Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Dewayne Dedmon
The Good and the Bad
The worst part of Dewayne Dedmon is his foul troubles. Dedmon averages 6.0 fouls per-36, essentially meaning he fouls out every game given full-time minutes.
Dedmon averaged 14.3 minutes over his 59 appearances, but he did very well in the 15 games in which he started.
The Magic were 5-10 in Dedmon’s starts, which is a slightly better clip (.333) than the team’s .304 win percentage. Dedmon scored in double figures in just one game of those starts, but he came up with more than a block per game and eight rebounds per game.
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Generated 5/11/2015.
Dedmon had four games with double figure rebounds. He is a rugged player on the interior and finishes well.
But Dedmon has shortcomings offensively. He really cannot shoot the ball outside of four or five feet, and he basically relies on perimeter players creating looks for him or scoring opportunity buckets.
That is not to say that he could not eventually develop into a formidable offensive threat, but right now he is by all means a liability offensively.
His hands are good, which is a sign that he could become a finisher and alley-oop specialist, like Tyson Chandler was with Chris Paul.
Dedmon is lucky to be playing with someone like Elfrid Payton who can create looks for bigs, and Victor Oladipo pairs well with Dedmon, too, giving him a couple of players who contribute regularly to his offense.
A lot of Dedmon’s issues may be alleviated simply with further growth.
As he adapts to NBA quality players, he will learn to avoid foul trouble by staying straight up and not reaching for blocks. His timing is good, so it stands to reason he could eventually develop into a true rim protector.
Dedmon lacks Serge Ibaka-like instincts, to be sure, but Dedmon is a superb athlete like Ibaka. He is not at all lacking in vertical leap and that should eventually help him become a shot blocker if he gets the hang of it.
Some guys take a while to come into their own in that respect. It certainly seemed as though Dedmon had proven he is worthy of being a starting power forward…
But, Dedmon needs to continue to spend time bulking up to become a reliable force at the 5-spot. If he wants to be a power forward, and that is what Magic staff expects, he is well-suited. But his ability to play both post positions is what could make him most attractive as an NBA talent, and given he has the length and has added muscle so well already, finishing the product in the weight room seems like the easy choice.
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