andrew nicholson

Josh Cohen

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ORLANDO -- No position on the Orlando Magic’s roster speaks more to the talent, depth and versatility of the squad than the power forward slot.

Additions made over the summer combined with improvements by returning players should give Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn plenty of options when formulating rotations for the season ahead. The depth of talent and overall variety of players at the power forward position should allow the Magic to play either physical against bigger teams or small and athletic against perimeter-based teams.

Free-agent newcomer Channing Frye is expected to be the starter at power forward, and he will most likely be backed up by the blossoming Kyle O'Quinn and Andrew Nicholson. And in certain situations, Tobias Harris and rookie Aaron Gordon can play small forward to give the Magic more speed and athleticism along the front line.

With the start of Orlando’s training camp just three weeks away, OrlandoMagic.com is breaking down each position with some in-depth analysis. For a look back at analysis of the center position, click HERE. Today, we break down the Magic’s strengths and weaknesses at the power forward position:

PROJECTED STARTER: Channing Frye (2013-14 stats: 82 games, 11.1 ppg., 5.1. rpg., 38.5 3FG percentage).

PROJECTED RESERVES: Kyle O’Quinn (2013-14 stats: 69 games, 6.2 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.28 bpg); Andrew Nicholson (2013-14 stats: 76 games, 5.7 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 42.9 FG percentage, 31.5 3FG percentage).

OVERVIEW: While some national analysts scoffed at Orlando’s July addition of Channing Frye through free agency, advanced metrics proved the veteran power forward to be one of the most impactful players in the NBA last season. Frye was a driving force behind Phoenix’s surprising season a year ago and standouts Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe were dramatically better when Frye was on the floor because of his ability to stretch defenses. The Magic feel the same will be true in Orlando where Frye’s shooting will create driving lanes for Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton and allow for single coverage for Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris. O’Quinn’s value to the Magic will once again be quite evident as he will be the primary backup at both the power forward and center positions. Harris – Frye’s first cousin – and rookie Aaron Gordon can also provide depth and tremendous athleticism at the power forward slot in smaller lineups. Orlando is also hopeful of Nicholson having a big bounce-back season following a drop off in several statistical areas last season.

STRENGTHS: Frye gives the Magic their first true ``stretch 4’’ since the days of Rashard Lewis and Ryan Anderson three years ago. Frye is a career 38.5 percent 3-point shooter. He’s made at least 160 3-pointers in three of the past four seasons. Last season with the Suns, Frye made six 3-pointers in January against Milwaukee, hit five threes in a game six times and connected on at least three triples 25 times. He dropped 30 points on the Denver Nuggets in January by putting on a 10-of-12 shooting exhibition (with five-of-seven 3-point shooting). Also, he scored at least 20 points in 11 games. If he can once again play 82 games, shoot the ball well from 3-point range and mentor the Magic’s young players he will be free-agent dollars well spent for the franchise. The versatility of O’Quinn and Harris – both of whom can play two positions – rounds out the depth at power forward.

WEAKNESSES: While Frye is an ultra-intelligent defender capable of guarding centers or power forwards, physicality isn’t one of his, umm, strengths. He, O’Quinn and Nicholson, along with Vucevic at center, will have to be strong rebounders and defenders for the Magic to hold their own against bigger frontlines and aggressive power forwards. Rebounding is a major question mark for this group. Harris, who has split time between small forward and power forward the past two seasons, has added some noticeable muscle this offseason and could push for more minutes along the frontline. He is an above-average rebounder for his size and it will be interesting to see him and Frye play together this season when they shift to power forward and center respectively. Time will tell if Gordon, a power forward in college, can play the power forward position in the NBA with his somewhat sleight 230-pound frame.

EXPECTATIONS: Frye is a major upgrade at the power forward slot what with his off-the-charts basketball intelligence, shooting stroke from 3-point range and his defensive versatility. And his true impact could be felt in the trickle-down effect that he has on others on the roster (primarily Oladipo and Harris). O’Quinn thrived as a starting power forward late last season and he will continue to supplement the center and power forward positions. Nicholson has worked hard this summer on getting back to the strong post game that made him a first-round draft pick in 2012 and a solid rookie in 2013. Too much time at the 3-point line last season sapped his aggressiveness and zapped his confidence. And if Harris and Gordon prove an ability to hold up physically at the power forward slot it will offer head coach Jacque Vaughn lots of options when it comes to his player rotations.

