The Orlando Magic may have lightning in a bottle with Mario Hezonja and the notion of starting the prodigy is not far-fetched.
The Orlando Magic opened their 2016 regular season Wednesday with a home 88-87 loss to the Washington Wizards.
Taking any one game — especially a season opener — for what it is is paramount in what is a long season that will see its ups and downs as well as plenty of change.
Even with that being said, it is hard not to be excited about certain aspects of the Magic’s performance, both collectively and individually. And while there were plenty of unexpected bright spots for Orlando perhaps the most encouraging was rookie Mario Hezonja who finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
The rookie’s shooting looked as advertised pre-draft and his defense was just good enough to allow him to stay on the floor down the stretch.
Yes, the first-year, first-game pains were there. Yes he had four turnovers and his offense tapered off as the game went one (eight of his points came in the first quarter). But like everything else from that game, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
If Hezonja can consistently put in performances like Wednesday, it will be difficult for Scott Skiles to keep him on the bench.
Even before Wednesday’s game, Skiles acknowledged he seriously considered giving the rookie the start. It was his decision to bring Hezonja along slowly and not throw him quickly into the fire. Skiles wanted to make sure Hezonja feels comfortable on the court.
He looked plenty comfortable. That plan went away pretty quickly as Hezonja made an immediate impact and earned crunch time minutes.
Aside from Hezonja’s box score, he passed the eyeball test too. His movement off the ball largely looked crisp and precise, an important attribute for a shooter to have, especially one who should not be creating for himself too much right now.
Aside from one or two plays, Hezonja knew when to give the ball up, something scouts were unsure about going in to the draft.
Though the passes sometimes ended in turnovers, the fact Hezonja is not going to look for his own shot endlessly is something that will serve his growth well.
Not too much stock should be put into his turnover numbers this season, especially early on as Hezonja is still very much adjusting to the NBA game speed.
If the eyeball test is not enough, the Magic were statistically better offensively with Hezonja on the floor.
The team scored two points per-minute with Hezonja in the game as compared to 1.6 with him sitting. Additionally, Orlando’s point differential was +0.1 per minute with Hezonja in the lineup as opposed to -0.1 per minute without him.
These numbers may not seem significant, and in a way they are not, but we are talking about a grand total of 48 minutes of total season time here and 25 minutes for Hezonja so there is in fact something here.
The trick will be repeating the performance in the second game of his career.
So enough about Hezonja’s performance from game one. Plenty of players perform well who do not start and should not start.
Hezonja, on the other hand, is an asset who the Magic invested their number five pick in.
Often times rookies should not be played starter’s minutes while they develop. Particularly if the team is focused on winning.
Winning aside, running a player who still does not know what they are doing into the ground to the tune of 35 minutes per game can derail careers, as mistakes are ingrained into their play.
From last night, Hezonja does not look to be one of those players.
Letting Hezonja experience the full brunt of a grueling regular season should work out just fine for him. He will learn to cope with shooting woes, he will adjust to game pace both physically and mentally, he will be in a position where his mistakes are learning opportunities rather than the source of endless frustration.
And, perhaps most important for Skiles, he could really help this team win games right now.
Moving forward the team will develop a much better idea for what Hezonja can and cannot do and his impact on the team. For right now though, he is confident and showed out well and should be given a chance at big minutes.
If Evan Fournier struggles as he did in the first game, a change in the lineup would be more easily made early on in the season, rather than later, giving further clout to the idea Hezonja should be starting very soon in Orlando.