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2016-17 Magic Position Breakdown: Point Guards

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton
Sept. 23, 2016

ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic had one of their busiest offseasons in franchise history, hiring a new coach and drastically overhauling the roster through trades, free agency and the draft.

Now, with training camp set to open on Tuesday, it’s time to delve deeper into the roster and evaluate the team’s strengths and weaknesses at each position.

The Magic stacked their roster with experience and talent this offseason by trading for Serge Ibaka, Jodie Meeks and C.J. Wilcox, signing Bismack Biyombo, Jeff Green and D.J. Augustin and drafting center Stephen Zimmerman. That group, combined with the returning core of Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja and C.J. Watson and new head coach Frank Vogel, gives the Magic the belief that they will be a playoff team this season for the first time since 2012.

Training camp, presented by Chase, opens on Sept. 27 (at the Amway Center), the first preseason game (in Memphis) is Oct. 3 and the regular-season opener (vs. Miami at home) is Oct. 26.

Today, we look at the point guard position, a spot that the Magic need big things from with the expected growth of Payton and the depth provided by Augustin and Watson. And, if needed, Orlando can always use the 6-foot-8 Hezonja at point guard to get more shooting and size onto the floor.

Without further ado, let’s break down how the Magic look at point guard:

POSITION: Point guard

PLAYERS: Elfrid Payton (6-4, 185, 2 NBA seasons); D.J. Augustin (6-0, 183, 8 NBA seasons); Watson (6-2, 175, 9 NBA seasons); Mario Hezonja (6-8, 218, 1 NBA season).

PROJECTED STARTER: Payton (2015-16 stats: 73 games, 10.7 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 6.4 apg., 43.6 FG percent, 32.6 3FG percent, 58.9 FT percent).

PROJECTED DEPTH: Augustin (2015-16 stats: 62 games, 7.5 ppg., 1.5 rpg., 3.2 apg., 42.3 FG percent, 40.5 3FG percent, 80.5 FT percent); Watson (2015-16 stats: 33 games, 4.3 ppg., 2.0 rpg., 2.7 apg., 34.3 FG percent, 29.2 3FG percent, 87.2 FT percent); Hezonja (2015-16 stats: 79 games, 6.1 ppg., 2.2 rpg., 1.4 bpg., 43.3 FG percent, 34.9 3FG percent, 90.7 FT percent).

STRENGTHS: In Payton, Augustin and Watson, the Magic have a good mix of playmaking, shooting and experience. Payton improved as a playmaker last season, especially during the stretch when the Magic had Dewayne Dedmon starting at center and rolling directly to the rim for lobs. Now, Payton will have both Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo as big men who can screen and dive to the rim, making him especially dangerous when he gets into the paint. GM Rob Hennigan addressed Orlando’s depth behind Payton by pursuing and landing Augustin, a solid veteran leader who is comfortable as both a starter and a reserve. Orlando needs a big bounce-back season from Watson, who missed most of last season with a calf strain that caused pain to radiate into his knee.

WEAKNESSES: As it has been each of the past two seasons, Payton’s jump shot is still very much a work in progress. He improved between his rookie season and his second season, making 19 more 3-pointers last year. Until he can consistently make midrange shots, wide-open 3-point looks and free throws, Payton will be sagged off of defensively – something that often hinders Orlando’s offense. Augustin is just a 40.4 percent shooter in his career and he occasionally has trouble finishing around the rim because of his lack of size. Watson never found his rhythm last season because of injuries and had career lows in field goal percentage (34.3 percent) and 3-point shooting (29.2 percent).

ANALYSIS: Orlando desperately needs a breakout season from Payton, who is entering the prime of his career and has shown flashes of greatness over his first two NBA seasons. Payton has worked hard this summer on his jump shot and strengthening his body in hopes of becoming a better finisher when left open by defenses.

Payton struggled for long stretches early last season in Scott Skiles’ system that relied more on passing than dribbling. However, the point guard finished the season strong, averaging 9.9 points, 7.5 assists and 1.1 steals a game while shooting 45.8 percent from the floor in the 25 games after the all-star break. If he can duplicate those numbers again this season, the Magic would be delighted.

Augustin has bounced around the NBA, playing for seven teams previously, but he’s long been considered one of the NBA’s best back-up point guards. He thrived in that role late last season, averaging 11.6 points and 4.7 assists while shooting 44.5 percent from the floor and 41.1 percent from the 3-point line in 28 games with the Denver Nuggets.

Augustin has started 169 of his 573 NBA games, so he should be quite comfortable moving into the starting five if Payton slumps again.

Much like with Augustin, the Magic signed Watson as a free agent in the summer of 2015 because of his shot-making abilities and his veteran savvy. However, he was never able to show those qualities last season because of the disjointed nature of his play due to the leg injury. If he can defend and shoot the ball the way that he has throughout his career, he could potentially close games for the Magic.

Hezonja is a nice insurance policy for the Magic to have at the point guard position because of his size and his exceptional court vision. He was arguably Orlando’s best distributor in pick-and-roll plays last season, so he can shift over to the point again this season if needed.

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.