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2014-15 Position-by-Position Breakdown: Power Forward

ORLANDO -- Canadian by birth, an American resident throughout college and his time in the NBA and most recently a world traveler, Andrew Nicholson marvels occasionally at how the power of basketball has allowed him to experience many different cultures around the globe.

Last summer, the Orlando Magic power forward spent time in the Caribbean with Canada’s National Team and this summer he got to tour various spots across Europe because of basketball. For the past week, Nicholson has been in China – Shanghai and Xi’an more specifically – on behalf of the NBA while conducting several basketball camps in the country.

``Getting to come to places like this, is just so much fun and it’s amazing the places that I have been able to see (because of basketball),’’ Nicholson said via phone from the NBA’s offices in Shanghai. ``It’s just a great opportunity for me to see other cultures.’’

In the 10-day China trip, Nicholson conducted several kids’ basketball camps, made a promotional appearance for shoe giant, Peak, and appeared at NBA Nation for three days to meet with NBA sponsors in China. Other past and present NBA players such as Ron Harper, Glen Rice, Draymond Greem, Jared Sullinger, Miles Plumlee, Ben McLemore and Reggie Jackson have made appearances in China this summer as part of the NBA Nation Tour.

Nicholson, who will begin his third NBA season when the Magic open training camp on Sept. 30, isn’t allowing all of the travel to interfere with his preparation for the season ahead. Quite the opposite, actually. Nicholson said that most of his time is spent in the gym whether it’s intense individual morning workouts or the afternoon camps with the children.

