If the magic live up to all expectations, despite their poor looking draft this team, barring injuries and expecting better coaching than last year, could be very competative. We'll have to make a few moves to really become a contender but there is no reason we should't be in the running to make the playoffs right now. Point Guard: At the Point we have Jameer Nelson, Andre Barrett, and now Travis Diener. I think drafting Vasquez confirms the management's desire to move Stevie to the 2. Jameer is a very capable starter in the league and if he has someone to pass to is very capable of handing out 7+ assists per game. These two backups are ample and there are many teams in the league that are not nearly as set at this position as we are, especially if Francis still gets some time at the point. Shooting Guard: Looks like Steve Francis as of this point, which really isn't bad. His height is a defensive liability but I don't think it will be as bad as most of us expect. Even if we start getting killed like that this Roster has lotrsa flexibility to make mid-game adjustments to get points in the W collumn. Deshawn is a more than suitable backup, however look for offseason moves taking place involving our shooting guard situation. I don't think we'll see much Christie either way. Small Forward: If Grant Hill is Healthy we have an all star SF, if not we still have a nearly all-star caliber SF in Hedo. I expect hill to be healthy and Hedo to compete for sixth man of the year though. I'm not worried about this position. Entire Front Court: This is an awkward situation, I know we have very god tallent up here if everyone stays healthy, and I really don't think anyone has a fixed position. Look for Battie, Howard, Cato, and Vasquez to all get some time at both PF and center. Look for Kasun possibly to help out too. Only lock at either of these positions is Dwight and we don;t know which one, but at least having many people competing for time is a good problem to have. I dono what you guys think. Give me some ideas
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheGreatK-Bob:</div><div class="quote_post">If the magic live up to all expectations, despite their poor looking draft this team, barring injuries and expecting better coaching than last year, could be very competative. We'll have to make a few moves to really become a contender but there is no reason we should't be in the running to make the playoffs right now.</div> I agree with you. I think if we can avoid injuries and play well as a team we will be able to make the playoffs. The Hawks and Bobcats both had excellent drafts but I think we still have more talent and have a better lineup then both teams. Those two squads are full of rookies and is pretty much based on potential talent while we have the perfect mix between veterens (Grant Hill, Stacey Augmon, Kelvin Cato, Tony Battie, Doug Christie), young guys (Dwight Howard, Fran Vazquez, Jameer Nelson, Travis Diener) and players that are in their primes (Steve Francis, Hedo Turkoglu, Deshawn Stevensom). <div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheGreatK-Bob:</div><div class="quote_post">Point Guard: At the Point we have Jameer Nelson, Andre Barrett, and now Travis Diener. I think drafting Vasquez confirms the management's desire to move Stevie to the 2. Jameer is a very capable starter in the league and if he has someone to pass to is very capable of handing out 7+ assists per game. These two backups are ample and there are many teams in the league that are not nearly as set at this position as we are, especially if Francis still gets some time at the point.</div> Our point guard postion is set as you said. With Francis, Jameer, Diener and Barrett all capable of running the point we are set. We may have a nice group of players but all of our point guards besides Francis are short. Hopefully our size doesn't slow us down and that we can still compete with some very talented point guards in our divison (Gilbert Arenas, Raymond Felton, Salim Stoudemire). <div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheGreatK-Bob:</div><div class="quote_post">Shooting Guard: Looks like Steve Francis as of this point, which really isn't bad. His height is a defensive liability but I don't think it will be as bad as most of us expect. Even if we start getting killed like that this Roster has lotrsa flexibility to make mid-game adjustments to get points in the W collumn. Deshawn is a more than suitable backup, however look for offseason moves taking place involving our shooting guard situation. I don't think we'll see much Christie either way.</div> I'm not sure if it is going to be Stevey at the shooting guard position just because we have other guys who can play the spot. Christie, Stevenson and Hedo are all capable of playing the two guard and would all make better fits then Francis. I like how you talked about us making mid game adjustments because our SG could depend on the team were playing. I'm expecting us to experiment with a lot of guys this season and will eventually find the perfect guy. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheGreatK-Bob:</div><div class="quote_post">Small Forward: If Grant Hill is Healthy we have an all star SF, if not we still have a nearly all-star caliber SF in Hedo. I expect hill to be healthy and Hedo to compete for sixth man of the year though. I'm not worried about this position.</div> Grant and Hedo are both players that are able to start and score twenty points per game. I think this position is set and I believe these two guys are the reason we didn't draft Danny Granger. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheGreatK-Bob:</div><div class="quote_post">Entire Front Court: This is an awkward situation, I know we have very god tallent up here if everyone stays healthy, and I really don't think anyone has a fixed position. Look for Battie, Howard, Cato, and Vasquez to all get some time at both PF and center. Look for Kasun possibly to help out too. Only lock at either of these positions is Dwight and we don;t know which one, but at least having many people competing for time is a good problem to have.</div> I'm fine with this postion and I believe it will be our strongest aspect of our game this year. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheGreatK-Bob:</div><div class="quote_post">I dono what you guys think. Give me some ideas</div> Great post and I agree on you with most points.
The points you guys are making are valid. We need to stay healthy like every other team. I think if we were able to stay healthy last season we could have made a late season run. As for next season we can compete against the east very well with other scoring and hopefully some interior defense. We are no Suns or Pistons in either catergory but we can play hard. We have a talented team that can play ball, we need to add a taller PG like A. Daniels. We can make some free agent moves this offseason we should be in good shape. I think getting rid of christie is a must after what happened last season. We need our core to stay healthy so we dont have to rely on 10 day contracts to fill our roster. I read we did not pick up options on Hunter or Barrett. So we have some roster space to add free agents. As far as comparing the magic to the rest of the division we are 3rd right now, if we can make a move for a PG or quality SG we could be 2nd. I see Miami in 1st and dont see that changing unless injuries hit them. Washington I think depends on if Hughes remains on the team. If he leaves then I can see us moving to 2nd in the division. I think the Hawks and Bobcats will be better but to many new faces to instantly become a winning team. If anyone has anything to add be my guest. I cant wait for the season to start.
Watch for Grant Hill to be very good this year maybe better then last year beacuse he is not Rehabing hes working on this game. People say that the front court is short with Nelson+Stevio but talent wise might beat size. We could play alot of full court press as BHill liked doing that and Dwight with Nelson pressuring and helping out as Hill and Kato in the middle and guarding the hoop. We can contend with the Heat,Pistons,Pacers as we should be one of the 4 best teams in the east.
