https://twitter.com/WilliamsLaurenL/status/1840792779967942810
https://twitter.com/BTRowland/status/1840742523368530374
Kobe B full go for camp. Big season
Jett is up to 19 points.
https://x.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1844189820815622624?t=7FfyHgkNtq8eNsc_gBFwJA&s=19
Oh heck ya!!
#TradeTreySZN
A rundown of where we are to start the season:
Kobe Bufkin appears to have a rotation role in Atlanta, coming off the bench as a combo guard. That is, of course, until he injured his shoulder in the final pre-season game. Kobe was a little turnover happy and didnāt shoot great (other than a bench vs. bench game on 10/17 when he canned 7/14 threes). At this point, Iād assume heās in the rotation (but wonāt play the first week of the season at a minimum), but missing time always opens the door for someone to take your opportunities.
Jett Howard seems to be in a similar place, likely holding an end-of-rotation (but in the rotation!) role for Orlando, who really badly needs someone of his general profile if heās capable of doing anything in the other areas (defendā¦he has 0 rebounds in 3 pre-season games, so LOL). It appears that his opportunity make come at the expense of Caleb Houstan, if pre-season rotations/minute allocations are any indication.
Moussa Diabate is now on a 2-way in Charlotte. He played quite a bit in the pre-season, and his counting stats - especially rebounds were pretty good. The Hornets project to be one of hte worst franchises in the league and finally committed to rebuilding after years of Jordan-induced attempts to compete with a bad roster, so it wouldnāt shock me to see him bubble to the surface more here than on a Clippers team that was trying to win games. It would appear there is a chance he starts the year on the NBA roster, but even if he doesnāt, I think heāll appear.
As mentioned, Caleb Houstan largely received pre-season minute loads among the second tier of bench players (ie, āguys we arenāt gonna playā), and it appears that the āroleā heās had the last few years (last guy in the rotation, man we desperately need shooting) has gone to a fellow Wolverine at this stage. Iāve spilled lots of ink in this thread detailing that Houstan really only does 1 thing, and really only does that think acceptably, not particularly well. Weāre all familiar with the things Jett doesnāt do (and apparently still doesnāt), but heās unquestionably got a bit more juice that Caleb, and on an offensively-challenged team, thatās more worth exploring. Heāll start the season on the roster, but this is starting to fell like a tenuous NBA future.
More an FYI, but to my sadness (he is probably my favorite Wolverine of recent years), it does not appear as if Isaiah Livers is rostered anywhere on planet earth. He also appears to have closed his socials, so no idea whatās going on there.
We all know what Franz Wagner is going to do, heāll start at the 3 in Orlando. He just got paid like heās an All-Star (which he has not, to date, played like), so the club is clearly anticipating future growth here. The most obvious bell-weather here is going to be if he can make threes (again, this team badly needs it, especially in the starting 5).
Jordan Poole is going to be The Tank Commander, 1st Class for a Wizards team thorough committed to being as miserable as possible. To curb my sarcasm, he will start at PG here, and I think even if he is reformed, it will be difficult to post acceptable looking numbers for a team starting Bilal Coulibaly ad Alex Sarr, two guys better suited, for now, for the u20 French National team. If he is insistent on doing another silly season, there is positive buzz about Bub Carrington, and this team clearly DGAF about playing a guy who isnāt ready yet. Malcom Brogdon is here to take minutes too, I guess, for the 25 games heās healthy for.
Moritz Wagner, like his brother, has a pretty well-defined role. I wrote several times that heās probably the premier offensive bench 5 in the league, and heās a truly devastating offensive player - he found A+ synergy with Jonathan Isaac last year, a player with whom he fits like a yin yang symbol, and team was fantastic when they played together. I think Moās minutes will likely be somewhat anchored to how much Isaac is able to play, because as good as he is offensively, they do need a real eraser next to him defensively.
Caris Levert is also again in a very familiar role as a titular 6th man who will almost certainly start over 40 games this year. For starters, Max Strus is out, at a minimum for 6 weeks and Levert seems most likely to take those minutes (Isaac Okoro is another possibility but it really feels like the floor is going to get super-tight if thatās the case - Dean Wade is another possibility, who can actually deliver some of what Strus brought). Even if Levert isnāt the starter at the 3, heās going to be the guy that plays for every minute Mitchell and Garland are staggered, and will also start for both when either (injury prone) guard canāt go. Caris is a classic jack of all trades/master of none type of player, who showed some significant growth last year as a play-maker for others, even if his shot again waxed and waned. Ideally, heās their sixth man, but again this roster seems structured in a way that he will inevitably end up starting a decent amount (or at least getting 30+ mpg).
Tim Hardaway Jr., as we all know, is likely the starting 3 in Detroit this year. Sorry for my Wolverine/Pistons fans, but Iām not particularly optimistic here. Heās been an effective shooter really only paired with Luka Doncic, and there is growing list of players who whom that statement is true. Cade is good, but we can agree heās not Doncic. Even with Luka, Hardaway is coming off a year where his minutes dipped 6 mpg from January February and another 7 from February to March and his shooting seemed to recede with the loss in time. From that point, he lost another 11 mpg in the playoffs, and ended up flirting with DNPs and some awfully hairy misses. Obviously ābeing bad in the playoffsā is a standard that doesnāt apply to the Pistons, but his game started to fray a bit last year, and heās approaching the age where sometimes that just happens forever. My personal theory here is that he cedes the starting role to Fontecchio and eventually loses minutes to Malik Beasley (who canāt do a lot of things, but can shoot threes).
Duncan Robinson is likely going to get 20+ mpg off the bench in Miami again, after a major rebound year last season, and probably his second best pro season, after that one where he shot 47% from 3. Heās never going to shoot that well again, and didnāt come that close last year (but still made nearly 40% of a high volume), but the rest of his game continues to admirably grow - he actually ran ball screens, tripled his career high in assists, and triples his per-game 2pt FG made average. Theyre talking as if Nikola Jovic has passed him in the rotation, but Iāll believe that when I see it. Robinson is also a constant trade candidate for a roster that still wants to see itself as a title contender with no real out to improve - his contract, which last year, was seen as a millstone, seems pretty reasonable today (2 years, $38 million) due to a combination of the leagueās sky-rocketing salaries and the caliber of his play. I kind of think weāll see him elsewhere at the end of the year.
Wagners score 49 tonight
Franz has scored 52 in his first two games.
I like that Moussa is in the Hornets rotation. Hopefully, that sticks.
Franz has to miss the second half due to illness. . . leads to Jettās first real rotation minutes of his career
Orā¦.Anthony Black just got 31 minutes
JP with 26 points and 5 assists, including making 6-8 from 3, gets the Wiz their first W.
Kobe Bufkinās injury is a dislocated shoulder, his second on the same shoulder in his NBA career. It will apparently take him at least to the all-star break.