Orlando Magic Grades: Brooklyn Nets 101, Orlando Magic 88
By Zach Palmer
Rob Hennigan’s 2012 draft class of Kyle O’Quinn and Andrew Nicholson bid farewell to 2015 on a positive note. On the other hand this year’s class of rookies struggled mightily to end their first seasons as NBA players.
Final. 88. 38. 101. 147
The Orlando Magic’s season came to a close Wednesday night as the Brooklyn Nets outlasted the Magic 101-88 at Barclays Center.
Orlando had the lead for much of the game, going ahead by as much as 12 points, but the writing seemed to be on the wall as the offense sputtered and became stagnant. The Nets needed the win to get into the Playoffs and the breaks went their way in the end to get that trip to Atlanta this weekend.
Nikola Vucevic led the way for the Magic with 26 points and Victor Oladipo had 19 points on 17 field goal attempts, playing nearly 44 minutes in the game.
The Magic finish the year with 25 wins, two more than last year.
A-. <p>Andrew Nicholson got the start tonight in place of an injured <strong><a href=. PF. Orlando Magic. ANDREW NICHOLSON
B. <p>Do you guys remember this guy? The loveable backup center who cheers his heart out on the bench, had the best beard in the NBA, and is actually a pretty solid basketball player?</p><p>I had almost forgotten about Kyle O’Quinn, but thankfully he was dusted off for tonight’s season finale.</p><p>O’Quinn was glued to the bench in favor of <strong><a href=. PF/C. Orlando Magic. KYLE O'QUINN
B+. <p>After a good week of looking absolutely anemic, <strong><a href=. C. Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC
D. <p>Now for the less than stellar performances. After a fantastic season, <strong><a href=. PG. Orlando Magic. ELFRID PAYTON
<div class=. SF/PF. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON. D
Experience is the best teacher and the best you can really say about Aaron Gordon tonight is that he was taught a lot.
Gordon looked out of place offensively, in particular when Nikola Vucevic was double-teamed. On those plays Gordon just kind of lurked near Vucevic which completely clogged up the lane and destroyed Orlando’s spacing. Gordon is going to have to do a much better job of moving without the ball if he wants to be an effective player.
Gordon tonight also had an issue with shot selection.
Gordon passed up quite a few open 3-pointers only to settle for a contested mid-range jumper. It is one thing to attack the rim and another to pass up an open three to settle for a contested mid-range jumper.
Gordon is a raw offensive product and it is possible the coaching staff requested he be more aggressive. But you would hope it would not be at the expense of his smart shot selection.
On the defensive end, Gordon mostly checked Joe Johnson tonight. He did a good job on the ball but off the ball he got lost a few times, including a couple huge fourth-quarter buckets.
Gordon needed the experience he got tonight but it doesn’t mean it was an enjoyable one.
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Experience is the best teacher and the best you can really say about Aaron Gordon tonight is that he was taught a lot.
Gordon looked out of place offensively, in particular when Nikola Vucevic was double-teamed. On those plays Gordon just kind of lurked near Vucevic which completely clogged up the lane and destroyed Orlando’s spacing. Gordon is going to have to do a much better job of moving without the ball if he wants to be an effective player.
Gordon tonight also had an issue with shot selection.
Gordon passed up quite a few open 3-pointers only to settle for a contested mid-range jumper. It is one thing to attack the rim and another to pass up an open three to settle for a contested mid-range jumper.
Gordon is a raw offensive product and it is possible the coaching staff requested he be more aggressive. But you would hope it would not be at the expense of his smart shot selection.
On the defensive end, Gordon mostly checked Joe Johnson tonight. He did a good job on the ball but off the ball he got lost a few times, including a couple huge fourth-quarter buckets.
Gordon needed the experience he got tonight but it doesn’t mean it was an enjoyable one.