absolutely brutal man. sucks so bad
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Paolo is out for a while so Franz is going to have to shoulder more of the burden for Orlando.
Damn. I saw on Wednesday night that ESPN had him listed in the box score and I thought that meant he was almost back.
Feel weird to be covering in the olā player update how an NBA team is reacting to a non-Alum, but since like half our alums play for the Magic, lets talk Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter.
Paolo Banchero tore an oblique muscle and is out āa few weeksā. In the first game without him, the Magic promoted Anthony Black to the starting lineup, bumped KCP to the 3, and Franz to the 4, also, relevantly, bringing Jett Howard into the back of the rotation and opening some garbage minutes for Caleb Houstan. In the latter game, they started Tristan da Silva, and kept Franz in his slot, but Howard was still in the rotation and Houstan still in for garbage minutes.
Simultaneously, Wendell Carter has knee tendinits, missed one game, then left the next after 8 minutes. Mo Wagner is the primary beneficiary of this absence, with Goga Bitadze out with a foot problem. So, with that being said!
Kobe Bufkin has not played yet this year with a dislocated shoulder, and there is no impending news of his return. He had this identical injury on the same shoulder last season - at least a small cause of concern.
Jett Howard did not begin the season in the rotation, picking up some scraps across a slew of non-competitive games, averaging 6.5 minutes. In the three games including Bancheroās injury ( a close loss to the Bulls as they blew their Banchero-fed lead, then two slaughters to Cleveland and Dallas), heās averaged nearly 17 minutes. Heās shot 38.2% from the floor and 37% from threeā¦so perfectly fine three point accuracy given the volume (3.8 attempts over 17 minutes is pretty high), but some struggles from inside the arc. His defensive rebounding rate (14.5%) is actuallyā¦ok? Most of what he does is shoot threes still (over double the volume of twos, so Iāll say itās an ok start?
With Mark Williams again injured, Moussa Diabate has surprisingly not only found himself on the opening roster in Charlotte, but in the rotation. Moussa has played in all games, collecting nearly 3 points and 5 rebounds in twelve minutes per game. His largest asset continues to be offensive rebounding - heās rebounded 19.4% of his teamās misses, a phenomenal mark. Heās still obviously very limited offensively other than that - aside from one middie, all his attempts are at the rim, so a 58% fg% is a bit below average, and he doesnāt pass. One other area that Michigan fans will recognize is that heās not really blocking shots - he blocked 2 in his first game, and hasnāt gotten one since. This redounds to him actually being, so far, a somewhat poor defender. At the very least, Iād expect him to fall out of the rotation when Mark Williams returns, but part of the blessing of playing behind Mark Williams is that it generally provides ample opportunities to fill in.
Caleb Houstan gets garbage-time minutes in Orlando, and fortunately for him, when the Magic gave lots of those opportunities when Paolo was healthy (to the positive!) and even more now that heās hurt (to the negative). Heās made 2 of his 4 three point attempts so farā¦very little else.
Isaiah Livers revealed via his social media that he had hip-resurfacing surgery, an alternative to a hip replacement, a condition he claims to have suffered with for two years. You donāt see many NBA guys walking around with replaced jointsā¦unforunately, I think this likely wraps his appearance in this feature unless he takes up coaching.
As I noted in the preview, Franz Wagner has much to prove this year - is he just a nice player - 3rd or 4th guys on a good team - or a second all-star to go with Paolo (as his contract suggests). So far, the results lie probably a little closer to āa nice playerā, but obviously early/small sample. To the positive - his three point shooting has been better after last yearās 28% struggle, sitting at 37.5% on 4.6 attempts in 26.4 minutes (his minutes are down largely for leaving a game with an illnes after 7 minutes). That illness, however, marks a line in his season to date. Prior to that, Franz had posted (next to Paolo) 25 points a game in 32 minutes, and made 10/22 threes, dishing out 4 assists a game, scoring 75 points on 51 shots - really strong efficiency. He scored 7 on 5 shots in the illness game (a solid start), but in the 3 games since that illness (and 2.25 without Paolo) heās scored 12 points a game, made 1 of 7 threes, and 45% on twos, albeit with a bit more playmaking (nearly 6 assists). The team badly needs him to be the lodestar on offense without Paolo and clearly heās struggling to swallow that. One issue is how his game has shifted - in games with Paolo, 44.6% of his shots were threes, since Paoloās injury 16.6% of his shots are threes (I assume this means heās playing much more with the ball, and heās not a willing three point shooter off the dribble). So far, the learning is that Franz was relatively dependent on Paolo for his own offense, and without him, the struggle is real.
