By John DentonApril 15, 2015
NEW YORK – When asked what his biggest surprise of his first season at the NBA level was Orlando Magic point guard Elfrid Payton repeatedly stressed that it was the rigors of the marathon-like, 82-game schedule.
But the talented rookie never succumbed to the fatigue or the inevitable bumps and bruises that come along with the schedule and he made himself available for every game and practice of the season.
On Wednesday night, Payton became the only player currently on the Magic roster to appear in all 82 games. He’s the first to do that in a Magic uniform since Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick and Jason Williams during the 2009-10 season. In fact, only three players currently on the Magic – Channing Frye, Ben Gordon and Luke Ridnour – have ever played in 82 games during a season in their careers.
Payton’s work ethic was taught to him primarily by his father, Elfrid Payton Sr., who is a member of the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame as a hard-nosed defensive end. The younger Payton has said that he never missed a basketball game in high school and he appeared in all 100 games of his three-year college career at Louisiana-Lafayette.
The only time all season that Payton came close to being seriously injured and missing time was when Knicks forward Jason Smith fell across his left leg in New York on Jan. 23, causing his knee to buckle. But there was no structural damage and Payton continued to push ahead with his rookie season.
``It’s tough being ready every night and you have to make sure that you are stretching, staying in the cold tub and all of the extra things that you need to do to take care of your body,’’ Payton said. ``I’ve also learned that you can’t really eat all of those fast foods and things like that. I’ve had to stay away from things like the wings and French fries. Even though they might be convenient, I’ve tried to stay away from them. That’s helped my body stay strong.’’
HARRIS LOOKING AHEAD: Magic forward Tobias Harris sat out of Wednesday’s finale with a sore right Achilles tendon, but the move was likely a precautionary move for a player who is heading into restricted free agency over the summer.
When the versatile forward and the Magic couldn’t agree upon a contract extension before Oct. 31 of last year, it meant that Harris would play out this season and then become a restricted free agent on July 1. If the Magic offer Harris a qualifying offer, the team will have the right to match any contract offer sheet that Harris receives from another team. A deeply religious person, Harris said he has tried to not worry about his future and use his faith to guide his thought process.
``I don’t really worry. I trust in God and I know that He has the ultimate plan for me,’’ Harris said. ``You get a little nervous at times, but I think everything is going to work out for me. I wanted to go out and have a successful year and a great year and I think I’ve put in the work.
``It’s in the teams hands with whatever wants to be done,’’ Harris said of his uncertain future. ``All I can do is really sit back and be patient at this time.’’
Playing in 68 games, Harris averaged career-highs in scoring (17.1 ppg.), assists (1.8 apg.), blocks (0.5 bpg.), steals (1.0 spg.) and 3-point shooting (36.4 percent) this season. He also worked to shed his reputation as simply a scorer and he became a grittier defender.
``I’m proud of the way that I’ve been able to handle everything this year,’’ Harris said. ``I think I did a good job of focusing on what I can control. I thought overall it was a very productive year for myself. I’d love to have won more games, but that’s something that we as a team we have to keep progressing to get to that level.’’
AARON’S ARENAS: The Magic’s final roadtrip of the season – to Miami and Brooklyn – was a bit surreal to rookie forward Aaron Gordon.
Brooklyn’s Barclays Center was the host to the 2014 NBA Draft and it was the place where Gordon became the No. 4 overall pick and the property of the Magic. Miami’s American Airlines Arena was the site of the first preseason game of Gordon’s young NBA career. Gordon is somewhat sad about the 31 games he was forced to miss with a broken bone in the outside of his left foot, but overall he’s proud of the progress he made as a rookie.
``It’s just ironic that we were in Miami where I played my first preseason game and now we’re finishing in Brooklyn where it all started, really,’’ Gordon said.
Asked for a favorite moment from the season, Gordon said, ``it’s all together and the ups and downs of it made me better as a person.’’ Gordon said he plans to spend most of his summer working on his game, hoping to uphold the common theory that players often make their biggest jumps between their first and second seasons.
``I have to be real efficient and know the movements that it’s going to take and the dribble that it’s going to take,’’ said Gordon, who averaged 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds a game heading into Wednesday. ``I understand now where I’m going to get my shots. Whether it’s the mid-post, the corner threes or in transition and I just have to rep that now.’’