Orlando Magic’s small lineup gives Mario Hezonja his chance
The Orlando Magic have struggled mightily with bigger frontcourts. Now they look to go small as they desperately search for a spark to save their season.
It is no secret the Orlando Magic playoff hopes are slowly fading. Coach Frank Vogel told reporters following Thursday’s practice in Portland he plans to make some changes in the rotation by going small, similar to the Magic’s rotation on Wednesday against the LA Clippers.
Vogel told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel:
"“We looked at the other lineup, with Biz and Serge [Ibaka] playing together and Vooch bringing us a spark off the bench, and there were some good things,” Vogel said. “But we’re still not playing at a high-enough level. So we’re going to flip it back with Vooch in the starting lineup and Biz coming off the bench.“[We’ll] probably play less big-big lineups than we had been playing. Part of the reason, I think, that we haven’t been able to get over the hump is trying to force that maybe a little too much. So we’ll play more spread lineups with Jeff Green at the four.”"
Nikola Vucevic did well on Wednesday as he regained his starting role. He brought energy and great rebounding as he had a tough job to box out one of the best big men in the league, DeAndre Jordan.
Vogel also mentioned he plans to use Jeff Green as a 4 more often now. As a result of that, Mario Hezonja figures to be Aaron Gordon‘s primary backup at small forward.
At long last, it would appear Mario Hezonja is getting his opportunity.
Hezonja has done well playing in games in garbage time. His most recent impressive outing against the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 28 where he played the entire fourth quarter and scored 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
Hezonja got the call early in the second quarter against the Clippers on Wednesday. He finished the game without a make in three attempts. But he did well on the defensive end.
He stayed with his assignment on defense and also did well switching on off-ball screens. He struggled at times moving laterally.
Hezonja also showcased his passing ability as he threw a couple lobs to Bismack Biyombo. One being from about 30 feet away. Hezonja is known for his passing ability in the open court. But Hezonja did well setting up his teammate in a half-court offensive set in that instance.
It was a positive highlight in meaningful minutes for a player who is working to get back into rhythm after essentially not playing for nearly a month. Hezonja’s play was enough for Vogel to give him another shot at cracking the rotation once again.
And clearly the shift in the rotation and lineups has opened the door for Hezonja.
That shift in the rotation may have also been because of Jeff Green’s poor play of late too.
The Magic signed Jeff Green in the offseason to bring efficient and veteran savvy scoring, he has done everything but that this season. On Wednesday, he struggled once again as he shot an abysmal 3-for-13 from the field. He made just 38.4 percent of his shots so far this season.
Aaron Gordon’s growing comfort at small forward has pushed Green further down the depth chart. And the Magic need more help in the frontcourt from Green than on the wing. The door is open for Hezonja. And for more experimenting after Wednesday’s game.
Gordon has done very well adjusting at the three spot, particularly lately. He is by far the Magic’s best perimeter defender. But along with that, he has done well putting himself in positions where he is comfortable on the offensive end to score.
The Magic have not done much experimenting this season. Serge Ibaka started the previous 39 games before sitting out Wednesday’s game with the shoulder injury. He has started at various times next to one of Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo.
That experiment has not done well, to say the least, as the Magic sit eight games under .500 at a poor 16-24.
The shoulder injury to Serge Ibaka in Sunday’s contest against the Los Angeles Lakers, forced him to sit out against the Clippers. This caused Vogel to turn to Jeff Green to play the four spot in the starting lineup. It is understandable also that Vogel went to the small lineup due to the knee injury to Clippers’ star, Blake Griffin.
It had its mixed results. Orlando is not likely to play Gordon very much at the 4 either — they will still use traditional lineups. Green will get his minutes at the 4 with second units.
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At this point of the season, the Magic can only experiment with lineups and different combinations and wish for a spark as their playoff hopes are slowly going down the drain.