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By John Denton
Dec. 16, 2016
ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic throttled the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday and pushed the star-studded Los Angeles Clippers to the brink on Wednesday, but head coach Frank Vogel said the split wasn’t even the most impressive thing to emerge from the difficult back-to-back set of games.
Instead, it was the inspiring play from young, foundational pieces Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon that brought the greatest joy to Vogel.
Payton sparked the Atlanta victory with career-bests in scoring (26) and assists (14) while making nine of 12 shots and all three of his 3-point tries. Even more impressive was the fact that Payton did all of that as a reserve, making him just the fourth NBA player in the past 46 years to record at least 26 points and 14 assists from a reserve role.
A night later, it was Gordon’s night to shine. The dynamic forward was dialed in from the start and contributed 33 points, seven rebounds, five dunks and four 3-pointers. The 33 points easily eclipsed his previous high of 22 points, and he did that while guarding Clippers’ stars J.J. Redick and Chris Paul at various times in the game.
``Part of our season, our identity and our journey this year is the development of Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon, and hopefully at some point Mario Hezonja getting in there, too,’’ Vogel said. ``To see Elfrid Payton have a career game one night and then Aaron Gordon have a career game the next night, it gives me reason to believe that we’re going to be really strong as the season goes forward.’’
Payton and Gordon, Orlando’s haul from the 2014 NBA Draft, have both made noticeable strides this season. Payton came into Friday averaging a team-best 5.7 assists, while adding 10.9 points a game on 44.5 percent shooting. Gordon, arguably Orlando’s best one-on-one defender, is averaging 10.4 points and 4.4 rebounds a game while shooting 43.1 percent overall.
Vogel said the way that Gordon contributed in a variety of ways by running the floor, crashing the offensive glass and confidently knocking down shots when the defense backs off should serve as a template for how he and Payton can be successful throughout this season.
``What Aaron did – he doesn’t need to go out and shoot 15 threes and he’s not going to get 15 touches in the post; it’s going to have to be everything,’’ Vogel said. ``It’s going to be scoring in transition, scoring on the offensive glass, scoring on cuts, knocking down open threes and getting some drives and pull-ups without overdoing anything.’’
#SAGERSTRONG: A moment of silence was held around the NBA on Thursday and Friday, including in Orlando’s Amway Center, following the death of famed TNT sideline reporter, Craig Sager.
Known for his colorful and distinctive suits during his more than 40-year television career, the legendary sideline reporter battled acute myeloid leukemia since he was first diagnosed in 2014. He was 65 years old.
Vogel and several of the Magic’s players had interactions with Sager throughout their careers and they remembered his upbeat personality, his love for basketball and, of course, those flashy suits.
``Just his presence at the games, you knew that it was either a (nationally) televised game or just a big game,’’ said Magic guard D.J. Augustin. ``It’s a tough loss for the whole NBA community and the whole world and prayers go out to his family.’’
Jodie Meeks, who hails from Norcross, Ga., met Sager – an Atlanta resident for much of the past 40 years – several times in non-basketball settings and he remembered the reporter’s zest for life. Meeks said he was twice interviewed by Sager following big performances and he considers those moments to be two of the biggest highlights of his NBA career.
``His son played baseball when I played baseball and was little, so I got to know him a little bit,’’ Meeks said. ``I’d see him around (Atlanta) baseball first, but then I really got to know him when I came into the league. It’s sad that he’s gone.
``(His flashy wardrobe) was always a good, little spark when he’d wear something funny, but that was his style and his trademark,’’ Meeks added. ``You knew if he was there, the game was on national TV and you wanted to try and get that interview with him. I think I got a couple of them.’’
JACQUE IS BACK: Out of the NBA for half a season in 2015 and a scout for the San Antonio Spurs last season, Jacque Vaughn is back on the sidelines this season as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets.
Vaughn was the head coach at the start of Orlando’s massive rebuild, running the team from 2012 until Feb. 5, 2015 when he was fired. He went 20-62 and 23-59 in his first two seasons with a roster loaded with young players and he finished up 15-37 before being fired by the Magic.
Brooklyn’s Kenny Atkinson, a first-time head coach at the NBA level as Vaughn was in 2012, said the former Magic head coach was targeted to be on his coaching staff because of his ability to relate to players.
``When I first got the job, he was the first guy that I called,’’ Atkinson said. ``I had a little bit of a relationship with him, just being on the road and being in the league. He’s been great and a huge help to our young players in terms of player development. He’s helped me with strategy and timeouts and all the stuff that you have to do as a head coach. He’s been an immense, immense help.’’
D-LEAGUE DEVELOPMENT: Much the same as the Magic’s front office, Vogel is delighted that Orlando’s Development League team will be based in Lakeland starting next year.
The Magic announced on Wednesday that it had purchased the Erie (Pa.) BayHawks and would be moving the franchise to Polk County to play at The Lakeland Center next November.
Having the franchise within an hour’s drive will allow the Magic to send young, seldom-used players to the D-League to get playing time for development. Orlando assigned center Stephen Zimmerman and guard C.J. Wilcox to the BayHawks on Thursday so that they could get some much-needed playing time. Next year, players will theoretically be able to play a game with the Lakeland franchise and get back to Orlando the next day for practice with the Magic – something that Vogel will prove to be a boon for the franchise.
``The negative of the D-League, when your team is in Erie, your guy is not around us,’’ Vogel said, referring to the NBA team. ``As we’re growing, evolving as a team and incorporating new offenses and new defensive schemes and coverages, they’re not around for that, so they fall behind. That’s going to be a huge upgrade over the setup that we have right now. Guys can be with us in practice and the film sessions every day and not fall behind, but still be able to hop in a car and go play in a game for 35-40 minutes. It will be a huge upgrade for us. That’s a big deal.’’
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