Aaron Gordon, Mario Hezonja, Elfrid Payton done for Summer League
The Orlando Magic’s trio of roster players on their Summer League roster are done for the week, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.
The Orlando Magic’s three surefire roster players on their Summer League roster are done for the week, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Neither Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton nor Mario Hezonja will play in Thursday’s game against the Indiana Pacers or Friday’s “Championship Day” game.
It is hard to argue that this was a good decision and no one expected the trio to play any more than they have played so far. All three are sure to be on the Magic’s roster and do not need the extra reps in Summer League. Really the only thing that could happen is injury at this point.
There is not much more Magic officials and coaches need to see from them.
Aaron Gordon was the best of the three showing off an improved jumper and improved confidence in scoring 21.7 points per game and grabbing 11.7 rebounds per game. Unbelievably, Gordon was probably the best offensive option and shooter on the Magic Blue team throughout the week. He certainly was their most consistent offensive creator and option.
Gordon had an up-and-down rookie year virtually cut short by a mid-season foot injury. He looked much more comfortable in playing the three games this week and seemed like he had put together a lot of different aspects of his game in dominating the play.
When he was on the floor, he was the best player and is likely the unofficial MVP of the Orlando Summer League. His jumper and offensive game had taken that much of a step forward.
Elfrid Payton, on the other hand, had sort of the opposite kind of Summer League.
In his rookie year, he seemed comfortable and capable of terrorizing NBA defenses. Yet, this year in Summer League, Payton seemed a little more hesitant and less aggressive. He was perhaps looking for his shot a lot more and working on his improved jumper, something that did not seem completely comfortable to him yet.
Payton scored only 11 points and dished out 13 assists in his two games, playing 51 total minutes.
Payton’s Summer League may have been further derailed as he was reportedly in a car accident Tuesday, which may have forced him to sit out his third and final game:
Can confirm @OrlandoMagic PG @elfrid was in an accident today. His car hit by someone running a red light. I've been told Payton is fine.
— Joe Kepner (@JoeKepner) July 7, 2015
Payton seemed to be experimenting some and was not necessarily looking to just go out and play like he normally would. Payton still had a few highlights, but otherwise seemed to be focusing on improving other parts of his game.
Mario Hezonja was the guy many Magic fans wanted to see, if not just to see him actually play for the first time.
He too had his moments, but also had his bumps in the road and learning curves to get past. Hezonja averaged 13.0 points per game but shot just 37.5 percent from the floor including just 4 for 14 from beyond the arc.
Hezonja had the highlight of the Summer League and displayed his athleticism. He also hit the game-winning shot in the Magic’s first Summer League game.
But his Summer League campaign made him look like a rookie. He still has to get used to NBA-level physicality and NBA spacing. His 3-point shot was not working during games, although plenty of the players attested to its strength in practice.
Overall, the Magic have to be relatively satisfied with how all three played. They all still have plenty of work to do before coming into camp in October. But for what the team knows about them, they are not likely to see anything different or anything that needed to be improved in two final Summer League games.
The Magic will likely spend the last two games of Summer League evaluating Devyn Marble, who is on a non-guaranteed contract, second round pick Tyler Harvey, Peyton Siva and the various D-League prospects for their team in Erie.