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never the same game twice from moe
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Ah yes Mo Wagner the low usage connector/lunch pail guy
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Yeah, the notion of Moe being on the court long enough to grab five boards - and dish out three assists! - yet not take a shot is fascinating.
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The Wagner bros are really living the dream. I am so happy for Moe that he not only has got his cup of coffee in the NBA but hung tough. If Orlando could become a contender, I wouldāas a denizen of Tallahasseeāstart decking myself head-to-toe in some of their terrible-looking faux Yankees swag. 
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Nice connection at this timestamp between Franz, Moe, and Caleb!
Caleb starting to get solid minutes now too.
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Moās been playing really well
Caris was doing some nice things tonight against the Pelicans. He finished with 13/6/9 and 2 steals. He set up Mobley repeatedly for easy buckets.
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Without Bey last night the Pistons won a game (not sure they actually wanted to winā¦but alas) and Livers got to play 40 minutes. He finished with 11 points (3-6 from three) and 10 boards. I have been pleasantly surprised at how heās found a home in the league so far.
I also noticed something odd in the box score on ESPN. Usually in basketball these days you have all these players not wanting to be listed as a center even if they are 6-10 and only play the post or wanting to just be a guard. Well, the starting lineup shown in the box score lists both Stewart and Duren as C and both Ivey/Hayes as PG. I havenāt seen a PG, PG, SF, C, C before.
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Moe is quietly having a breakout season, and likely get him a multi-year contract.
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Yeah someone will sign him for $8-ish a year
Hopefully the magic, but they have a major tall-guy logjam to work through
Seems like having him backup Carter will be the most straightforward option
The only issue is that Carter is an injury risk always and Iām not sure 33 minutes of Mo is a winning strategy (he really ideally suited as a 15 minute change of pace)
Given that he seemed like his demise was inevitable when he got to Orlando itās a serious turnaround
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guys mentioned in this clip: keita bates-diop AND malachi branham!
And one of Liversā missed 3ās was from beyond halfcourt.
was it within the flow of the offense?
1 Like
All Star Break update for the guys:
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The Clippers have gotten a bit healthier, and while Moussa Diabate has continued to hang around the margins of their rotation, his use had declined a bit. In the 7 games since our last update, he collected 4 DNPs, and played a total of 8 minutes in the other 3. He took 1 shot in this time (he made it), and collected 1 OREB while blocking a shot.
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In news of our other occassionally used rookie, Caleb Houstan collected 3 DNPs in the 8 games the Magic played. He did, however, go 5/8 from three during the 5 he played, and 5/9 from 2. His season three point percentage is currently sitting a hair under 39%. With Chuma Okeke and Jonathan Isaac both making their return from a long layoff, Caleb is largely the guy who plays when anyone in the Magicās standard 10 man rotation canāt, which happens often enough.
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The trade of Saddiq Bey has gotten Isaiah Livers a bit more minutes in the Pistonsā rotation. Since the last update, about 22 minutes, but is still very low usage - 25 shot attempts in the 7 games, exceedingly few assists or turnovers. Isaiah did turn in a double double - 11 points and 10 boards in 40 minutes vs Toronto, the clubās only win in this stretch. He shot 31.5% on 19 three point attempts in this stretch, and made 4 of his 6 twos.
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This is probably the quietest stretch Franz Wagner has had this year - 12.6 points per game (no 20 point games), a little over 3 rebounds, and just under 4 assists per game. Part of this is shooting - he was 43% from the floor (5 points below his season mark) and 32% from 3 (4 points below his season mark), but heās also attempting 3 fewer shots per game than his season average. His usage during this stretch has mostly shifted to Markelle Fultz, who has taken 4-5 more shots a game in February than he did early in the year as he (sloooowwwwly) shows more and more inclination to take jump shots.
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Jordan Pooleās offensive heater continues. He scored 21.6 ppg in this stretch, 42% from 3, 46% from the floor. Heās also had 5.75 assists per game to 2.6 turnovers. Heās mostly been starting in a center-less lineup during this stretch, and the shift of his second unity responsibilites to Donte DiVincenzo has really cleaned up his pretty rampant turnover problem (he was pretty consistently around a 1:1 ratio between assists and turnovers this season prior to this), and the shooting continues to be good. I think his role remains in flux, however - the lineup shift hasnāt really fixed the Warriorsā team-level problems (they went .500 in this sample) and played to a +1 point differential in general, so that record isnāt really a fluke. The small lineup is net -4.3 points per 100 possessions, and their defensive rebounding rate falls by 16 points when it plays. I donāt think either of these are Pooleās fault per se (heās not going to drive rebounding), but removing their center for him is the obvious cause here, and despite shooting significantly better than their competition with this lineup, they lose the possession battle so profoundly it doesnāt matter. Long story short: Poole is mostly doing what youād want by inserting him into the lineup, but that performance - what it adds, and what it removes - isnāt driving victories (and I think we know that Thompson isnāt going to get pulled in his stead).
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Moritz Wagnerās minutes remain a bit reduced with the return of Jonathan Isaac (though youād imagine the Mo Bamba trade will likely bring them back up - which by the way, congratulations to Mo (Wagner) for winning the backup battle vs. a lottery pick!) but heās producing in his minutes. He scored 81 points in the 8 games. He continues to foul quite a bit obviously, but his strengths - scoring at the rim, making free throws, offensive rebounds (1 per game in 17 minutes is solid) continue to be apparent. I remarked earlier, but when Mo arrived in Orlando, his career was teetering on the edge - he had been cut by 3 franchises in slightly more than 2 seasons. Heās really found his footing in Orlando.
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Lots of NBA reporters expected to see Cleveland upgrade at the SF spot over the trade deadline, which would likely have sent Caris Levert out, but that hasnāt happened. Levert seems to have officially lost the starting gig to the more defense-oriented Isaac Okoro, but still grabs over 25 minutes per game off the bench. As weāve discussed a ton, heās been very hot and cold all season, heās been largely cold in this stretch. One thing to keep an eye on - heās only taken 7 FGAās in his past 3 games (without much of a reduction in time), but handing out over 5 assists per game in the stretch, a bit of a change in his overall usage patterns season to day.
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Tim Hardaway Jr. is scoring 14.6 ppg over this time-frame, shooting 36.5% from 3 - pretty close to his season averages. Obviously, this Dallas roster has changed pretty radically since our last update, but Hardaway has remained in the starting lineup (when heās been healthy) over Reggie Bullock. Itās worth keeping an eye on how this lineup defends/rebounds - currently Hardaway is the ā4ā in their starting unit, and at least one of their three guards has a career long apathy for rebounding. The team is 2-3 since their trade, which clearly wasnāt their aspiration when making it, so donāt be shocked if usage patterns get shaken up - Hardaway missed the last two games prior to the week with hamstring tightness, but youād think heāll be ready when play resume.
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Zay was probably one of the coolest players weāve ever had. Glad to see heās hanging on in the NBA.
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He hit 3 of 4 threes today, as well. The miss came at the end of the shot-clock.
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A Michigan > Sparty in-state recruiting dub that won a TON of games in his 4 years. Definitely one of my faves from the Beilein era, and even helped bridge to the Juwan era. Super unfortunate that it feels like a big part of his legacy is the āwhat-coulda-beensā from his injuries. Michigan was gonna play Baylor to a one possession ship and Iāll never hear otherwise
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