Andrew Nicholson cements himself in the rotation

Andrew Nicholson spent two years seemingly in the NBA desert. Parked on the bench, he was rotting away. Tuesday showed he still has plenty to give the Magic

Andrew Nicholson is not someone who talks much in platitudes. He is somewhat famous for his short interviews that stick to the same script. Nicholson is not someone to the media at least who basks in his strong play or expresses his frustration.

Channing Frye at one time joked he has never seen Nicholson angry.

Through two years of struggling just to see the court after a breakout rookie year, it would have been easy to give up on Nicholson. His shooting in the post had fallen off and it exposed his defensive struggles. Like his draft classmate Maurice Harkless, Nicholson needed a new start.

It came not from a new team, but from a new coach. It came because Nicholson was ready when the opportunity came and earned his way onto the court.

With the Orlando Magic’s new rotation, Nicholson had the opportunity to fit in more at power forward. This was his opportunity in a contract year to show his rookie year was the real him, not the lost player from the last two years.

Again and again in the last four games, Nicholson has proved his worth and made himself a key to the rotation. Tuesday night he might have cemented his place there.

Nicholson scored 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting. More importantly, he eschewed the 3-pointer that seemingly took him away from the skill that made him a NBA player.

Nicholson was on the block making everyone look foolish.

This was the Andrew Nicholson the Magic drafted, the one they lost the last two years.

Nicholson scored eight points in the second quarter as the Magic expanded their lead, a lead that would grow to as much as 17 points. All six of his shots came in and around the paint.

It is no secret Nicholson’s post ups have decreased precipitously since his rookie year. According to Basketball-Reference, Nicholson took 117 field goal attempts categorized as hook shots — 24.1 percent of his field goal attempts. He did not take a 3-pointer in his rookie season. That dropped to 82 field goal attempts (19.5 percent) as Nicholson began shooting 3-pointers in 2014 and then down to 42 attempts (22.1 percent) in 2015.

That is only a brief measure of whether or not he is posting up or not. Nicholson entered Tuesday’s game making just 2 of 12 hook shots this season. He had struggled even on the offensive end of the floor.

According to NBA.com, though, Nicholson had 23 post-up possessions in nine games. The Magic are running Nicholson post-ups on 31.1 percent of possessions while he is in. The Magic have returned to using Nicholson as a weapon on the block.

What might be more surprising though is Nicholson has not been effective on the block as a scorer.

As noted, he made only 2 of 12 hook shots entering the game. In those post-up situations, Nicholson has made only 6 of 20 shots in post-up situations.

In the last four games since Nicholson started getting consistent minutes, he has made only 16 of 36 shots (44.4 percent). Not a great shooting percentage for someone so close to the rim. Of those shots, 22 came around the basket.

No, where Nicholson has started earning his minutes is on the defensive end.

His defense was what kept him off the floor as his offense seemed to crater. Now with his offense slowly recovering — big games like Tuesday’s seem to be popping up more often now — defense has helped him stay in the rotation.

The Magic post an 88.8 defensive rating with Nicholson on the floor in the last four games. Granted, many of his 105 minutes in that time have been played with Victor Oladipo and Jason Smith, two other solid defenders in this recent stretch, but Nicholson’s impact is also observable.

Nicholson has been good closing out on shooters, keeping his hands up to challenge shots. He stays vertical and does not foul often.

With a +11.5 net rating, the Magic have been successful with him on the floor during this win streak.

It is a small sample size. But it is no longer the case that Nicholson is not pulling his weight on the defensive end anymore. If anything, Nicholson’s offense needs to catch up. That is what the numbers say at least.

The emergence of Nicholson’s defense along with the times he displays that mesmerizing post game all means Nicholson has cemented himself in this rotation for the foreseeable future.

Next: Orlando Magic withstand late run against Minnesota Timberwolves

Nicholson has all the tools to succeed. He always did. Now it is just unlocked within Skiles’ defensive schemes. Nicholson truly took advantage of the opportunity in front him.