The Magic Insider

Paolo Banchero was compared to.... who?

Ethan J. Skolnick|
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Orlando Magic

Paolo Banchero is widely considered one of the NBA's next megastars.

Former No. 1 overall pick.

Rookie of the Year.

In line for USA basketball and the Olympics.

Expected to carry the Orlando Magic deep into the playoffs.

But one NBA analyst is comparing Banchero to a player who had great potential but never totally fulfilled it.

Kirk Goldsberry, long of ESPN, compared Banchero to long-time Atlanta Hawk forward Josh Smith, who had a productive career with plenty of flashes, but also was known for taking bad shots and not getting the most out of his ridiculous talent.

Goldsberry made his comments on The Zach Lowe Show.

“I’m going to raise the red flag over Paolo Banchero Island. This is such a key moment for him, and I hesitate to admit this — but at times, he reminds me of Josh Smith. He’s made just five of his 27 jump shots this year, and I’m not cherry-picking. I love Paolo — he’s a huge part of the future of American basketball — but last season, among the 62 most active jump shooters in the NBA, he ranked 60th in efficiency. He has a jump-shooting problem, and as the team’s most active scorer, that’s an issue. Some of the advanced numbers aren’t trending in the right direction, and this start to the season has cemented in my mind that he might not be improving at this key phase of his career.”
Kirk Goldsberry

The point seems to be that Banchero isn't accurate enough from outside the paint, and it's a reasonable thing to say by the metrics. But Smith never consistently did a lot of the things Banchero already does. It's more an issue of tightening Banchero's jumper, and not relying on it too much. The Magic playing at a faster pace may also help him get to preferred spots.

It would be no shame to have a career like Smith did. Smith averaged 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds and was a defensive demon at times. But the expectations are higher for Banchero, who processes on the court quicker than Smith typically did. The odds are that Banchero will fix his flaws, but if he doesn't, the Magic made a bad bet on his future.

He's just 22, and he's already produced better numbers than Smith ever did.

The Orlando Magic don't pick up all their player options

Should there be real concerns about the Magic's start?

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Ethan J. Skolnick
ETHAN J. SKOLNICK

Ethan has covered all major sports -- in South Florida and beyond -- since 1996 and is one of the longest-tenured fully credentialed members of the Miami Heat. He has covered, in total, more than 30 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, World Series and Stanley Cup Finals. After working full-time for the Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Bleacher Report and several other outlets, he founded the Five Reasons Sports Network in 2019 and began hosting the Five on the Floor podcast as part of that network. The podcast is regularly among the most downloaded one-team focused NBA podcasts in the nation, and the network is the largest independent sports outlet in South Florida, by views, listens and social media reach. He has a B.A. from The Johns Hopkins University and an M.S. from Columbia University. TWITTER: @EthanJSkolnick and @5ReasonsSports EMAIL: fllscribe@gmail.com

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