Could Orlando’s Elfrid Payton be Toast of 2014 Rookie Class?

The thing that cannot be ignored about Payton is his indisputable ability to haunt opposing point guards defensively.

Payton is the kind of pest capable of forcing backcourt eight-second violations, of forcing good ball-handling guards into errant passes and miscues. Payton frustrated Tyreke Evans in the first quarter Friday night, prompting a very good ball handler to bobble it, attempt to pass out and then dribble into the eight-second violation.

The number of defenders in the NBA capable of executing the “one man trap” is exceedingly low. Tony Allen and Avery Bradley have made calling cards with this ability, and the game-changing effect a guy like Payton can have a game is capable of rendering a team like Orlando great defensively.

Adding to Payton’s stringent defense is the equally devastating defensive potential of combo-guard Victor Oladipo, who like Payton also has first-team All-Defensive type of talent. The Magic can carve a defensive identity that is headed in the backcourt. A zone defense could feature the head of a very prolific snake for the Magic, as opposing guards are continually trapped and provoked.

Getting out on the break will not be a problem, and whether swingman Tobias Harris stays in the fold or not, the Magic have athletes like Aaron Gordon and Dewayne Dedmon to reap the benefits. Payton and Oladipo are both forming great pick and roll tandems with franchise center Nikola Vucevic. The pieces are coming together in Orlando for the team to be competitive, it is just not readily apparent by the team’s overall record.

Just in the James Borrego era, however, the Magic boast a 4-2 record, also reeling off its first three-game win streak of the season following Sunday night’s 103-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The sample size is exceedingly small, but the players are responding.  Payton was three rebounds shy of a triple double with 10 points and 11 assists in Friday’s contest, while finishing Saturday’s contest with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.  Getting 7 or 8 rebounds from the 1-spot is a luxury few teams are afforded.

The stat-stuffing play is something we may become accustomed to, but the eventual result will be a lot of Magic wins.  It’s already starting to happen, and the seemingly outlandish 18-8 mark deemed necessary to make the postseason by site co-editor Philip Rossman-Reich on the last OMD Podcast seems oddly (if not entirely prematurely so) within reach.  That may be ill-founded optimism, but in a season with so few reasons for such, let’s enjoy the ride as it unfolds…

Next: Payton's need for improvement still