Mario Hezonja primed for late season boost

Mario Hezonja has been pushed into the starting lineup and is beginning to percolate and show all his potential, even on the defensive end.

Last season, the Orlando Magic were pleased to see a big bump in the level of play of then-sophomore guard Victor Oladipo after the All-Star break. Oladipo averaged 20.3 points per game and 4.5 assists per game in the season’s final 26 games, creating optimism and expectation for this year.

This year, the Magic may see another post-All-Star bump from a different young guard.

The Magic traded away Tobias Harris with the thought of developing the guys that they had established as their core group of young guys.

Aaron Gordon had already begun to see a role increase, and his play has already elevated big time since being inserted in the starting lineup. Evan Fournier had already established himself as a starter for most of the season, and has been a vital piece to the offense.

The trade really paved the way for rookie Mario Hezonja to obtain a bigger role, and he has taken advantage of that opportunity.

Since the All-Star Break, Hezonja has seen a 30 percent minutes increase from his 15.2 minutes per game average in the first half and has played 19.7 minutes per game. With Fournier injured, he has started the past three games and played about 27 minutes per game. It was an opportunity for the rookie to show his progress and make his statement.

One he has not let go by, at least on offense, in that short time.

A common theme for guys in consideration for Most Improved Player is that the biggest leap they make is due to their increased role. Hezonja has elevated his game lately with his increased role, and could be primed to continue improving quickly.

Since the All-Star break, the Magic are scoring 105 points per 100 possessions with Hezonja on the court and allowing 96.3 points per 100 possessions. That is a big improvement from his splits from before the break (99.6 and 102.4 respectively), but also significantly better than the team averages of 101.7 and 103.5 respectively.

One of the strong signs of an upcoming leap is Hezonja is getting much more comfortable in the flow of the offense.

He has had more experience facing NBA defenses, and has become better at making plays and is gaining confidence.

He has cut his turnovers per game in half, he is attacking the paint more frequently, and finishing at the rim at a high mark (despite a low sample size).

He is taking more of the type of shots that the coaching staff wants, which are layups or catch-and-shoot jumpers off of ball and player movement. Hezonja has been taking about 74 percent of his shots directly off of a pass, which are generally higher efficiency shot attempts than isolation jumpers for NBA players, Hezonja included.

Initially with the minutes increase, Hezonja was missing a lot of open jumpers that he had made earlier in the season. There is often a decrease in efficiency when shot frequency increases, and perhaps he needed some time to adjust to being a bigger focus of the offense.

However, missing open shots he was making before is a trend the team likely expected to end, and the past three games have seen his shooting numbers regress back to his season average.

Hezonja also has developed his court vision as the season has come along.

A big reason Scott Skiles has enough confidence in Hezonja to play a bigger role is that he is getting more comfortable defensively.

In the beginning of the season, teams would attack Hezonja with isolations whenever he was on the court. Now, Hezonja has improved his defense enough that he is not a big enough liability that he cannot be on the floor.

Despite a recent game in Dallas in which Hezonja, along with the rest of the team, showed little effort on the defensive end, Hezonja has gotten somewhat better with his on-ball defense, as well as his help rotations.

More time playing games and watching tape should help him continue to improve his defensive rotations. And, as Skiles has said numerous times throughout the season, Hezonja is eager to improve and is putting in the work.

This season has been rough for the rookie. He’s a very confident person, but he wasn’t quite ready to face NBA opponents when the season began.

However, he has slowly come to learn what he needs to do to succeed in this league, and has been becoming more comfortable.

The sample size is small, but his improvements seem to be caused by getting used to play rather than some lucky stretch of plays.

The team would not be so successful with him on the court if he were not helping the team in many ways, including with team defense.

The signs of his recent play with an increased role are encouraging, and if he continues to improve on the aspects of his game that have begun to rise, he should become the player the front office and the fans saw him as on draft night.