Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.
By John DentonNov. 19, 2014
ORLANDO – Even if they had been whole, the Orlando Magic would have had their hands full on Wednesday night trying to deal with a loaded Los Angeles Clippers team intent on getting on track.
But when the Magic found out two hours prior to tipoff that they would be without Evan Fournier – easily one of their most productive and efficient players all season – it left Orlando especially short-handed against a Clippers’ team that has an embarrassment of riches offensively.
Missing Fournier’s abilities as a shooter and a driver, Orlando never led on Wednesday and didn’t have near enough firepower against a Clippers team that finally hit its stride after struggling early in the season. Los Angeles broke open a close game late in the third quarter with a flurry of shots from Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford and rolled to a 114-90 whipping of the Magic.
``It’s tough to lose any player and Evan is a big part of what we’re doing and he’s been playing great for us,’’ said Magic center Nikola Vucevic, who recorded his NBA-best ninth double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds in the loss. ``Hopefully (Fournier) won’t be out long because we need him and we need everybody. Injuries are a part of the job that we do, and when somebody goes down we have to regroup and do it together.’’
Orlando (5-8) was unable to carry over the momentum from Monday night when it played nearly flawless basketball while handing out 33 assists and drilling 13 3-pointers in a 107-93 rout of Detroit. On this night, the Magic shot just 39.5 percent from the floor and saw their NBA-leading 3-point percentage (41.6 percent coming into the game) dip following an eight of 24 shooting night beyond the arc.
Orlando owns wins against lesser teams such as Philadelphia, New York, Minnesota, Milwaukee and Detroit and was hoping for its first victory of the season against a likely playoff team. But it wasn’t to be on a night when Orlando was missing its most efficient 3-point shooter (Fournier) and it couldn’t slow down the Clippers from 3-point range (12 of 21).
Tobias Harris (25 points) and Vucevic kept the Magic close for a little more than a half, but they didn’t play in the fourth period because of the lopsided score. Orlando was within three after one period and trailed by eight at halftime, but they fell into a hole as large as 28 points in the second half.
``We’re learning and this is a West Coast playoff team and they are a contender. We played them for a half, but (not playing) that other half gets you an `L’ – a bad L,’’ Magic forward Channing Frye said. ``We just have to come back and get that sense of urgency. … We have to win against a playoff team eventually. We have to go out and execute what coach wants and come out with that attitude that we deserve to win this game.’’
Crawford, long a Magic killer with his high-degree-of-difficulty shooting, made eight of 12 tries and had 22 points, while Griffin carved up Orlando on the inside with 20 points. Paul, who made eight of 13 shots, finished with 16 points and nine assists. Orlando came into the game seventh in the NBA in opponents’ 3-point percentage (32.3 percent), but on this night the Clippers drilled shot after shot (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
``They got hot from three and it’s tough to compete where those guys make those shots,’’ said Frye, who hit three threes himself and scored 10 points. ``We’ve done a pretty good job of running guys off that line and tonight it just didn’t happen. And they made them.’’
The Magic were without Fournier because of a left heel contusion that he sustained in Monday’s win. He worked out before Wednesday’s game, but the decision was made to hold him out of the game because of lingering pain in his foot.
Fournier, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Denver, has been one of Orlando’s most efficient players thus far, averaging 17.3 points while shooting 50.9 percent from 3-point range and 48 percent from the floor. The hope is that Fournier’s injury is minor and he won’t miss more than one game.
Veteran shooting guard Willie Green, who played for the Clippers the previous two seasons, got the start at shooting guard in place of Fournier. And it didn’t go so well for Green, who has been a reliable contributor off the Magic bench so far this season. Green missed his first six shots before finally sinking a 3-pointer with 7:18 to play.
``That’s why you’ve got to be ready,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said of his team’s purpose upon finding out that Fournier would not play. ``You come to the arena like you are going to play 40 minutes. Like a backup quarterback, you never know what play is going to happen that gives you a chance to get into the game.’’
Point guard Victor Oladipo is clearly still trying to work off the rust from missing six weeks because of a knee injury and a facial fracture. In his fourth game back, Oladipo made just three of 13 shots and scored seven points in 29 minutes.
``It’s tough (not finishing at the rim), but it’s just something that we’ve got to get better at doing,’’ said Oladipo, who is shooting just 34.8 percent from the floor in four games back with the Magic. ``It’s just a tough day and a tough game. We just have to bounce back and stay positive. We’re still trying to figure out each other. And we’re still pretty good, especially when everybody is healthy.’’
The game had a distinct feel of Magic present and past what with Orlando’s young players on display and the Clippers featuring five players who played previously in The City Beautiful. Hedo Turkoglu, J.J. Redick, Glen ``Big Baby’’ Davis and Matt Barnes played previously with the Magic, while L.A.’s Doc Rivers got his start in coaching with the Magic from 1998-2003. Turkoglu and Redick were key pieces on the 2009 Magic team that reached the NBA Finals.
Despite having already played more road games than any team in the NBA – they are 3-5 in eight games outside of Orlando – the Magic will be back on the road Friday night when they face the Hornets in Charlotte. And after a Saturday home game against the rival Miami Heat, Orlando will be in Cleveland on Monday to face LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
Harris did his best to keep Orlando close in the third quarter, scoring 11 points and hitting two 3-ponters in the period. But after his 3 with 2:17 got the Magic within eight, Los Angeles closed the period with a 10-2 run to take an 84-68 advantage into the fourth quarter.
``You have to give them credit because they made a lot of shots,’’ Harris said. ``They made a lot of shots and we just didn’t respond. That was the margin right there.’’
Orlando missed the shooting usually provided by Fournier early in the game and trailed 56-48 at the half. Oladipo also had all kinds of trouble finishing around the rim – he missed his first four shots of the game and he fired his protective mask into the bench when a basket was waived because of a questionable charge call.
A big part of Orlando’s first-half struggles revolved around their inability to finish at the rim. They made just nine of 24 shots in the paint in the early going.
On Saturday, Orlando lost in Washington while having just 14 assists. They made shots on Monday in Detroit, leading to the season-best 33 assists. On Wednesday, that number dipped back down to 21 assists. Frye, a veteran in his ninth NBA season, said that Orlando has to find some consistency if it wants to make strides toward becoming a dangerous team this season.
``Everybody was on Earth and nobody felt like we were going to win the championship after that,’’ Frye said of the euphoria that followed Monday’s lopsided win in Detroit. ``We saw how well that we can play. When you are starting to play a certain way it’s all about finding that consistency. We have to learn how to get that consistency when teams are doing different things to us. … Again, (the Clippers) are a contender and we need to act accordingly, especially when they come into our place and get these wins at home.’’