Mario Hezonja’s development hurt by Olympic run

Mario Hezonja enters his second season with expectations for improvement and a possibly larger role. His Olympic run though has limited his development.

The frustration from Mario Hezonja was palpable through the TV.

Hezonja was scorching making six of his nine shots, draining step-back and pull-up 3-pointers and actually getting some plays run for him. Yet, with Croatia desperately trying to come back, Hezonja was playing his role, standing in the corner, hoping for a teammate to pass the ball to him as they sucked in the defense.

Perhaps it is youthful frustration, but he was raising his hand calling for the ball and his teammates ignored him. Croatia has turned Hezonja into something he is capable of doing, but is not ultimately what he will be — a purely spot-up shooter.

This was the Hezonja the Magic largely knew last season too. The minimalist use of Hezonja though does not unlock his talent. And for the former fifth overall pick with big expectations and the chance to improve this season, this is not the offseason fans wanted to see.

Hezonja’s lack of activity with Croatia raises serious questions about how he spent his summer. For Hezonja to be what the Magic needed him to be, he might have been better off skipping the Olympics, playing Summer League and working on his own.

Hezonja’s 16-point outburst in the loss to Argentina helped nearly spark a comeback for Croatia. But largely Hezonja has been fairly quiet. He has scored 8.0 points per game on a 64.0 percent effective field goal percentage. He has made half of his 3-pointers with 16 of his 25 field goal attempts in the

That is all the potential Hezonja has shown throughout his young career already. He can make shots when open and move the ball well. He averaged 6.1 points per game and shot 34.9 percent from beyond the arc. But after the All-Star Break, he averaged 7.2 points per game but became more efficient despite shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Hezonja’s shooting has come around this summer. That is a good sign for him as he moves back to the NBA. But, as the fifth overall pick in a strong Draft class already, the Magic should expect a lot more from him.

In that second unit, Hezonja is likely to be a headline. He is likely one of the players the Magic want to feature in that second unit on the ball.

Throughout his rookie season, Hezonja showed incredible court vision, particularly in transition. When given space, Hezonja knew how to take it up and set himself up for a shot or dish it to the open man, sometimes through impossible angles.

Hezonja did have an absurdly high 18.0 percent turnover rate. That number should come down as he gets more comfortable in the NBA. He is not quite the player to have on the ball full time.

Still, the Magic felt comfortable enough running him as a point guard when their point guards went down to injury in December. Hezonja said he was very comfortable on the ball and played point guard most of his life.

Hezonja may not ever be a full on-the-ball guy. But the Magic certainly want to see him confidently take players to the basket in addition to shooting the jumper.

The Magic are expecting Hezonja to take a big leap this summer to support their team.

Whether Hezonja has done that is very unclear from his play with Croatia. And this is where he has spent most of his offseason — from the beginning of July when they entered Olympic Qualifying Tournament to today.

Croatia has used Hezonja largely as a spot-up shooter exclusively. Much of his practice time has been spent playing that role rather than improving his game. He has been unable to get experience playing the role the Magic will want for him.

If he had played Summer League instead of playing for his national team, the Magic surely would have featured Hezonja throughout Summer League. While that is not the role he would play with the Magic, the experience on the ball against weaker competition could help him gain confidence, help him work on those skills and help him test those skills in non-pressure game situations.

Instead, he spent much of his summer standing in the corner watching Bojan Bogdanovic dominating possessions.

This is the price he has to pay to be part of the national team though. And no one should ever fault a player for wanting to play for his national team. Much less in the Olympics — a once every four year tournament.

Hezonja made a good decision in that sense playing for his national team.

Still, there is that feeling he could have done more for his personal game’s growth and development. Had he stayed working on his own rather than playing for Croatia and having to fit a role, he would more clearly show the improvement the Magic need.

Then again, perhaps Hezonja has worked on all those things and continues to do so. He just is not able to show them off during games.

Hezonja’s solid play throughout the Olympics so far (for his role) has brought plenty of optimism  he will be able to contribute at a higher level for the Magic next season. They will certainly ask more from him.

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But not seeing more from Hezonja raises doubt about what Hezonja will be able to give the Magic. And much of his summer was spent confined to this small role.