Evan Fournier struggling for Orlando Magic as season goes on
By Joe Buckley
Evan Fournier started off the season scorching hot for the Magic. As the season goes on, he’s getting colder and colder…
The Magic are going through a rough time right now. A losing streak, falling to important Eastern Conference matchups and disappointing individual performances. A trip across the pond to London might give the Magic a bit of breathing room, some reflection time and hopefully a better product on the court.
And one player who could definitely use a turnaround at this point is shooting guard Evan Fournier. Because, as of late, he has been headed in the complete wrong direction.
At season’s beginning, Fournier was almost the forgotten man. Bigger names dominated Orlando headlines.
Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic were clearly the stars. Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon were ready to put in improved sophomore years. Mario Hezonja was the exciting new rookie. And Tobias Harris was the pod of potential ready to burst.
As soon as the season began, Fournier forced viewers not to forget he was there for a reason. In the first two weeks of the season, he hit 30 and 29 in his points total, and went on a streak of 13 games with at least 13 points. Early on, he was even second in the league in minutes played. The Magic relied on him heavily.
Fournier seemed to have mastered his craft. His use of screens and ability to shoot straight off the catch was incredibly dangerous and also pretty much unique in the Magic roster.
He seemed to have developed a good slashing game too, waiting for players to overplay him for the shot, and instead come off the screen cutting straight down the middle of the lane.
The first real month of the season, November, saw Fournier boast a scoring average of 17.8 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 41.6 from 3-point land.
He was a major part of the Magic offense and deserved a lot of credit for the Magic’s victories.
Since then, Fournier has began to stumble.
The next month, Fournier’s averages fell across the board. His scoring plummeted six points down to 11.6 points per game. His shooting percentages followed suit. Down to 43.2 and 39.4 percent for field goal and 3-point shooting respectively.
Though it has only just begun, a new month in January has not bucked this trend for Fournier.
In a very small sample size (though still worth mentioning after six games), Fournier is now down below double digits in scoring, averaging just 9.5 points per game. The shooting percentage has continued to fall to 40.7 while the 3-point shooting, perhaps the biggest skill Fournier brings to the Magic, has fallen off a cliff to just 25.9 percent.
Rebounding has suffered too, down to just 1.7 while Fournier also averages his highest turnovers so far at 2.0 a game. Steals took a slight hit too, but in fairness Fournier’s assists have been maintained all year.
A look at the advanced stats unfortunately see the same tale. Drops in effective field goal percentage, assist to turnover ratio, rebound percentage and turnover ratio.
After his earlier streak of scoring in double figures finished, Fournier found it hard to repeat the feat in even a small way for much of December, even suffering through a few weeks where he scored double figures just twice in seven games. Fournier had a brief resurgence, following this up with an eight-game streak of double figures, though not with the same highs as before.
Indeed, this later streak included a solitary 20-point outing against the Pelicans. In fact, since Nov. 18, this is Fournier’s only 20-point game. Quite hard to believe after his start.
If these struggles were accompanied by a change in role such as Victor Oladipo’s or nagging injuries such as the one Elfrid Payton is carrying, it would be understandable to a point. Even if the team continued to do well, fans would happily overlook smaller stats in the way of a higher win total.
But none of these situations apply, making Fournier’s fall both confusing and unsettling — particularly in his big contract year.
Something else confusing and unsettling: This is not new for Fournier.
Out of his four-year career, only his sophomore season is free of this slump. Last year, it was especially prevalent and eerily similar to this current season.
His best month was November as he scored 15.4 points per game (especially while starting with Victor Oladipo out with a facial fracture). He did not approach that number again until the end of the season, and still never topped it. Fournier’s own injury problems hampered him late in the season.
With the absence of injury or change in role, what is the reason for this?
Of course, shooters get streaky. But it seems as though Fournier gets caught between being too aggressive, forcing his shot early on and not simply playing to make the right play, or the complete opposite and not wanting to let the ball fly at all.
Next: This is not the same Orlando Magic as last year
Fournier’s scoring and shooting is not only his best personal weapon but also the biggest thing he brings to his team. If he continues to struggle in this area, he needs to bring something else as the roster’s future can only become more uncertain if the losses continue to mount and frustration builds.
It would not be surprising at all to see coach Scott Skiles toy with the lineups again and see Oladipo and Fournier swapping roles if Oladipo continues to play better.
Fournier is still a great player. And when all his offensive weapons are clicking, he doubles the Magic attack’s potency.
If the team is to make a big push for the playoffs, and any sort of noise in the postseason, Fournier will absolutely have to be a big part of the picture.
Whatever the reason, Fournier must rediscover his shot and show the league what he is truly capable of for the Magic to reach their goals.