By John DentonSept. 18, 2015
ORLANDO – About to begin his third NBA season, Victor Oladipo knows that it is time for something commonly known in NBA circles as ``The Jump’’ – both for himself and his Orlando Magic.
``The Jump’’ refers to that point in time for a young player when the speed of the game slows down, the skills mature fully and a big leap is made in production, accountability and leadership.
Oladipo, now 23 and one of the Magic’s unquestioned leaders on and off the court, has come to that point in his career. The versatile guard has shown flashes of greatness throughout his first two seasons, but he is still striving to become a more consistent threat who takes his game to the next level. And the hope for Oladipo is that if he can make ``The Jump’’ while remaining within the confines of playing team basketball, it will assist the Magic in making major strides this season.
``I’m looking forward to (the season) because we have a lot of young talent. I feel like we have a lot of the pieces to be successful,’’ Oladipo said recently. ``We’ve been together for awhile, for a couple of years now and we’re tired of using the `we’re too young’ excuse. It’s time to win.’’
Training camp for the Magic opens on Sept. 26, and OrlandoMagic.com has started our in-depth look at the team’s roster, position by position. Today, we look at the shooting guard position – one of the team’s most talented positions because of the versatile skills of Evan Fournier, rookie Mario Hezonja and Oladipo.
In the coming days, we’ll breakdown the Magic at small forward (Tobias Harris, Aaron Gordon and Melvin Ejim), power forward (Channing Frye and Jason Smith) and center (Nikola Vucevic and Dewayne Dedmon). Here is a look back at the breakdown of the point guard position (Elfrid Payton, C.J. Watson and Shabazz Napier) from earlier.
Today, we break down the Magic’s strengths and weaknesses at the shooting guard position:
POSITION: Shooting guard
PROJECTED STARTER: Victor Oladipo (2014-15 stats: 72 games, 17.9 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 4.1 apg., 1.67 spg., 43.6 FG percentage, 33.9 3FG percentage, 81.9 FT percentage).
PROJECTED RESERVES: Evan Fournier (2014-15 stats: 58 games, 12 ppg., 2.6 rpg., 2.1 apg., 44 FG percentage, 37.8 3FG percentage, 72.8 FT percentage); Mario Hezonja (2014-15 stats with FC Barcelona: 31 games, 4.7 ppg., 1.9 rpg., 1.3 apg., 39.2 3FG percentage.
OVERVIEW: The Magic have seen great things from Oladipo the past two seasons, but they really need him to take his game to the next level this year in a variety of ways. Oladipo improved his scoring dramatically from his rookie season to his second year, and Orlando feels that he could be poised for another climb because of his work ethic and basketball smarts. If Oladipo can shoot better from the perimeter, finish with more authority around the rim, make more plays for others in pick-and-roll sets and continue to be a defensive force, he could become the go-to player the Magic need in crunch-time moments. Fournier is immensely talented and is coming off another strong summer performance with France’s national team. It will be interesting to see where the 6-foot-7 Fournier fits into the rotation what with Oladipo sure to get the majority of the minutes and the Magic wanting to develop prized rookie Hezonja. Hezonja, a native of Croatia, won’t be a typical overwhelmed rookie as he’s been a professional since he was 11 years old and he’s played professionally the past three years in Spain. He could get time on the floor late in games because of his shooting abilities and his willingness to take big shots with the game on the line.
STRENGTHS: One of the greatest strengths at this position is the Magic’s versatility – something that should come in handy as head coach Scott Skiles tries to get Oladipo, Fournier and Hezonja on the floor at the same time. In Oladipo, Fournier and Hezonja, Orlando has three players who do a lot of things well and can play at least two different positions. Oladipo can make plays from the wing and, at times, run the team from the point guard slot. Fournier is capable of playing three spots because of his rare combination of shooting, play-making and finishing at the rim. Hezonja is something of a wildcard because of his youth and inexperience in the NBA, but he is a player who has good size, great shooting abilities and a unique swagger about him. He plays with extreme confidence and that should come in handy in a league where he will be tested physically and mentally on a nightly basis by some of the league’s best players.
WEAKNESSES: Both Oladipo and Fournier must become more efficient players – when shooting from the perimeter, finishing at the rim and passing in pick-and-roll plays. The Magic want the ball in Oladipo’s hands late in the shot clock and late in games, but he must be able to finish inside and limit his turnovers. Fournier is a sneaky-good passer and finisher around the rim, but he goes through lulls in confidence at times and he must play with more consistency. Orlando was without Oladipo (early in the season) and Fournier (late in the season) for long stretches last season and it desperately needs both to stay healthy this year.
EXPECTATIONS: The Magic have a host of offensive options in Vucevic, Harris, Payton and Gordon, so Oladipo won’t be asked to carry the entire scoring load. But the Magic desperately need the third-year guard to raise the level of his play – possibly even to an all-star level – for them to make major strides. Oladipo has had another great offseason of individual work and he knows he is in a position now to become an elite-level player. Fournier and Hezonja will both play meaningful minutes all season because of their ability to play multiple positions and knock down big shots from 3-point range. Finding enough playing time for all three of these talented players could be a challenge, but it’s a good problem for Skiles to have with the NBA game shifting to more small-ball sets. And if Oladipo, Fournier and Hezonja can thrive together, it should mean good things are ahead for the Magic.