Orlando Magic Recap: Victor Oladipo’s 30 not enough to propel Orlando Magic past Miami Heat
By Zach Palmer
Victor Oladipo laid it all out on the floor, but it wasn’t enough to secure the W as the Magic fell to the Miami Heat 100-93. Orlando has now locked in the fifth best lottery odds in the 2015 NBA draft.
110. Final. 93. 38. 100
Well, you cannot say HE did not try.
On a night where the majority of Orlando Magic players looked once again to have checked out for the season, Victor Oladipo gave it his all tonight against the Miami Heat.
Oladipo scored 30 points, including a 15-point third quarter. Oladipo relentlessly attacked the rim and was able to draw some fouls which resulted in 12 free throw attempts (and easily could have been 20).
Outside of Oladipo’s standout performance there was not much to be thankful for tonight.
The Heat blasted the Magic out of the gate and scored in the paint at will. Nikola Vucevic once again looked like he clocked out for the season, Evan Fournier was inactive for precautionary reasons, and James Borrego was left desperately trying anything to spark his team.
The Heat scored 66 points in the paint tonight, likely a result of Nikola Vucevic and Channing Frye playing the majority of the center minutes available tonight and poor perimeter defense from the guards, particularly early. Dewayne Dedmon got a few short looks. But for the second game in a row Dedmon’s impact was minimal as he struggled defensively.
Hassan Whiteside bullied the Magic to a tune of 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. He was easily the most dominant player on the court tonight for Miami.
For the second game in a row, the Magic just did not look like they cared to give any effort.
James Borrego repeatedly said He would play the group of guys that wanted to give an effort and he played all but one available player tonight — Kyle O’Quinn.
With Vucevic and Dedmon struggling, Borrego went to Channing Frye and Andrew Nicholson at center and as expected Orlando’s defense and rebounding suffered. For a guy preaching about effort Borrego certainly did whatever it took to not play Kyle O’Quinn.
However, the Magic did cut the deficit to six points late in the game behind an energetic group which featured Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Elfrid Payton, Maurice Harkless and Frye.
The best thing to take away from tonight? We are through 81 games of this pitiful season and we only have one more to go. TANK GOODNESS.
Games Notes:
- Aaron Gordon got the start tonight in place of Dewayne Dedmon. Gordon struggled mightily on the offensive end, looking completely out of control at the rim. He shot 2 of 14 from the floor, getting himself stuck on several occasions before throwing up a wild shot. His defense was solid however.
- Tobias Harris needs to work on his fastbreak decision-making. Harris has shown some poor judgement on the break this year and tonight was no exception.
- Overall though, Harris found a good rhythm offensively and was engaged when he was scoring. He 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting and added 12 rebounds, making several key rebounds when the Magic made their fourth-quarter comeback.
- What has happened to Elfrid Payton the past couple games? He just looks like another guy out there right now. I do not know if it’s because of Oladipo’s increased usage but Payton should have the ball in his hands a lot more.
- We got 20 minutes of Willie Green in the second to last game of a rebuilding season. How wonderful.