ESPN: Mario Hezonja among most disappointing rookies
ESPN’s statistics show Mario Hezonja is not producing much for the Orlando Magic. That is OK though as he nears the midpoint of his rookie year.
The NBA is nearing its halfway mark and so evaluations of the rookie class have begun in earnest. Some of them will have to fill the team for the NBA’s Rookie/Sophomore showcase at All-Star Weekend in Toronto.
This rookie class has had much to celebrate even before they got in. It was considered a really good rookie class. So far players like Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis have more than delivered.
To some extent Mario Hezonja, the fifth overall pick, has too. Just in a much more limited capacity. Hezonja still has a lot of growth to come and the Magic have brought him along slowly.
Still the numbers have him a disappointment. He is just not producing much on the floor no matter how much he has grown since the beginning of the season.
ESPN’s statistical measures of Real Plus-Minus suggest Hezonja’s impact is a net negative on his team:
"While Magic coach Scott Skiles has dutifully played him in 34 of 37 games thus far, Hezonja’s on-court impact has been a big net negative. In fact, his offensive RPM (-1.56) and defensive RPM (-2.01) both suggest a level of play below that of the mythical “replacement player.”Offensively, Hezonja has been a turnover machine, giving up the ball on 21.1 percent of all the possessions he has used (one of the highest turnover rates in the league). And although his 3-point shooting stroke is just as sweet as advertised — he has converted on 41.1 percent from 3-point range — he has struggled to find other ways to contribute."
Those numbers are not incredibly surprising. Hezonja’s time on the floor is limited and Scott Skiles tends to pull Hezonja on the first sign of mistake. The good news is that his mistakes seem to be different ones as Skiles continues to keep him in the rotation, even playing him a bit out of position as the team’s point guard.
Hezonja is averaging 4.4 points per game in 13.5 minutes per game, shooting a 52.8 percent effective field goal percentage. He has not quite found his shooting stroke and still seems to be finding his fit in the league.
Basketball-Reference’s stats also show Hezonja providing a negative impact. He has a -2.1 offensive box plus-minus, meaning the team scores 2.1 points per 100 possessions less with Hezonja than an average player. And a -3.6 box plus-minus overall.
He does dribble into traffic a lot and has a gaudy 21.8 percent turnover rate. That will have to decrease. But he did say things are slowing down for him and his improvement is visible, if not completely tangible.
That is not necessarily the most important thing when it comes to Hezonja though. As much as the Magic are trying to win, they are trying to help Hezonja develop and get him some NBA experience.
The Magic have been right to bring him along slowly as they look to win more this year. Hezonja is not quite ready to play defense at a high level and the Magic have limited his offense some.
There will be a time to free Hezonja some more to make plays, but it feels like Scott Skiles is trying to make sure Hezonja understands and executes the team’s principles before really turning him loose.
There are plenty of signs he can reach that level. It just may take some time.
Next: How is East Playoff race shaping up?
Hezonja may not be contributing much now, but half a rookie season is hardly enough time to evaluate a whole ton.