.
I don't think that the starting five will be set in stone until after the preseason is ended. We have a lot of new talent to evaluate and I think that JD is going to have to assess what combination of players is going to be able to give other teams a hard time. Point guard is a no brainer though, Steve Francis is our only option to start here. Shooting guard is the same way, Cuttino Mobley has no competition at this point and I don't see anyone challenging him for the starting spot at the 2 guard position. The backcourt is easily going to be Francis/Mobley. Small forward is where things get really tough. You have 4 guys who could start at this position and do a good job at it (Grant Hill, Hedo Turkoglu, DeShawn Stevenson, and Keith Bogans). All of these guys can play the 3 position well and did a good job at it on whatever team they were on last year. The first one that you can eliminate though is Stevenson, who fits better IMO as a backup 2 guard. Bogans is a great spark off the bench, and I think that he could start and contribute greatly given the opportunity, but I think that the Magic staff thinks he needs a little more time to develop, so he'll be riding the pine. So it's really between Turkoglu and Hill. Hill is always a question mark and might not even make it through the first couple weeks of the season, plus, when he is playing, the Magic are going to want to start him off really slowly. But if both Turkoglu and Hill are healthy, look for Hill to start. Power forward is pretty much a lock as well. Since we don't have Gooden to fall back on anymore, I think that Dwight Howard is the only real option that we have as far as a starting power forward. Tony Battie isn't a starter and never will be one. Plus, when you draft a guy like Howard you can start him right away. The athleticism that this guy has will make up for his lack of experience (a la Amare Stoudemire in his first season in Phoenix). Heck, if he progresses through well and plays with some intensity - learning some things along the way - he should have no problem putting up a good case for Rookie of the Year. Center is another question mark. Cato CAN be a starter on the East coast and did well over in the Western Conference, but was never really anything special. He did do a great job of containing Shaq (if that's even possible) from what I've heard, so I think that he'll be a defensive presence. And really, who else do we have to play there? DeClerq? Cato is a temporary solution at the 5 spot and I think that if the Magic can pursue a free agent center after this year, they'll do it simply because this guy is not going to give you anything on the offensive side of the floor. But he's sadly the best player we have at the position. The bench is looking pretty strong though in the 1-3 positions. Nelson, Stevenson, and Bogans coming on the floor for 10-15 mpg might be a good spark for the Magic. I see no reason this team can't go to the second round of the playoffs this year.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Courtking031:</div><div class="quote_post">Yea I sort of disagree with this, I think that Bogans and Nelson can both be starting to make a quicker yet shorter lineup... PG - Franchise SG - Nelson?/Mobley (if Nelson stuggles at SG) SF - Hill?/Bogans (if Hill hurt) PF - Howard C - Cato Looks better, I think if they are playing someone with a bigger 2 guard (like the Rockets TMac [6-7]) then they will start Mobley, but if they play someone like Iverson, i'll go with Nelson...</div> That lineup would never happen. Nelson is not, by any means, a SG. He's 5'10, no where near SG height. If anything, he'd be the starting PG, move Franchise over to SG and put Mobley at the SF. That's the only way Nelson gets in the starting lineup.
