Mario Hezonja was drafted with massive expectations, but has failed to meet them thus far. Can he turn his rookie campaign around?
Mario Hezonja was once known for his confidence.
Hezonja has reportedly said things such as he is better than soccer star Lionel Messi. Zach LaVine‘s dunk contest was just OK. He called himself the best player in the 2015 Draft.
This is a confident individual, maybe even overconfident.
Sadly, a lot has changed since the Magic drafted Hezonja with the fifth overall pick back in June.
Hezonja seems to be extremely worried about not making mistakes. He just wants to stand around and hope not to stand out in a negative way in an effort not to get benched.
Scott Skiles, while searching through the mess that is the Magic roster is being dealt a bad hand. He is being told he needs to win now and Hezonja’s development is suffering because of it. Hezonja is not afforded the ability to make mistakes, he needs to play well off the bat.
In fairness, Hezonja has not played particularly well this year. He started off fairly strong, his 3-pointer was falling. He has had a couple of games where he comes in off the bench and scores well — 11 points in the season opener against the Washington Wizards and 11 points and 5-for-8 shooting against the New York Knicks in December — and games where he has played solid defensively — against DeMar DeRozan in November and against Kyle Korver last week.
However, overall Hezonja has struggled. He is shooting worse than 36 percent from deep and even worse on jumpers overall (34.9 percent). His defense has been mostly poor, his stance is not low enough and guys just blow right by him.
Most concerning of all is his body language. He does not seem engaged that often. Some slumpy shoulders, lots of standing idly by on offense. It is a player who does not quite know his place on the floor yet. A player still searching for some comfort.
All of this culminates in Scott Skiles’ reasonable decision not to play Hezonja consistently.
However, Hezonja is a much better player than this right now. His jump shot is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the numbers represent right now.
Hezonja is suffering because his once legendary confidence has taken a hit.
One solution to restore Hezonja’s already legendary confidence is to start him at small forward. Tobias Harris has shot extremely poorly from deep this season and teams are not showing him any respect on offense which is clogging up the paint for Orlando guards Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo.
This is not to suggest Hezonja should replace Harris’ minutes or that Hezonja should play 30-plus minutes per game. This is merely a suggestion that he plays the first 6-8 minutes of each half so he is given a consistent role and does not have to worry if he is going to catch a DNP-CD or not get a chance in the second half if his first-half stint falls flat.
If Hezonja plays well thanks to the slashing and distribution of Orlando’s starting lineup then Skiles can extend his minutes on a per-game basis.
This consistent role should help Hezonja gain some confidence and gain chemistry with four guys that he will theoretically be playing with for a long time in Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo.
If this seems a bit extreme, another way for the Magic to help get Hezonja on track is to run some plays for him within his current playing time — 16.4 minutes per game the last 15 games.
Hezonja, for all of his struggles this season, has shown he is an athletic player who can score in bunches when he is locked in. He is an extremely nifty passer.
With those talents in mind, running curls and off-ball action for Hezonja is the best way of getting him to produce.
The key will be how much does Hezonja want it. Will he run off the screens like JJ Redick? If not it will not be successful. If he does? His triple threat ability (passing/shooting/first step) could cause havoc off the screen.
In other words, the Magic could and should look to get Hezonja more involved in the offense, using his floor spacing to put him areas he can score rather than as a spot-up option almost exclusively.
Hezonja’s passing ability suggests he could run more pick and roll. This may not be a great idea considering his penchant for turnovers and dribbling into traffic so far.
Hezonja has not shown to this point he has got solid ball-handling ability. He extends his arm frequently to try and keep guys away from his dribble. His control is iffy, he tends to lose the ball quite a bit when going for advanced dribbles and, quite frankly, he is a rookie and, when he successfully has gotten to the rim, guys reach in and he does not get the benefit of the whistle.
Hezonja is a great passer, and maybe if he shows a little more ball security, in certain lineups he can orchestrate the pick and roll.
No matter how the Magic decide to use Hezonja’s minutes or use him on the floor, it is clear he needs a more consistent definition of his role.
The Magic need more of this Mario Hezonja.
Next: Youth still an issue for growing Orlando Magic
Hopefully, the Magic decide to make a concerted effort to help Hezonja turn around his rookie season.