Orlando Magic Grades: Oklahoma City 127 Orlando Magic: 99

Jan 18, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks talks with guard Russell Westbrook (0) against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks talks with guard Russell Westbrook (0) against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Grading how well Magic players an coaches did after their 127-99 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder

38. 127. 149. Final. 99

The Orlando Magic fell behind and got embarrassed on the scoreline by the uber-talented Oklahoma City Thunder. There was not a ton right the Magic did and not a ton wrong the Thunder did.

What can the Magic learn, hopefully some evaluations help guys improve.

<p>OK, so I might be grading on a curve here. The Magic got manhandled so how could anybody possibly score something over an A+? It is simple Elfrid Payton never quit. While many Magic players looked down and seemed downright disinterested Payton kept playing his butt off. In the second half, already down 30 points, Payton kept pushing the pace and looked for easy ways to score. He continued to hound the ball handler all the way down the court and continued to fight for rebounds. Of and to top it off he scored 19 points and added eight assists. One thing I can say about Elfrid Payton is that I have never seen him not try his hardest.</p>. PG. Orlando Magic. ELFRID PAYTON. A++

Orlando Magic. NIKOLA VUCEVIC. F. <p>Vucevic just did not have it tonight. He missed wide-open jumpers and did not offer much help defensively at the rim. He let Steven Adams get under his skin in the third quarter which led to Vucevic picking up a technical foul after a shove. He scored 16 points on 19 shots and only tallied seven rebounds. A very disappointing game for a recently incinerating Vucevic.</p>. C

D. <p>Oladipo struggled pretty badly for most of this game. His turnover numbers are a lot lower than they could have been. Oladipo lost the ball consistently when driving to the rim. The worst thing Oladipo did tonight was stall the offense. Victor on most nights can be the fastest player on the court, yet when he handles the ball he slows the tempo to a standstill. Victor has got to do a better job of moving the ball quicker when he has got the ball in his hands. A lot of his recent success came due to him making quick decisions. He did not do that tonight. On the bright side Victor fought all night long. Hopefully we will see less of Oladipo having to play a point guard role moving forward.</p>. G. Orlando Magic. VICTOR OLADIPO

B-. <p>Welcome back Aaron! Now go guard Kevin Durant!</p><p>In the first action Aaron Gordon has seen in nearly two months, Gordon was asked to come in and defend arguably the best player in the world. Gordon did an adequate job in his first five minutes of the game when matched up with Durant. Most of Gordon’s stats came in garbage time against OKC’s backups but he looked fairly good. He made a nice jump stop move which led to an and-1 opportunity. He also made a three off the dribble.</p><p>The thing I saw that made me most excited about Gordon’s return was his ability to push the ball offensively. Gordon did a good job of dribbling and throwing outlet passes to get the Magic playing faster in garbage time. I would definitely get excited about Gordon playing an uptempo brand of basketball.</p>. F. Orlando Magic. AARON GORDON

<p>Oops, I accidentally put the Thunder first half shooting percentage instead of a +. Well I guess I am grading on a curve so this will have to do. The Thunder were unbelievable tonight. They dominated the Magic in every way imaginable. They scored a franchise-best 79 points in the first half.  Ten of their 13 players scored more points than shots taken. They held the Magic to less than 40 percent shooting. This team was roaring on all cylinders tonight. I feel bad for the One or Two seed in the western conference that’s going to catch this team in the first round.</p>. . Oklahoma City Thunder. . A∞

Next: The Thunder obliterated the Magic on Sunday