Photo: USA Today
After a promising start to the season, the Orlando Magic have stumbled by going 9-24 in 2016. They started the week strong by winning 107-100 against Sacramento. Mario Hezonja continues to play 15-20 minutes a game. The inconsistent rookie shot only one for six from the field in 19 minutes, although contributed with four rebounds and two assists. C.J Watson has recently been inserted into the rotation. Scott Skiles has preferred the veteran guard over Hezonja and Brandon Jennings during the past few games.
The West coast trip reached a major low, as Orlando lost 121-84 to Portland. It was a pitiful effort by allowing the Trail Blazers to shoot 56 percent from the field. Hezonja scored eleven points in 27 minutes of action. Although the shooting guard shot four of eight from the field and tried to make plays in a lost game, his underwhelming defense can’t be ignored. Hezonja was a whopping minus 28 in the plus-minus margin. Similar to most European players, it takes time for them to adjust defensively, due to the speed and physicality of the NBA. Mario finished the week by contributing with two points, three assists, and two rebounds in a 116-110 win over Denver. Committing three turnovers in 14 minutes isn’t going to please Skiles.
At 29-37, Orlando’s playoff hopes have essentially faded. They travel to Charlotte on Wednesday in a divisional matchup. LeBron James and Cleveland come to Orlando on Friday, as Hezonja will get to test his skills against the best player in the NBA. A three-game road trip starts on Sunday against Toronto, before finishing the week against Boston on Monday.
Photo: NBA.com
The lost year continues for Bojan Bogdanovic and the Nets. At 18-48, they are still trying to play hard in a difficult situation. Bogdanovic was rested in a 95-89 loss to the lowly Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. The second-year guard came back on Sunday and performed admirably against Milwaukee. It was one of his better games by contributing with 13 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Bojan isn’t known for getting teammates involved or securing rebounds. That wasn’t the case on Sunday from not backing down on both sides of the court. Brooklyn lost their fourth consecutive game in a 105-100 loss on Sunday.
Bojan goes for 44 points
Bogdanovic had the greatest game of his career by scoring a whopping 44 points in last night’s win over Philadelphia. Bojan went 17 for 27 from the field, as the Nets kept feeding him. In a battle of the worst teams in the league, the sharp shooter showed his capabilities in a bigger offensive role. Even during a forgettable season, this was an unforgettable moment for Bogdanovic and marks his overall improvement as a scorer.
Brooklyn starts a two-game road trip on Thursday against Chicago followed by traveling to Detroit on Saturday. The week ends on Tuesday at home against Charlotte.
Photo: AFP
The last time Warriors center Andrew Bogut attempted a shot from beyond the arc was two years ago. On Monday night against the Pelicans, with the shot clock winding down, Andrew let one fly and connected to get the crowd on their feet. The three point shot started a 13-0 run for the Warriors, who became the fastest team ever to win 60 games. The only way it could have been better is if Bogut woulc have raised his arms and ran down the court before the ball went in.
“We may have to draw up a couple plays for Bogues now. We’ll see,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr joked. “No, he messes around in practice, and he’s actually a pretty good shooter. If he just lets it fly, he can make shots. It’s just not what he’s thinking about out there. He just wants to block shots, get assists and do his thing.It seemed to energize the team. The bench was going crazy. The crowd was going nuts. It was one of those lucky plays that gets you going.”
The Warriors have cut down Andrew’s minutes this week, keeping him fresh for a playoff run. Bogut’s numbers have slightly dropped because of his limited minutes but the 7 footer continues to be productive in the paint. The Warriors are still on pace to break the Bulls All time record.
Bogut for threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Photo: NBA
Damjan Rudež watched from the bench this week for the Minnesota Timbervolves in a 99-96 win at Oklahoma City on Friday night and then three days later in a 107-104 loss at Phoenix. It will be interesting to see where the big man ends up next season as the Wolves have decided to play their youth the rest of the season.
~Allen Strk reporting from New York and Denis Svirčić reporting from sunny Southern California
Big deal. Same goes for every athlete.
Not what I am referring to. There is info about his marriage that has never been reported on.
Actually it has leaked.
Negative…….no statue should ever be built to honor a person while they are alive.
Peyton made millions for the Colts and Colts rewarded him by paying him millions and by covering up his personal life activity so it would never leek into the media and ruin his reputation.
Bogdanović has already been looked at by a few teams.
He has an excellent TS% which will only get better with confidence and consistent minutes.