After enduring a sophomore slump following a solid rookie season, Nicholson knows that the season ahead is a very important one for him personally as well as for the young, but steadily blossoming Magic. Orlando added four veterans (Channing Frye, Ben Gordon, Willie Green and Luke Ridnour) and three rookies (Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Devyn Marble) to a young nucleus (Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Kyle O’Quinn, Maurice Harkless and Nicholson) and the forward is eager to see just how much that the Magic can make this season.

````I’m very excited about the season and I really want to see how we’re all going to mesh together this season,’’ Nicholson said. ``I think we have the kind of talent on the roster that we can surprise people this season.’’

Nicholson’s struggles last season surprised many after he spent the summer of 2013 adding muscle and a 3-point shot to his offensive arsenal. He opened last season with a spectacular 18-point first half in the first game and he shot the ball well for much of the first month.

However, Nicholson’s shooting touch soon left him and the time spent shooting corner 3-pointers seemed to sap his aggressiveness in the post – the area where he thrived as a rookie with his flawless footwork and heady array of fakes. Nicholson saw his scoring average plummet to 5.7 points last season and more troubling he shot just 42.9 from the floor. He made only 28 of 89 3-point shots (31.5 percent) and in retrospective he feels that he spent too much time hovering around the 3-point line when he reached the NBA on the strength of his low-post game. He has worked hard this summer – whether he was in Orlando, Europe or Asia – to return to the roots of his game, he said.

``I’ve been working to get my confidence back and I’m working again on what got me in the league in the first place,’’ Nicholson said of his array of up-and-under moves in the post. ``I’m just trying to get back inside. I did a lot of (outside) shooting last season. I want to get back where I’ve had success before.’’

Nicholson said he’s humbled by the fact that basketball has allowed him to travel around the world and touch so many lives. Mostly quite and reserved, Nicholson was given rock star treatment in China as a visiting NBA player and he said he was blown away by ``their incredible passion for basketball and the NBA.’’

A native of suburban Toronto, Nicholson is no stranger to life in large cities. But he was awed by the sheer enormity and expanse of Shanghai, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Nicholson also took over the Magic’s Weibo account during the trip so that he could converse with Chinese basketball fans.

Nicholson has also worked to pick up some of the native language so that he can converse with the locals. Luckily, he said, the language of basketball is one that travels with him regardless where he is.

``You see this stuff on TV, but then when you get to be a part of it in person, it’s really amazing,’’ Nicholson said. ``I’m just honored to be a part of the NBA Cares/NBA Nation programs and to get an opportunity like this.’’

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Nicholson Helps Kids in China at Basketball Camps

Dan Savage

ORLANDO -- If you’ve checked your social timeline recently, chances are you’ve seen someone pouring ice water over their head.

While some social phenomena exist without purpose, the “Ice Bucket Challenge” often involves daring a select group of people to dump a bucket of ice water over their heads in the next 24 hours, or donate money – usually $100 – towards battling ALS.

The Orlando Magic have joined in on the social craze led by STUFF the Magic Mascot, who was among the pioneers of the challenge, completing it over two months ago with an extreme nine tubs of pure ice water.

More recently, Maurice Harkless showed off his stuff and challenged a few teammates along the way.

What members of the Magic will be next? Stay tuned and find out.

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Orlando Magic Ice Bucket Challenge

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Photos: Orlando Magic Summer BBQ

ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic made great strides during the 2013-14 season, notching several wins against some of the best teams in the NBA and witnessing major improvements by many of their players.

Orlando had a seven-win improvement at the Amway Center this past season while beating Oklahoma City, Indiana, Brooklyn (twice), the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland. Undoubtedly, the high point in the season came in mid-February when Orlando beat OKC at the buzzer and outlasted Indiana in the fourth quarter within a three-day span. At the time, the Thunder and the Pacers were the leaders in the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.

Moments like those showed that the future is bright for a Magic squad loaded with promising young players such as Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris and Maurice Harkless and steadied by the veteran leadership of Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson.

Orlando is also expected to add to his talent base in the June 26 NBA Draft. Orlando has secured the third-best odds at getting the top overall pick. The draft order will be determined in next week’s (May 20) NBA lottery, a process in which the Magic have a 16.6 percent chance of winning. The team with the third-best odds has won the NBA Draft Lottery each of the past two seasons (New Orleans with Anthony Davis and Cleveland with Anthony Bennett) and teams have won the lottery from the third spot eight times in the past 17 years.

The Magic have won the NBA’s top overall pick three times in their 25-year history, ending up with franchise fixtures Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway and Dwight Howard.

Looking back on the 2013-14 season, we here at OrlandoMagic.com are going to spend the next three weeks breaking down each of the players currently on the Magic roster. We’ll look at their stats, highs and lows from the season, a favorite moment and analyze their role for the future.

So without further ado, here is today’s Magic player capsule:

2013-14 SEASON STATS: 76 games, 5.7 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 0.3 apg., 0.2 spg., 0.3 bpg., 42.9 percent FG, 31.5 3FG percent, 82.5 percent FT.

2013-14 SEASON HIGHS: 19 points (three times – most recent April 14 at Bulls); 11 rebounds (three times – most recent Dec. 9 at Grizzlies); 2 assists (twice – most recent March 1 at Heat); 2 steals (three times – most recent April 13 at Nets); 4 blocks (Dec. 9 at Grizzlies); 38 minutes (Dec. 3 at Sixers).

BEST MOMENT: Nicholson worked hard on his game last summer and it showed immediately in the opener as he pounded the Indiana Pacers for 18 points. All of the points came in the first 24 minutes of play as Nicholson made eight of his first nine shots and the first two 3-pointers of his NBA career. However, Nicholson played sparingly in the second half as coach Jacque Vaughn kept veteran Jason Maxiell in the game to guard Indiana power forward David West.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Nicholson took part in 14 off-court events this season. Three times, Nicholson met with special-needs children before games and in late December he visited with ill children at Florida Hospital. He conducted a Q-and-A with season ticket holders at Leu Gardens and he helped pack food for underprivileged school children in March.

FUTURE ROLE WITH THE MAGIC: Nicholson started the season well, showing off the expanded shooting range and improved muscle that he added through hard work in the summer. But as time went on, he seemed to lose his confidence completely and he took a major step back this past season. Nicholson’s 3-point shooting was spotty and the time spent on the perimeter seemed to sap the life out of his post-up game. A player who could give the Magic instant offense off the bench during his rookie season, Nicholson went 3 ½ months without a double-digit scoring performance from December to April. He did seem to find himself a bit in the last week of the season, finishing with three straight double-digit scoring nights. Nicholson must work again this summer to become stronger and tougher in the post and more reliable with his mid-range and 3-point shots. Vaughn has stated repeatedly that Nicholson’s playing time won’t go up until he can become a better defender and a more aggressive rebounder, so adding more strength and stamina are musts. The season ahead is a big one for Nicholson because he could very well be playing for his NBA life.

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2013-14 Season Review: Andrew Nicholson

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Due to Tropical Storm Nicole, the NBA has announced that the Dallas Mavericks at Orlando Magic game on Wednesday, November 9 will tip-off at 5:30 PM. Amway Center doors open at 4:30 PM.