Orlando Magic Bench Mob can be very good

The Orlando Magic bench has struggled to perform this year, but it played well in the 95-84 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday (Feb 20). With Tobias Harris due to return, could moving Harris to the bench solve the last of the issues for Magic reserves?

It seems Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier had been the sixth man for such a long time period, that we may have forgotten just how good he can be in a starting role. While the Magic’s second unit has been offensively challenged at several points this season, with a healthy Tobias Harris in the unit it may be just the second unit that James Borrego needs to help return the Magic to competitiveness.

The Magic reserves played with a lot of energy in the ‘W’ over New Orleans on Friday night, and this most especially highlights the strong play of reserve big man Dewayne Dedmon.

Big Ben or not, Dedmon’s infectious energy gave the second unit life. Combining Dedmon with an offensively assertive Andrew Nicholson, and the fall off from the Magic’s starters was not as precipitous as typical.

Guard Willie Green is a veteran who adds stability, and both he and Luke Ridnour gave the Magic a lot of stability and poise.

Green played 24 minutes and connected on four of six from the floor for nine points, five rebounds and three assists. While starter Elfrid Payton took his breathers, Green shined. The veteran combo guard (along with Nicholson) posted the highest plus/minus of any Magic reserve at plus-6.

There was not a player in the second unit who played poorly in this victory over the Pelicans.

Somewhat mysteriously again, Kyle O’Quinn received just one minute of playing time.

With matchups favorable to Andrew Nicholson, the St. Bonaventure product cracked the rotation after recording 16 straight DNPs.  Here at OMD, we stated that this was exactly what needed to occur; the showcasing of Nicholson has begun.

While it could be rendered showcasing to play A.N. this much, it may even just end up being a situation where the Magic take stock of its inventory and figure out which pieces may even work. At this point, he is a player whose services were made available, but that should not be confused with “expendable.”

The Magic may not have an abundance of talent in the second unit, but it does have options. O’Quinn at his best is a rim protector who can stretch the court from the high post. But while Dedmon is being an energetic pest in the paint, O’Quinn is left sitting.

Still, on nights like this one, Nicholson’s craftiness worked well against a very tough New Orleans Pelicans frontcourt. He used a variety of crafty little hooks and moved well without the ball. It seemed Nicholson easily could have really got cooking offensively, but the Magic kept the ball moving.

The interior was a huge difference maker.

The Pelicans rank second in the NBA in points in the paint, but the Magic held New Orleans to just 18 points in the paint in the first half, and this is a team that averages 47 points in the paint per contest. Nikola Vucevic, Dedmon and Nicholson kept Anthony Davis in check and the Magic won the battle of the boards 42-40.

Still, even with the improvement, it seems the Magic are nearly forced to keep either Victor Oladipo or Vucevic on the court to keep the second unit with offensive options.

James Borrego went to a lineup of Evan Fournier, Nicholson, Aaron Gordon, Dedmon and Willie Green early in the second quarter, but he was forced to get Vucevic back in the game as the Pelicans reeled off an 8-0 run to take a 34-30 lead. Elfrid Payton, who had just been taken out of the game, was sorely missed.

Luke Ridnour did a solid job of running the show, but the majority of the Magic’s baskets were created by Payton’s persistent penetration. While Ridnour is a capable second unit guard, he is not a scorer, and Green is only while he is hot. The same even applies to Evan Fournier, though he has been better at getting good looks when he goes cold.

All in all, it is easy to see how plugging Harris into the second unit could immediately render it very effective. Oladipo and Vucevic should not have to come in as lone offensive wolf to bail the Magic reserves out.

Even with the improvement the Pelicans bench outscored Orlando 34 to 27. It stands to reason that O’Quinn and Aaron Gordon could inject more scoring, but that is not the route Borrego chose to take in this affair, and it seemed to work out well not to.

The second unit has its shortcomings, but the team managed to overcome a lot of that due to effort.

After Payton checked in at the 6:19 mark of the second quarter, the Magic went on a 9-0 run to tie the game back up at 41 apiece with two minutes to go in the first half. But it took Payton coming back into the game to cue that run.

Oladipo sat exhausted from having to carry a unit bereft of scoring options, and that is part of the burden of having a young team. Before the starters can play at optimal level, it is up to the bench to allow them to start. This was one step closer to that, but it stands to reason Harris could provide the lift to make it a self-sustaining system.

Fournier worked well in the second unit, but his skill set works best around other great players — he is not the best shot creator in the league. All things considered, a lot of the credit has to go to Borrego for having the foresight to leave at least one scorer out on the court the majority of the game.

With Payton dropping near-triple doubles and creating something out of nothing so often, he can squeeze offense from a rock while in the game, and that helps the likes of Dedmon whose lack of offensive prowess renders him essentially just a finisher.

It is just one game, but the signs are there that the Magic may have shored up one major weakness in its bench.

Next: Defense becomes the difference for Magic against Pelicans