It’s a good time to buy low on him, but I think the Nets want to wait it out and trade him once his value (and stats) are higher.
That team destroyed their future by trading away their unprotected lottery picks for the next three years. They can’t even start rebuilding because of this. Their only hope is to get some first round picks in return for Lopez, Thaddeus and Bojan.
@ Ziva
If we want to stick to your definition of jock sniffing, then that stuff about Peyton doesn’t fall within your guidelines.
Peyton single-handily saved the Colts franchise and turned it into a pretty competitive for the last few decades since the late 90’s. He revolutionized the position ala what Johnny Unitas did prior. Owns coutnless records.
Let me put it in Ziva-speak.
If you were part of the Indianapolis Colts and the GM, Presidents, Owner, C-suite and you saw all the millions Peyton made for you…
…you would construct a statue of him too.
Our u17 team lost again….Wales now Sweden.
Playing on a shitty teams and performing well is fine, but it doesn’t tell me if that player can play fro a top team and produce when it matters.
Very easy to put up good numbers with no pressure.
This is not meant to be a knock on him. I would say the same about any player who puts up numbers with a shit side.
also……………..this week in jocksniffing……………..
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/18/indianapolis-colts-to-erect-peyton-manning-statue-and-retire-no18-shirt?CMP=share_btn_tw
@ ziva
i fear you’re very incorrect that putting up numbers on a bad team is meaningless
if you put up numbers in an inefficient way…that is meaningless (i.e 20 points on 20 shots)
which often happens on a bad team…cause hey…somebody has to shoot and score some points
but scoring efficiently is an extremely relevant indicator of ability regardless of your teams’ quality. and actually, scoring efficiently on a bad team might be even more valuable b/c defenses have less to worry about (i.e would draymond green or klay thompson be as efficient without playing with steph curry)
BREAKING news of the nogomet side of things.
http://www.nycosmos.com/news/2016/03/18/english-fa-cup-winner-kranjcar-signs-with-cosmos
LOL
next time I’m back in NY, I might actually go to a game and see him in person.
here is a fun multiple choice and don’t cheat..
who gets more fans on average for their home games?
NY Cosmos or Lokomotiva?
I guess this signals the end of Niko’s NT career?
😀
“Put up good numbers on a good team.”
Absolutely. But keep in mind this is his first NBA team and he came into this dysfunctional mess. This time might end up being a “try-out” for other teams out there come the off-season.
I’m sure they are going to completely dismantle that team and build from the ground up. Hopefully Bogdanovic impresses some GM and scouts and hooks up with a playoff team. THEN we can really see if he can cut it in the league or if he’s better off with some Euroleague team on the other side of the pond.
I think Hezonja has the potential to be up to a #2 on some team. If he can get that shot to be consistent, can get to the point where he plays solid D and can still mix in some drives to the basket and good transition play, he can definitely be something in the league.
He has a way to go, though. Where Bogdanovic I’d say is slowly approaching his ceiling, Hezonja is only on the ground floor of his career.
I agree with what you are saying. He would be a good off the bench piece for a top tier team. However, there are plenty of guys who have put up good numbers on bad teams.
Put up good numbers on a good team.
@ Ziva
Sometimes players need situations like this. Someone gets injured, your team is in the shitter, etc. and then you’re able to build confidence, get more exposure and build your resume.
I mean, look back at Drazen even. He was part of a stacked backcourt in Portland (Porter, Drexler, Ainge, etc.) and Drazen got no time even though he practiced his ass off. He gets traded to NJ, which was a terrible team at the time, got tons of playing time, built his confidence back up – NJ got a few decent pieces (Kenny Anderson, Derrick Coleman) and they were relevant for a bit, with Drazen as a leader of the team.
I bet scouts and other NBA people ARE watching Bojan now that he has a chance to play so they can see what he is capable of.
I don’t think Bojan will become some NBA superstar, but I think he could build out a nice little career for himself as a 3rd or 4th option on a good team.
It doesn’t mean nothing.
If it did, then there would be many others dropping 44 point games on bad teams (as there are several in the league).
Bogdanović has game, he can shoot and slash. His issue always was not being assertive enough. Now he has a green light to be a main contributor on this team and further develop his game.
He could become a solid third option on a good team, which would make him a lot of money in today’s NBA.
Easy to ball when you are on a bad team.
The numbers he is putting up mean nothing right now. Easy to put up numbers on crap teams against crap teams. Good to see him producing; but means nothing.
bogdanovic starting to ball. another 27 point night from him
LOL @ Bogut hitting that three.