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By John DentonDec. 26, 2015
ORLANDO – The jury is still out as to whether or not Evan Fournier has snapped out of the funk that plagued him much of the past month, but one thing is for certain: The guard has quietly become Orlando’s best closer in crunch time.
Fournier hit his second game-winning shot of the season on Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets. Whereas his first winner was a buzzer-beater in overtime against Minnesota, this time around Fournier drove down the lane, absorbed some contact that didn’t result in a foul and still banked in the go-ahead shot with 14 seconds remaining.
A more in-depth look at the statistics reveal how good Fournier has been this season with games on the line. In the last three minutes of games where the score is within five points one way or another, Fournier is shooting a stellar 61.9 percent. And on 3-point shots, he’s even better, drilling six of eight (75 percent) in what the NBA defines as ``close’’ games.
``You just have to be in the moment and do not think about, `Am I going to miss it? Am I going to make it?’’’ Fournier said. ``You have to look at what you have and make the best of what happens. But you can’t concentrate on what is the future and you have to stay in the moment.’’
Fournier opened the season averaging 18.8 points and shooting 46.2 percent from the floor, but those numbers dropped to 10.3 points and 40.2 percent shooting over the next 15 games. But he’s shown signs of coming out of it of late, scoring 17, 16 and 17 points while making six of 14 of his 3-point shots.
Magic coach Scott Skiles likes the way that Fournier is trending and he assuredly likes going to him at the end of games. Skiles has said this season that Fournier isn’t just one of the most physically tough players on the Magic, he also possesses tremendous mental toughness.
``Evan’s not afraid – there’s no doubt about that – and it’s one of the things that we like about him,’’ Skiles said. ``Generally, he’s not going to take a bad shot late in a game. … Generally, he’s going to do something under control. If we run something for him, he’s not going to be like, `Well, that ran something for me and I’ve got to shoot it.’ He’ll put it on the floor and maybe do something for somebody else. He’s been a good decision-maker for us late in games.’’
STARTER COMING OFF THE BENCH: Since Skiles changed the Magic’s lineup on Nov. 24 – moves where power forward Channing Frye was put into the starting five and Victor Oladipo was used off the bench – the Magic have the NBA’s third-best record at 11-4.
The moves have worked for a variety of reasons, Skiles said, but one of the major factors has been Oladipo’s willingness to play in a reserve role.
``We just feel like (Oladipo) could give us some pop off the bench and he could come in and go against some second-unit guys and score and he could defend anyone and so far it’s worked out pretty well,’’ Skiles said. ``Victor is a very valuable member of the team and what made it work is he’s played so well off the bench.
``Victor is starter, but there are other starters in the league who come off the bench as well,’’ added Skiles, who has pointed to NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala being used as a reserve by the Golden State Warriors. ``We think we’re very fortunate to have a very talented, energetic, defensive starter (in Oladipo) who is coming off the bench for us.’’
Oladipo scored 24, 17 and 19 points in his first three games off the bench, but he’s regressed a bit of late. He made just two of 11 shots in a loss to Atlanta last week, and after hitting four of seven shots on Monday in New York, Oladipo didn’t make a basket in nine tries on Wednesday against Houston.
Oladipo said experience in high school and college taught him how to be successful coming into games off the bench.
``It’s a little different, but at the end of the day I’m just going out there and playing as hard as I can,’’ Oladipo said. ``I’m doing whatever it takes to win – whether that’s score, pass or rebound.
``I didn’t start (games) in high school until my senior year and at Indiana I didn’t start my freshman year and I started a few games as a sophomore and started my while junior year,’’ Oladipo added. ``It’s a little different (at the NBA level) from that and it’s just something that you have to get used to here. I’m just doing whatever it takes to win. I’m in there when the game counts and when it’s time to win games and that’s what it’s all about anyways.’’
GORDON REMAINING PATIENT: Playing time for Orlando’s Aaron Gordon has been inconsistent of late, but the Magic second-year forward made a case on Wednesday that he deserves more consideration for minutes off the bench.
Gordon, 20, used his athleticism and energy to reel off 14 points in Wednesday night’s second quarter. He made six of his 11 shots, hitting a 3-pointer and also adding a free throw in the win against the Rockets. What made his production even more impressive was that he did it in just 12 minutes on the floor.
Gordon has played 20 or more minutes just 12 times this season. He said his mindset upon coming into games is to simply make something good happen – whether it’s defensively, scoring or rebounding the ball.
``I’m just looking to bring the energy to the games and if that’s something that we’re lacking, I can pick it up,’’ Gordon said. ``Last year, I was really a starter – I started a couple of games here or there – and it was much more difficult for me. This year, it’s not all that difficult for me. I come into the game and just play.’’
Skiles stressed that Gordon still needs to work on his consistency, saying: ``He has to come into games doing things that he can do well. His best game was at Houston (on Nov. 4) when he had 19 (points) and eight (rebounds) and he did all of that without a single play being called for him. He did it by running the floor, getting on the boards and had a couple of baskets on the break and he defended well. As long as he does those things he can stay on the court longer. We certainly don’t mind him taking a spot-up shot and we don’t mind it when he puts the ball on the floor and tries to do something, but sometimes he’ll make a good play and then the next play he’ll put his head down and go into traffic and be impatient. It’s just a balancing act of wanting him to be aggressive, but he also has to realize his role for us right now and what we need him for is his athleticism, rebounding, running the floor and energy-type of plays.’’