5 Pointed Observations from Orlando Magic’s loss to Denver Nuggets
The Magic can draw a lot of positives from Wednesday night’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Wednesday night’s game was heartbreaking, but it was revealing of some interesting deficiencies in the Orlando Magic’s plan of attack.
Losing by three points on an Evan Fournier missed triple stung, but there were some improvements in bench play, and it all began with St. Bonaventure product Andrew Nicholson. Nicholson emerged from a deep spot on the Magic bench to show some brilliant shooting from behind the arc.
Game Notes:
- Seldom-used Andrew Nicholson played, and he played pretty well. Site co-editor Philip Rossman-Reich and I spoke on Twitter about Nicholson this morning, and my conclusion was that he should be showcased to be used as trade bait. Some team may want to take a chance on a young talent whose abilities offensively are not in question. He is a rotation player somewhere, but he will not overtake Kyle O’Quinn and Aaron Gordon is far more worth developing (once back from injury). Even so, Nicholson can shoot the basketball, as seen in his three-point prowess tonight. It is difficult to ascertain what the Magic could obtain for Nicholson at this point. Maybe by the trade deadline A.N.’s shown enough promise to warrant a prospect or even a late-first round pick.
- Nikola Vucevic is patient and has an array of moves, but he needs to make more aggressive steps to the basket. His footwork is not bad, but his knowledge of how to best employ each move is somewhat lost still. Too often Vucevic settles for little hooks in the paint, which while decent, could be far improved upon if he had a better drop step. That is kind of the bread and butter of every NBA big man, and Vucevic’s is nothing to speak of. He has pick and rolls down well, but there is a lot more to being an All-Star caliber big man, and playing tough and ruthless is the next step for him.
- Elfrid Payton has no problem penetrating, but once he gets there, it is as though he is not sure what to do with the ball. Payton made some nice passes, but with as often as he can get into the paint, he should be shooting far better than 1 for 8 from the field. Payton missed four shots in the paint, and his lone field goal was a tough jumper that he was more or less pressed into taking. It is not that he cannot shoot the ball, but he is having a tough time finding his way against NBA defenses for his limited shot. Even so, his passing was superb and with more help from teammates, he could have finished with eight or nine assists. Easily.
- Victor Oladipo and Arron Afflalo were basically a wash, save for the fact that Oladipo still has more impressive and promising plays w;hen he puts his head down and takes it to the hole. Oladipo had 12 points at the half on 4-of-5 shooting, but he hit just 3-of-8 in the second half. Afflalo meanwhile had 17 points, six boards and three assists.
- Tobias Harris did not have one of his best games (5 of 13 from the floor for 12 points), but that is a matter of what is being looked at, in some senses. With Harris on the court, the Magic were plus-7 in a game that they lost by three points. In Nicholson’s 21 minutes, the Magic were plus-11.
- Is it possible we see a small lineup featuring Harris, Nicholson and Vucevic/O’Quinn? If Nicholson can consistently be a three-point threat as he was with Canada in the FIBA games, then the Magic could resurrect this bench with parts already intact. Sometimes internal improvement is the absolute best way for a team to address its struggles, and the Magic do have some talent in need of water, so to speak. It was nice to see Nicholson get some burn.