Credit where itās due, itās hard to knock Jordan Pooleās start, even with a nightmarish supporting cast. Jordan is shooting 22 a game, shooting 46%, but 51% on threes, on nearly 8.5 attempts a game. That red-hot unsustainable three point shooting is masking a pretty sharp decline on his twos (40% on 7 attempts), which were the aspect of his game that really popped when he broke out in Golden State (Jordan shot 53% on twos in his two years as a heavy usage guy for the Warriors). Obviously, itās way too early to call that a trend. His turnover rate (16.5%) is at a career high (and heās generally pretty high turnover), but at least coupled with a career high in assist rate, and honestly - itās hard to think of a rougher offensive ecosystem to play in (Washingtonās starting lineup has a -23 net rating and posts an eFG% 23% lower than its competition, amazing he has an assist!). His floor mates: Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Alexandre Sarr, and then either Kyshawn George or Kyle Kuzma. Rough!
Mo Wagner is doing what youād expect of him (which is good for his role) - 11 points and 5 boards in nearly 18 minutes per game on strong efficiency (61.7% true shooting). Heās been a little more profligate in his fouling (5.5 per 36 minutes), and shooting a bit more threes than year (but consistent with his overall career rate). He is, at the moment, starting at center, a job that I think will push the limits of what he can provide defensively and particularly in terms of ānot foulingā. I think weāll see some points though!
Caris Levert has been the sixth man for the season to date best team in the league (according to net rating) - the undefeated Cleveland Caveliers. Like his teammates, Caris is off to a good start - 12 points, 4 assists in 22 minutes on an unsustainable 72% true shooting (heās shooting 53% on threes). Obviously, the efficiency wonāt sustain. His overal minutes and shot attempts are dragging a little bit from career norms, but the Cavs have also been inflicting lots of blowouts, so weāll see how that trends. He did miss their last game with a knee concern, but given he was listed āquestionableā, I donāt believe itās major yet. Levertās role is the same - heās the primary backup for both Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, literally every second of playing time comes with 1 of them and not the other.
Tim Hardawayās thing is always three point shooting, and heās hitting 48.8% on 6 attempts a game in 29 minutes, good for 13 ppg. His two point shooting (slim volume) currently sits under 40%. However - knocking down threes is basically what heās for, and heās doing it well thus far.
With the late-season acquisition of Terry Rozier, the return of Nikola Jovic, and the emergence of Jaime Jacquez, Duncan Robinson has seen his role cut down to 17 mpg, including all the on-ball stuff they had him doing last year in the absence of other options (assist rate down from 15% to 4%). His shooting has also not been great - 23% on threes 37% on twos. Itās early yet, but this may be one to monitor - a trade here still makes a ton of sense to me.
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TIMMAY is also leading the Pistons in charges taken with 3 and has drawn 2 or 3 other offensive fouls. Heās limited defensively, but at least heās finding a way to make some impact on that end.
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In the semi-Michigan category, Colin Castleton did land on an NBA team after being released by the Lakers. Heās on a two-way contract with the Grizzlies and has combined for 3 minutes in 2 games, with 0 points.
I also thought it was kind of funny that Juwan is finally coaching Jalen Wilson.
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Thoughts on the Nets (since the Pistons just played them). Theyāre like a team of good role players. Clayton. Cam Johnson. Finney-Smith. Even Cam Thomas is a good role player if heās your designated bench scorer.
Theyāre doing better than I expected. I thought theyād be a bottom-3 team in the league.
Theyāre going to insure they find their way there by season end, I guarantee you.
Do they lose their draft pick otherwise?
No, but they just traded Mikal Bridges to get it back, so I assume they arenāt going to devalue it so they can win 36 games
Mousse getting some run tonight versus the Pistons.
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He gets decent burn there. Seems to play 15-20 a night.
Really wanted to see Kobe this year. Feel like he was gonna take his first step this year towards becoming a perennial six man of the year every season.
It worked out for Michigan but I canāt help wondering if NIl was in full swing 3 years ago if Caleb and Moussa came back.
Kobe
Jett
Caleb
Moussa
Hunter
Dug, Tarris, Joey Baker, Terrance
Is at least a big ten contender. Wonder if it plays out differently for Juwan. Flawed roster still, but certainly interesting.
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If Williams ever comes back, heās likely out of the rotation.
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One of lifeās mysteries. Hard to say since both were so eager to get into the league. Frankly, I am still perplexed by Caleb. Wouldnāt it logically mean that Sam Walters should be a second rounder right now?
Glad Moussa is getting some run.
44 for the Wagners tonight (Orlando finally won)
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Ben Wallace would be proud.
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That KAT number is unsurprising and was a big reason why I didnāt buy the Knicks hype when they made that deal. KAT is a more talented player than Randle or DiVincenzo, but I think the Knicks were better off with those two guys than paying KAT $60MM+ per year.