Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris in Sports Illustrated’s Top-100 NBA players; Victor Oladipo snubbed

Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris both made Sports Illustrated’s top 100 NBA players list. Victor Oladipo though was a notable snub. A symbol for its season.

The Orlando Magic are going to be hunting for respect in the 2016 season. The only way to get respect is to win. So the respect will come with achieving the team’s goals and making the Playoffs.

For now though? The Orlando Magic are a curiosity.

There are some solid young players and interesting talents that are getting arranged for . . . something. What that is, everyone is still trying to figure out.

And that makes it hard to figure out what the Magic exactly have. Orlando and its players, in the eyes of the national media, put up great numbers but on a bad team. Everyone wants to see what happens when they try to win and whether the production gets maintained.

It is why some Magic fans are going to feel a little disrespected by Sports Illustrated’s Top-100 NBA players.

Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris each appear in the top-100, but Victor Oladipo does not. Oladipo and Elfrid Payton are both listed on the “snubs” list just outside the list.

This certainly got and will get Magic fans upset. For most, Oladipo is the one guy poised for a breakout year and excluding him from the top 100 seems a little shortsighted.

But, it kind of is.

The methodology focused on previous year’s statistics and less on projections. It is not about how good the player will become but how good the player is now. There are certainly some opinions built into that, but this is a list, there is a lot of opinion involved.

Here is what Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated wrote on Oladipo:

"As with all of Orlando’s young prospects, it’s difficult to determine exactly how much credence to give Victor Oladipo’s numbers. At face value, 18/4/4 sounds great for a second-year combo guard still getting his feet wet, but there’s a nagging feeling of emptiness because the Magic failed to hit 30 wins in the East for the third straight year. Oladipo, 23, has yet to prove he does anything great, aside from 360 degree dunks, of course. While his explosiveness and defensive potential are alluring, he’s still stuck in the “prove it” stage for now."

That really is the issue when evaluating the Magic’s players. How do you look at a player putting up numbers on a bad team? Is it real? Is it a product of opportunity and not helping the team win?

These are the issues that plagued Tobias Harris (No. 78) and Nikola Vucevic (No. 67).

Here is Golliver on Harris:

"The 6’8” Harris was one of just four age-22 or younger players to average at least 17 points a game last season (joining No. 1 overall picks Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, and teammate Victor Oladipo), and he has the makings of a solid all-around scoring game that features doses of post-ups, spot-up shooting from outside, one-on-one attacks off the dribble, and pick-and-roll opportunities. At the same time, he didn’t exactly set the nets ablaze with his efficiency, and he stacked up his numbers in dozens of meaningless games for a 25-win team that fired coach Jacque Vaughn midseason. If his scoring acumen still needs to be validated, his defense is probably due for an overhaul under new coach Scott Skiles. Harris ranked 72nd at his position in Defensive Real Plus-Minus last season, and the Magic, who ranked No. 25 in defensive efficiency, were nearly four points worse on that end with him on the court."

Harris climbed into the list after going unranked last year, so it is very possible that Oladipo is easily on the list next year with another solid statistical season (wins or not).

Vucevic also rose last year from 89 to 67 this year. This was largely on his increased scoring production and another year of consistency. But the same question remains as it does for Oladipo and Harris in making these rankings, as Ben Golliver writes again:

"Vucevic’s individual production didn’t translate to team success, as Orlando’s offense ranked fourth-worst in the NBA and the Magic sputtered to 25 wins, just two more than the previous season. Importantly, his ability to make the Magic’s attack more potent was more than offset by the damage done by his defense: Orlando posted an atrocious 106.6 defensive rating with Vucevic on the court and he ranked 53rd at his position in Defensive Real Plus-Minus. What’s more, the Magic ranked third-worst when it came to opponent field goal percentage inside five feet, with Synergy Sports grading Vucevic as a “poor” defender in the basket area. One of new coach Scott Skiles’s top goals will be to coax more substantive all-around contributions from his center."

This is a growing narrative and trend.

The list clearly values consistency. Oladipo has just two years under his belt. The group is a little bullish that he will make that leap. They are not willing to give it to him.

Give Oladipo another year and it will be clear he will be in the top-100 players for Sports Illustrated.

Maybe Elfrid Payton’s writeup from Rob Mahoney on the snubs list can be projected to the Magic:

"Opponents won’t guard Payton’s jumper until it toes respectability. In the meantime, his otherwise well-rounded play might still pave a way for Payton to join the top 100 in the near future. The 21-year-old guard showed off a certain gumption in his ball handling last season that allowed him to make creative use of tight driving lanes full of sagging defenders. Payton has the imagination and vision to see such plays through. A little more practical experience will only help in those efforts. Payton brings the passing, the rebounding, the ball handling and the defensive enthusiasm already. Now he needs only to bring it all together."

It becomes clear from this exercise that the Magic’s season is about establishing consistency and proving that this collection of talent can become a team.

Next: What are realistic expectations for the 2016 Orlando Magic