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Dedmon's Willingness to be Physical Inside Could Increase His Minutes

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton

Jan. 28, 2015

ORLANDO – The sequence from Monday’s loss in Memphis resulted in an Orlando Magic turnover, something that usually makes head coach Jacque Vaughn’s brow furrow and his arms cross in frustration.

Only this time, Vaughn had an appreciative smile splashed across his face.

With 6:46 left in the third quarter, Magic big man Dewayne Dedmon not only stood up to the bruising Zach Randolph, but after getting hammered down low he extended his left elbow back and caught Memphis’ standout power forward in the jaw. After the referees called the Magic reserve for an offensive foul, Dedmon went by and tapped Randolph on the leg to let him know two things. One, the elbow upside the head was accidental. And secondly, Dedmon didn’t mind the physical play one bit and he would gladly mix it up again on the next possession.

``That’s just kind of how I am. I’m not fixing to let anybody push me over me or push over any of my teammates,’’ Dedmon said. ``I feel like sometimes we have to come out and let them know, `Hey, we’re here! We’re on the same court as them!’ I definitely have to do that and I’ll do it if needed.’’

Those words have to be music to the ears of Vaughn, who has desperately been searching for something – anything, really, at this point – for his team to cling to in the form of toughness and defensive grit. Orlando lost 103-94 on Monday night, but the glaring number that practically jumped off the postgame stat sheet was this: In Dedmon’s 30 minutes on the floor, Orlando was a plus-14 on the scoreboard. To put that into perspective, consider this: Without him in the game those other 18 minutes, the Magic were a minus-23.

After watching Randolph bully the Magic around for 18 points, seven rebounds (three offensive) and three assists in the first half alone, Vaughn replaced struggling power forward Channing Frye with Dedmon to start the second half. By no means was it all Dedmon’s doing, but a Magic team that yielded 67 first-half points limited the Grizzlies to just 36 second-half points. Randolph, a potential all-star, had just two field goals and no offensive boards in the final 24 minutes, while Dedmon ultimately finished with the first double-double of his professional career (10 points and 10 rebounds).

Vaughn wouldn’t fully commit to using Dedmon in the starting lineup on Thursday when the Magic (15-33) host the vastly improved Milwaukee Bucks (23-22) at the Amway Center. But Vaughn spoke glowingly on Wednesday of the toughness and grit that the 7-foot, 245-pound center/power forward brought to the team, and he absolutely loved him standing up to Dedmon.

``The best play of the game was him getting an offensive foul for elbowing Zach,’’ Vaughn recalled. ``I loved that. Get another one called that way for elbowing him and not getting elbowed.’’

Vaughn and the Magic could smile about that particular scene because they are in a stretch were the team has allowed the last 10 foes to score at least 100 points and four of the past seven opponents have shot better than 50 percent from the floor. Losses to Oklahoma City (127 points), Detroit (128 points) and New York (113 points) were particularly galling because of Orlando’s inability to string together stops and its misplaced focus on defense, according to Vaughn.

Monday’s game seem to be headed that direction what with Memphis making 20 of its first 31 shots (64.5 percent). But things turned around in the second half when the Magic clearly played harder and got a defensive lift from Dedmon. His blocked shot, four offensive boards and six free throw attempts spoke to the aggression level that he was playing with.

Now, Dedmon is hoping that Monday’s second half is something to build upon – both for the Magic and himself personally.

``I feel like I’m the energy guy and when I come in try to bring the energy to this team,’’ he said. ``When I got my opportunity I was going to come in and play the best I could and as hard as I could. I wanted to try and help everybody feed off my energy.’’

It’s probably not a surprise that Dedmon’s impact is coming at midseason considering that he is something of a late-bloomer. Because of religious reasons, he didn’t start playing basketball until his senior year of high school in Lancaster, Calif. A successful stint at a junior college earned him a scholarship to USC, where he was briefly teammates with Magic center Nikola Vucevic.

After stints in the NBA Development League and short stays with the Golden State Warriors (four games) and Philadelphia 76ers (11 games), Dedmon stuck with Orlando last season following a 10-day contract audition. This season was the first one in years where he’s been with the same team as the year prior. The work in the weight room and with the Magic coaching staff has allowed him to grow his game offensively somewhat and capitalize on his dazzling athleticism.

``It’s peace of mind to have a place to call home than for a couple of months or just a short stint somewhere,’’ said Dedmon, who is averaging 3.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 11.6 minutes a game. ``I’ve know that for awhile now (that he belongs in the NBA). But to have that confidence from my team and the coaching staff, that helps. … This is an opportunity. When I get any chance, any opportunity, I’ve got to do everything to the best of my ability.’’

Vucevic’s best strengths lie on the offensive end of the floor, rather than defensively, and he likes having a gritty player such as Dedmon on the floor with him as much as possible. Vucevic had 12 points, six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in Monday’s second half while playing alongside of his former USC teammate. He thinks that Dedmon could give the Magic the defensive spark that they have been desperately missing of late.

``He’s really improved a lot and he really works hard. You see him every day in the weight room and putting in time with his individual workouts. It’s paying off for him,’’ Vucevic said. ``He uses (his skills) well and he only does what he’s supposed to do. That makes everybody’s job around him easier. When I play with him, it makes it easy because I know where he’s going to be and what he’s going to do. I think we play off each other pretty well.’’

Focusing on defense is something that Dedmon doesn’t mind. And considering what he showed on Monday with Randolph, he’s shown himself willing to mix it up with some physical play if needed.

``I feel like I’m one of the best defenders that we have, especially when it comes to protecting the rim,’’ Dedmon said. ``And with post defense, that’s what I do. So definitely, I feel like I can help this team.’’

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.