CLEVELAND – Some 21 games into the season, Orlando Magic point guard Markelle Fultz has done a lot to clear up many of the concerns about his ability to shoot the ball from distance.
Fultz, 21, went into Orlando’s game in Cleveland on Friday having made 16 of 31 shots (51.6 percent) from 10 to 14 feet away from the rim and 13 of 26 shots (50 percent) from 15 to 19 feet away. To put those numbers into perspective, Fultz ranks first on the Magic in accuracy from 15 to 19 feet (just ahead of D.J. Augustin’s 47.4 percent) and second on shots from 10 to 14 feet (just behind Evan Fournier’s 54.3 percent).
Then, there’s also this from Fultz: He entered Friday night connecting on 55.7 percent of his two-point shots – tries that make up 82.6 percent of his shot attempts. Among guards with at least 175 two-point attempts, Fultz’s 55.7 percent shooting ranks third in the NBA behind only Dallas’ Luka Doncic (61.2 percent) and Houston’s James Harden (56 percent).
Impressive stuff for Fultz, who missed most of his first two NBA seasons as he fought to recover from Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in his right shoulder. That injury reduced the movement and feeling in his right arm and created questions about his ability to ever be an effective shooter.
Now healthy and happy on the basketball court again, Fultz is using his mid-range jumper as a weapon for the Magic. Because foes often have to retreat to try and cut off his drives into the lane, Fultz regularly gets off the shots without a contest. And thus far, he’s making enough of them to burn defenses.
``Mid-range has been a huge part of my game since I was younger and I’m really feeling comfortable in that area now,’’ said Fultz, who has averaged 12.1 points and 4.0 assists so far. ``That shot’s been big for me and I practice it a lot – along with my threes and finishing (at the rim). That’s pretty much my sweet spot, just elevating, rising up and knocking it down.’’
Magic coach Steve Clifford has been impressed with Fultz’s willingness to take – and make – mid-range pull-up shots at big points in games. With Orlando down three with 3:30 to play last Sunday against Golden State, Fultz drilled a baseline jumper from 17 feet away and then had the go-ahead layup on the next possession. He had three mid-range jumpers on Tuesday in Washington and three more on Wednesday to burn the Suns’ defense. He came into Friday’s game having made seven of his last nine shots from 15 to 19 feet.
``He’s made big shots in the last two or three minutes of games,’’ Clifford said. ``He’s very comfortable with those step-backs or (jumpers off) slight fades, and you can see his shooting touch on those shots.’’
CLIFFORD DEFENDS BEILEIN: Clifford came to the defense of Cleveland’s John Beilein – one of best friends in all of coaching – on Friday after a report in The Athletic claimed that ``guys drowned out his voice’’ on the struggling Cavaliers.
Beilein, 66, is in his first season coaching in the NBA after working at the collegiate level from 1978-2019. In his previous 12 seasons at the University of Michigan, he won two Big Ten titles and reached two Final Fours.
In Cleveland, he inherited a rebuilding team that tied for the second-worst record in the league last season at 19-63. The Cavs came into Friday at 5-15 after losing four straight and nine of previous 10 games. Apparently that skid prompted an unnamed source to tell The Athletic, ``Our assistants are definitely more prepared for the NBA’’ than Beilein.
When asked about that report prior to the game, Beilein said: ``I’ve changed, probably the biggest change in my life (to the NBA style), and I’ll continue to do that. That’s why I’m still coaching here after all these years – trying to find the best way to reach people.’’
Beilein said recently that Clifford was one of the first people to contact him after he accepted the Cavaliers’ job back in May. Clifford, 58 and in coaching since 1983, was an assistant at Sienna (1994-95) when Beilein was the head coach at Canisius (1992-97), he was an assistant coach at East Carolina (1999-00) when Beilein was the head coach at Richmond (1997-02), and Clifford once interviewed with Beilein to be an assistant coach under him at Richmond in 1997.
``I’ve known Coach Beilein longer than anyone (else in coaching) … and he’s a phenomenal coach,’’ Clifford said. ``He’s won at every level. He’s never been an assistant, starting at (community) college all the way up through (the NBA). This (NBA) league is a tough league, as everybody knows, but all I know is he’ll find a way to win.
``Their (Cleveland) roster, they’re developing,’’ Clifford continued. ``There’s very little growth at any level of competition in a team sport without some conflict, especially when you play 82 games and you have to deal with the frustration of losing more times than you do at, say, the college level. I’m a huge fan and I’ve spent a lot of time talking basketball with (Beilein) and he’s an incredibly knowledgeable guy and a great coach.’’
A.G. FROM THREE: It should have come as no surprise that the Magic routed the Suns on Wednesday after forward Aaron Gordon buried all five of his 3-point shots en route to a season-best 32 points.
For two seasons now, Gordon’s shooting from afar has often been a barometer for the Magic’s success.
Last season, when Gordon played in 78 regular-season games, he shot 42 percent from 3-point range (71 of 169) in 40 victories, but he connected on just 28.1 percent of his 3-point shots (50 of 178) in 38 losses.
This season, that trend has mostly held form again. In the nine victories he’s been a part of, Gordon has made 41.5 percent of his 3-point shots (17 of 41). However, in the nine losses he’s played in he’s made just 22.6 percent of his threes (seven of 31).
``I’m just working on (3-point shooting) every single day and it’s a part of my game that’s coming along,’’ said Gordon, who came into Friday shooting 33.3 percent from 3-point range. ``I’ll continue to get better the more that I work at it. It’s just about relaxing and shooting my shot. And, of course, it helps my team (when he makes 3-point shots).’’
MCW RETURNS … AGAIN: When he took the floor on Tuesday in Washington, Magic guard Michael Carter-Williams hoped he was beyond an injury that sidelined him for two weeks and he’d be able to play a long stretch of uninterrupted games.
However, fate intervened in those plans.
Playing in his first game after missing six straight from Nov. 20-Dec. 1 with a left hip injury, Carter-Williams had his Tuesday night ruined when he was whacked across the face by the back of Bradley Beal’s hand. The play, which was later upgraded by referees to a Flagrant 1 foul, came after Carter-Williams had knocked the ball away from Beal and appeared poised to head back the other way for an easy basket.
Because of the bleeding, swelling and bruising in his nose, Carter-Williams was forced to miss Wednesday’s win against Phoenix. However, he was back and ready to go on Friday – even if it meant wearing a protective mask to prevent him from taking another shot to the nose.
``Nose hurts, but I’m getting through and our (medical) guys are doing a great job of giving me treatment and I’m looking forward to playing,’’ said Carter-Williams, who had five points and five rebounds in Monday’s victory. ``I’ve tried (the mask) on, but we’re still trying to get it right. Who knows (if he’ll feel comfortable wearing the mask), but regardless I’m going to be in there.’’
UP NEXT: After playing eight times in a 14-night stretch, the Magic will get some much-needed time off before taking on one of their biggest challenges of the season on Monday.
The Magic were scheduled to stay in Cleveland following Friday’s game and then fly to Milwaukee on Saturday. The team will likely be off on Saturday before returning to the practice court on Sunday to prep for Monday night’s game against the surging Bucks, who took a 13-game winning streak into Friday’s showdown against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Orlando’s first meeting with the Bucks and superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t go very well as Milwaukee rolled to a 123-91 victory at the Amway Center on Nov. 1.
The Magic lost two of three meetings against the Bucks last season, but their one win came in Milwaukee in February when the home team rested Antetokounmpo.
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