The Leap/The Champion - Fngb3's Blog

Fngb3's Blog

The Leap/The Champion

Posted on February 11, 2012 at 09:35 PM.

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By all accounts the Orlando Magic assembled one of the most talented, well fitting group of forwards in the game yet somehow turned in a disappointing 2014-15 season.

ESPN spent the summer months detailing exactly why, with an offseason and training camp to gel, Orlando's big men were going to come out strong and overpower teams:

-Dwight Howard had the inside game locked down. If the ball got to him within 8 feet of the basket it was as good as 2 points. But like the last season, without a playmaker Howard would too often find himself getting fed in the post too far from the rim to be effective.

-The young, new all-star Ion Falls had a truly spectacular mid ranged game. He was deadly from 12-20 feet (97 mid range, 95 cap +2 boost via salary purchases) and with that nearly unstoppable post fadeaway effective from that range many felt the Magic should make him their primary scoring option.

-Love while possessing a serviceable post game of his own would be able to stalk the perimeter with the two guards and occasionally dive to the basket looking for easy cuts before swinging back out.

This would give Orlando a very unorthodox offense that essentially initiated from a midranged post position with the ball in Fall's hands, instead of more conventionally at the top of the key with a point guard.

But as great as this was on paper everyone knew Orlando's management was looking for a defensive ball handler, either in free agency or the draft. Warren was just tall enough to slide to the shooting guard position if they lucked into someone but Orlando had too much money committed to it's big men to sign a free agent of significance and finished with too good of a record the previous year to have a high enough draft pick to pick up an impact player that way.

Thus many still believed that the Magic's fatal flaws from the season before were still going to be it's downfall. While Warren and Liviu both made progress of their own few thought it would be enough to push the Magic to the next level. If it was going to happen it would have to be from the Magic's young small forward. The one who had been getting better with each year, the one with all the potential in the world, but who had yet to make the Leap...

Ion Falls knew that by most measurements he had arrived. He'd won awards, had hallmark scoring games, granted endorsements, signed a fat new contract, grown out his hair into a ballin' large afro. He was a millionaire, he was an all-star. But he still wasn't the player he knew he could be. He still wasn't done.

Ion was already a very good passer but his poor ball security and dribbling abilities were costing his team turnovers. They just couldn't put the ball in his hands as often as he knew they needed to be able to without a great ballhandler on the roster. So he spent his offseason making sure he had a couple reliable moves like a crossover and spin that were at least average, so he could get the ball over half court without it being stolen.

The 2015-16 season began with Smooth showing off a now all-around average post game excepting that great post fadeaway. He was effective enough with his shimmy, hop and drop- step shots that he could mostly abuse most small forwards or shooting guards that guarded him in the post.

This year was the first time that many took notice of how far he had come athletically since entering the league. As a 23 year old it wasn't necessarily unheard of that he had gained more speed, quickness, and vertical ability but it was still surprising to the guys guarding him those first few games. Larger arms allowed more room for Ion to add to the tribal tattoo that began on his shoulder and now his bicep (#60) was covered as well. He could now count on Howard and Love to secure rebounds and he would often leak out for fast transition layups or 3 pointers.

His on ball defense had taken a drastic leap forward (90 on ball defense [capped]) and his continuous efforts and tutelage under Howard had his steals and blocks per game at 1.5 and 1.3 respectively. He was now his teams lock down perimeter defender against opposing clubs best wing players and showed the doubters that he finally knew how to tap in to his unbelievable length and reflexes.

Though he was quicker, ran faster and jumped higher his stamina had not yet adjusted and he was still averaging just 27.6 minutes per game. With Love and Howard around there weren't many rebounds to be had but Falls still worked hard to clean up the excess and managed to pull down 5.6 rebounds per game that year.

As many analysts predicted Orlando chose to run its offense through Smooth. With him working off the high post he could establish himself offensively at the beginning of games until opposing teams would send double teams at him. From there he would kick to open guys for 3 pointers or a cutting Dwight Howard for the high percentage flush at the rim.

Howard and Falls were the only above average defenders on the roster, and their unorthodox offense functioned but was not by any stretch amongst the most efficient or dangerous. To make matters worse Ion Falls suffered a high ankle sprain just after the All-Star break and missed 9 games. Consequently they struggled to make the playoffs. The Magic came in as the Easts 7th seed mostly on the strength of their new star Ion Falls, who received the league Most Improved Player Award for the second time in his career...

5th regular season stats:
27.6 MPG - 24.4 PPG - 5.6 RPG - 5.7 APG - 1.5 SPG - 1.3 BPG - .518 FG% - .413 3P% - .777 FT%

The Magic really hit their stride upon entering the post season. The team's chemsitry had been building steadily in no small part due to their star's humble, team-oriented demenour, especially in front of the press. Fall's always seemed to know exactly what to say, not shying away from his role as his team's offensive leader and acknowledging that his ability to dominate games by scoring was integral to his team's success, but at the same time stressing that team success was the actual purpose of everything he and his teamates did on the court. This led to his teamates, as well as fans, both locally and nationally, responding very positively to the young 23 year old.

To the surprise of everyone but those within the Magic organization and their fanbase, the team started making a deep run through the post season.

They bested their opponent in the first round in six games. Then won their second round matchup in just five.

The Conference finals were like nothing Ion and most of his teamates had experienced before. Only Dwight Howard and end-of-the-rotation guy Brandon Bass had ever gone this deep into the post season before, and it had still been many years since then.

The series was tied after six games, but the Magic lived up to their name, and found something special in game 7, coming out of an overtime victory to carry them into the NBA Finals.

On the biggest stage in basketball Ion Falls shined. Winning in just 5 games the Magic hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy in front of their home crowd. At the center of it all was the Finals MVP Ion Falls.

Ended the season as 93 overall.

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