The Orlando Magic starters laid a collective dud for the most part, but Scott Skiles was able to get max production from his bench in a 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Orlando Magic are starting to look like a team. And for proof one need look no further than that deep rotation that has afforded Scott Skiles the ability to experiment, even while sustaining injury to a key player in Nikola Vucevic.
It was Vucevic who made his way back onto the stage in a major way, coming off the bench behind Dewayne Dedmon.
Vucevic hit the buzzer-beating turnaround jumper that sealed the game and he contributed 18 points in 26 minutes while hitting an array of jumpers in shooting 9 of 16 from the field.
While Vucevic is sure to be re-injected into the starting lineup, the Magic got another 47 points from Channing Frye, Aaron Gordon, Shabazz Napier (who led all scorers with 22) and Mario Hezonja.
The Magic’s depth helped fill in for an injury riddled team playing without Jason Smith and C.J. Watson and then forced to play without Victor Oladipo after he suffered from concussion-like symptoms and was removed from the game.
“I think that’s our job as professionals,” Frye said. “We have to be ready for anything. Coach is constantly finding guys just to give a spark and find a good rhythm. The guys who were huge for us were Shabazz and Devyn , who hasn’t gotten a lot of minutes, really came in and gave us a big boost. We’re just being ready. I think you’ve got to understand some games you aren’t going to play, some games you are. You’ve got to be ready for anything.”
The Magic bench produced 65 points in all, as the starters shot just a collective 15 of 47 (31 percent). Frye hit 6 of 7, including a pair of threes for 14 points, and he also had five rebounds while looking pretty solid defensively in coming up with a steal and another deflection that led to a steal (Elfrid Payton collected the steal).
Frye has drawn heavy criticism for not being an aggressive enough defender, but if nothing else he has looked more alert on that end of the court. And it is hard to attribute it to anything more than Scott Skiles making it known he expects it.
Maybe it is that we are all expecting it.
The Magic have too much talent for a couple guys not to get going every night, and on this particular night it just so happened three of them were second unit players.
On a night the starters struggled, they needed the boost from the second unit and from bench players. Players like Frye and Napier stood out simply by their ability to produce on a bad night.
“Well, they both made shots,” Skiles said. “In a night when we struggled to make shots, I don’t think I have ever seen 16 for 49 in the paint in a NBA game. Thank god somebody made some shots.”
Shabazz Napier is a breath of fresh air playing behind and alongside the errant-shooting Payton. The diminutive UConn gunner hit 8 of 16 including 5 of 9 from three-point range en route to a team-high and career-high 22 points.
It was his first scoring outburst of the year but also the first game Napier saw big minutes (30). It was he who decided to step up with Victor Oladipo nursing a possible concussion.
“No matter what happens, whether I play or don’t play, I’m going to continue to prepare as if I’m going to play,” Napier said of his approach. “If my number gets called, I’m going to try my best. That’s all I can give to the team.”
Napier came at the low cost of a protected second round pick, and he has looked fully capable of being a very good backup guard. The Magic now know their weaponry includes more than just Mario Hezonja and Evan Fournier when it comes to shooting, but can factor in a rejuvenated Frye and Napier.
Hezonja has seen his ups and downs so far, but he looked for his shot and got some quality looks in the loss to the Lakers. He finished with seven points. The Magic were +11 for his 19 minutes on the court.
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It is taking Hezonja some time to adjust to NBA play, but the promise is certainly there in the 20 year old. The Magic will be glad to have another sharpshooter when Hezonja gets into full gear. Hezonja is shooting just 35.9 percent on the year, but he is 37.5 percent from 3-point range.
There is a real sense he is still feeling his way out on the court.
Aaron Gordon has been an energy monster, but he has struggled of late. It seems hard to leave him off the court because of what he is capable of doing when he is fully engaged, but Gordon has not had his bearings the last two contests.
He was relatively invisible against the Indiana Pacers and had just four points and two rebounds. Against the Lakers, he was a non-factor offensively, though he did come up with three offensive rebounds.
It may prove tough to get Gordon all the minutes he is deserving of if Frye keeps shooting the ball as he has. Seeing Gordon’s time reduced might hurt in some ways, but the Magic need a consistent source of 3-point field goals to keep the floor opened up for Nikola Vucevic on the interior.
If Frye is to play, Gordon will be the one to see himself fall out of the rotation.
Of course the beauty of depth is that things can change as players catch fire and struggle. Skiles has not been afraid to run with the hot hand even with a full complement of players.
The Magic are starting to find themselves in that sort of luxury: There are enough options on the roster that guys can get injured in game and the team stand strong without them or fill in gaps for those that are not playing up to snuff.
But good players are going to find themselves sitting some games, and Scott Skiles will be smart enough to vary his lineups according to the Magic’s opponents. He will know what he can expect from his team.
Certainly, it is not to Orlando’s advantage that Oladipo goes down with a concussion in any game, but the guards behind him in the rotation kept the Magic afloat Wednesday night.
And Shabazz Napier was the big story there. He certainly brings championship pedigree, and it would not be overly surprising to see us mentioning his name late in the season as a guy who has flat out surprised us all.
On Wednesday, the bench filled its role by filling the gaps the starters left. And that is all a team can ask from depth.
Philip Rossman-Reich contributed to this report.