Orlando’s Andrew Nicholson showing value as second unit scorer

Andrew Nicholson is finding himself on the court more often, producing well, and showing his value as an NBA player. While Nicholson may never be starter-caliber, he’s proving that there’s a place for him in the Association.

Orlando Magic 2012 first round pick (No. 19 overall) Andrew Nicholson of St. Bonaventure raised eyebrows in his rookie season. Nicholson, an undersized power forward, had a lot to overcome due to his short stature as an NBA 4. Defensively, he is faced with the prospect of guarding bigger players on a regular basis, and his defensive shortcomings limit any value he has as a starter.

But coming off the bench to provide second-unit scoring seems like a niche Nicholson can occupy. It will keep him in the league.

In the second quarter of Sunday night’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Nicholson found himself on the court, and for the majority of the quarter he was the only one producing much of anything at all. Nicholson’s game is slightly unorthodox, a throw-back style of sorts, but he finds a multitude of ways to get his shots off in traffic, consistently extending his high release over opposing players whose length should be problematic. But Nicholson has an array of moves and bag of tricks that can render him quite effective when he puts his mind to scoring.

During the 2013 FIBA Championships playing with Canada, Nicholson broke something out of his arsenal not seen during his rookie campaign: a three-point shot. It seemed like a logical progression for him to develop it, as it gives the 6-foot-8 forward the versatility to diversify his offense enough that opposing second-unit players are left with no option: either step out and guard him or pay the consequences. In the 2013-14 season, he began to launch the three, and he hit 31.5 percent. That is not a bad mark for a forward. This season, in limited minutes he has hit 41.2 percent from behind the arc.

And that is by all accounts superb, if only he were on the floor to call the statistic significant in any way.

That skill set, along with a focused defensive effort, makes Nicholson the kind of second-unit player that can save a team during dry spells.

During that second quarter, Nicholson hit three field goals, and eight minutes into the quarter he was the only Magic player to connect from the field, while his teammates shot a combined 0 of 15. The Magic stayed in the game due to his offense during a horrid dry spell, and though the Hornets outscored the Magic 28-18 in the period, Orlando may have been nearly blanked for most of the period without Nicholson’s aggressive shot seeking.

There are still efficiency issues for Nicholson, but that is largely due to rust and not having been on the court enough. This season, he is shooting 38.6 percent from the field, which falls far shy of the 52.7 percent he shot his first season as a pro.

But one thing Nicholson does have going for him, good or bad, is that he gets shots up. He is averaging 14.9 attempts per-36 minutes, and while he is picking up a bit of a reputation as a “black hole,” the Magic need someone in that second unit to score. With Evan Fournier out of the lineup against the Hornets, the Magic lacked scoring options. Tobias Harris stayed on the court with Nicholson but provided close to nothing.

Nicholson, though, needs to be more effective in the mid-range. From 3 to 10 feet this year, he is shooting a disgusting 15.8 percent, largely because his shots are so heavily contested. His adroit movements toward the hoop are not pretty, but he finds a way to get his looks. He really just needs now to start finding a way to get to his sweet shots.

Nicholson picks and chooses his three-point shots well, usually only launching when the defense lays off. To be clear, his shot selection is not poor. He is just taking what the defense gives him as his teammates repeatedly pass on scoring opportunities.

The Magic’s passive nature left Nicholson to unabashedly take shots that may have been easier if the Hornets were taking his teammates seriously. Elfrid Payton threw up a bizarre and confused look in the paint at the 4:45 mark of the third quarter, which was followed by a missed Nicholson jumper, and the Magic seemed confused offensively, in pure disarray. Payton then got careless and Lance Stephenson pounced on the miscue, scoring off the turnover to give Charlotte a two-point lead again after the Magic had fought from behind to tie the game at 33 all.

Nicholson would make his presence felt again early in the fourth quarter as he knocked down a jumper that queued an 8-1 Orlando run to get the Magic within four points before Al Jefferson and Mo Williams checked in to obliterate the Magic for the remaining eight minutes of the quarter as the Hornets outscored the Magic 24-15 the rest of the way.

The Hornets improved to 9-1 when shooting 47 percent or better, which is a good sign that the Magic’s defense was exceptionally lackluster. Charlotte is not a good offensive team and was missing its best guard in Kemba Walker.

But little of the struggle can be blamed on Nicholson. He did precisely what he is capable of as an NBA player, and that ceiling just is not that of a starter. Yet, he has very practical uses for an NBA team. Second-unit scoring can be a problem even for good teams, and on a team like the Magic whose lack of depth can lead to major dry spells, Nicholson could be that drop of water, that oasis.

Nicholson will likely always have some defensive shortcomings. But he plays smart on that end of the court — and his high basketball IQ helps cover some of his failings as a defender. That is sometimes the best that can be asked of an undersized power forward.

Not all are Paul Millsap, whose 6-foot-7 frame has hardly stunted his career as the starting power forward for the best team in the East in Atlanta. Millsap obliterated the Magic in the first quarter of the loss to Atlanta, and to expect that from Nicholson may be a bit far fetched.

But a “Millsap lite” effect is possible. Nicholson can be a scorer off the bench and help ignite runs like the one that got the Magic back in the game Sunday night.

There’s a place for Andrew in the NBA.

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