Jason Smith’s experience should give Orlando Magic a big boost
By S.W. Guest
For the young Orlando Magic Jason Smith‘s seven years’ NBA experience could prove to be invaluable.
Of all the Orlando Magic’s offseason additions Jason Smith attracted the least fanfare.
Looking at his career averages of 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, fans could be excused for assuming Smith is a low-key style on and off the court. Media Day proved otherwise though, as his flamboyant personality was on display for all to see, interjecting into Aaron Gordon‘s media availability and touring Magic fans through the festivities.
Followers of the New York Knicks know it, and his dance moves, all too well:
Safe to say, Smith is surprisingly boisterous for a seven-year veteran who is about to start playing for his fourth franchise.
Drafted 20th overall by the Miami Heat in 2007, Smith was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night. He played there for two seasons before getting traded to the then-New Orleans Hornets. Four solid seasons later, he signed a one-year deal with the Knicks before opting to sign another one-year deal, worth a reported $4.5 million, with the Magic.
From Orlando’s perspective, Smith is a low-risk acquisition, one that averaged 16.8 points per game off 52 percent shooting in four appearances against the Magic last season.
Those who played against him will undoubtedly be glad to have Smith on their side this year and for the Colorado State alum the feeling is mutual:
“I think this team that we have is going to be a great team this year,” Smith said at Media Day last month. “The young core that we have, the experience level with coach Skiles and really knowing what it takes to get to that next level is really going to propel us into great things this year.”
On the subject of Scott Skiles, it will be interesting to see how he and Smith get along.
Smith is, after all, a role player known more for his offense than for his defense, but a quick look at his numbers reveals that during his career his defensive win shares stand at 6.1, while his offensive win shares are just 3.8. That would suggest he has been a positive contributor defensively. According to Basketball-Reference’s defensive box plus/minus metric, Smith has a career -0.1 defensive box plus/minus, meaning his teams are 0.1 points per 100 possessions worse on defense with him on the floor.
That would suggest he is at least a neutral defender. And the teams he has been on — such as last year’s woeful Knicks — certainly play a role in those numbers.
There should be some comfort with Smith on the floor. And that is his goal defensively.
“Really just going out there and being consistent to where he doesn’t have worry about what I am going to do out there,” Smith said in describing his role defensively. “He can know Jason is going to do this night in and night out, not worrying about I don’t know if he can do this. That’s really about building a coach’s trust and building a reputation over the years of knowing different NBA defensive systems. It’s pretty simple; we just have to do it as a team.”
If used effectively, Smith has the potential to be a solid all-around player. One who could well increase the overall productivity of the team’s bench this season. He is, after all, a player who is willing to do just about anything to help out, as Blake Griffin knows all too well:
It is, however, as a leader Smith will be expected to shine. At 29 years old he is, along with fellow power forward Channing Frye and seasoned guard C.J. Watson, one of the oldest players on this young roster.
Realistically, he could wind up playing a lot of minutes for the Magic this season too, as Aaron Gordon may not quite be ready to step into starters’ minutes while Frye is coming in off the back of a campaign to forget.
Smith, on the other hand, will be buoyed by his 2015 effort, as he started a career-high 31 games for the Knicks, averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in the process. He also attempted a career-high 42 shots from 3-point territory, making 15, another career-high.
The ability to space the floor aside, Smith knows he will have to work hard if he is to earn consistent playing time, especially as, in addition to Frye and Gordon, he will be competing with the likes of Tobias Harris, Andrew Nicholson, Dewayne Dedmon and Nikola Vucevic for minutes at the four and the five spots.
Not that a little competition puts him off, as he acknowledged recently.
“The competitive spirit has been bar none,” Smith said of his team early in camp. “We have a lot of guys who love to compete day in and day out. Whether it’s workouts on the court, running on the track at 7 a.m., or doing stuff in the weight room. We are all striving to get better every day. We have our peers around us, all our teammates to push each other consistently every day. I think that’s really good. If you do not have people pushing you, you aren’t trying to get better every day. I think we have that here.”
After all, having been around the NBA Smith knows competition helps breed chemistry and that chemistry is essential to the success of any NBA team, not least a young one like the Orlando Magic’s.
Speaking of which, Smith believes his role this season will involve being consistent, knocking down the mid-range jumper and relaying the good and bad experiences of his NBA career to date to some of the younger guys on the team.
The latter could be invaluable, especially for the likes of Vucevic and Dedmon, who are young big men still looking to forge their way in the league. With the help of a player like Smith the rate at which they develop could accelerate greatly.
As for their dance moves, well . . .
Philip Rossman-Reich contributed to this report.
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