By John Denton
Nov. 5, 2016
ORLANDO – Having already coached D.J. Augustin back in the 2012-13 season, Frank Vogel was excited about the Orlando Magic adding the veteran point guard in free agency back in July.
What Vogel has learned since then, however, is that Augustin is a dramatically different player than the one he worked with four years ago – and that’s a very good thing for the Magic.
Augustin, now 28 and in his ninth NBA season, has evolved into more of an offensive threat than he was early in his career. That was quite apparent to the Magic last season when Augustin closed the year with the Denver Nuggets and he averaged 11.6 points while shooting 41.1 percent from 3-point range in 28 games.
On a Magic team that is in need of more scorers, Augustin has remained in attack mode offensively. He had 13 points last week in Cleveland to key a second-half rally and he scored nine points in Orlando’s win in Philadelphia. Then, on Thursday, he keyed a game-turning run in the second quarter with eight points and two step-back 3-pointers that were things of beauty to Vogel.
``He’s really grown. I had him a couple of years ago and he’s improved as a player,’’ Vogel said Augustin, who averaged just 4.7 points in 76 games in Indiana in 2012-13. ``He’s not just a catch-and-shoot guy. He’s making good basketball plays with the pass and his creativity with creating his own shot as well has improved. So he’s given us a big lift.’’
Orlando signed Augustin because he has experience both as a starter and a reserve. He’s scoring 8.0 points and handing out 2.8 assists a night despite playing limited minutes off the bench – something that some players have trouble doing.
``Sometimes it’s tough coming off the bench because you have to come in cold while other players already have a rhythm, but it’s our job to be ready and do what we can to help this team,’’ Augustin said.
BIG MEN RETURN: Two big men from the Magic squad that made a 10-win improvement last season, Jason Smith and Andrew Nicholson, returned to the Amway Center on Saturday night as members of the Washington Wizards.
Nicholson, a 2012 first-round pick of the Magic, spent four years in Orlando, mostly as a reserve power forward who thrived offensively, but had his struggles on the defensive end. A quiet person of few words, Nicholson downplayed the emotions of facing his former team for the first time.
``I appreciate them drafting me and me being around here for four years, but I have a new team and a new family and we’re jelling together and bonding,’’ said Nicholson, who came into Saturday averaging 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15 minutes a game.
Smith was Orlando’s most productive reserve last season, averaging 7.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 76 games. Smith was shocked in May when head coach Scott Skiles resigned from his job with the Magic and he was disappointed that Orlando couldn’t make bigger strides last season.
``We were right there and it just didn’t quite pan out for us at the end of the season,’’ said Smith of a Magic team that went from 25 wins to 35 wins last season. ``We had a great beginning to the season and there was a lot of great young talent over in that locker room. Now, I think Coach Vogel will get the ship righted over there – hopefully not this year against us – but he’ll get it going because he’s a great coach and he has a lot of talent.’’
MORE FROM MARIO: Coming into his second season after showing impressive flashes in his rookie season, Mario Hezonja was being looked to for great things. However, his start to the season has been rather rocky because of a wayward jump shot.
The 21-year-old guard/forward from Croatia came into Saturday’s game against Washington having made just eight of 30 shots and three of 12 3-pointers. That isn’t very far off of the slow start that Hezonja had last season when he made just six of 18 shots and five of nine 3-point shots and he still rallied to average 6.1 points and shoot 43.3 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from 3-point range as a rookie.
``Stick with it, stay with the offensive end and the shots are going to start falling for him,’’ said Vogel of the message he’s given to the second-year shooter. ``I want to make sure that he’s not allowing his missed shots to impact the other elements of the game. It should impact it in a positive way because when you aren’t making shots you have to find ways to impact the game with your energy, your hustle and your defense. I want him concentrating really hard on those areas and then letting the offense come to him.’’
Vogel was happy to see Hezonja hustle back on defense for a chase-down block in Thursday’s game. ``That was a big play,’’ he said. ``We always show our recovery plays when we have a disadvantage in transition and guys make open-court plays to break it up.’’
MEMORIES OF HOME: Any time he faces off against the Washington Wizards, Jeff Green has memories of his childhood growing up in Cheverly, Md., and rooting for D.C.’s team. Green, 30, first fell in love with the NBA when Chris Webber and Juwan Howard were starring for the Wizards and he later felt a connection with the Wizards and point guard Gilbert Arenas while he played collegiately at Georgetown University.
``I saw firsthand the work ethic of Gilbert because when I played for the (Georgetown) Hoyas, we played at the same arena and he’d be there at our games coming out of their practice gym late at night,’’ Green said. ``He’s come watch our game and go right back (for more practice). It showed firsthand what it took to be in the NBA. I (lived) there my whole life and the Wizards – and the Bullets – were the team for me.’’
Green, another free-agent acquisition for the Magic in the offseason, said he always has a little extra motivation when facing the Wizards because he knows that dozens of family members and friends are watching the game locally in the Washington, D.C. area.
``They can see the game easier without having to have the (NBA League Pass) package,’’ said Green, who is averaging 8.8 points and 4.0 rebounds a game off the bench for the Magic through the first five games. ``It’s always great playing in front of the people back home. Over the summer I talked to (Washington forward) Otto Porter, who is a Georgetown alum, and there’s always bragging rights (on the line). I just love that my family can watch me play. They don’t always have the chance to come down and see the game, so it’s great that they can watch me.’’
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