Mario Hezonja excels in first career start

With Evan Fournier nursing a sore wrist, Mario Hezonja received his first career start against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mario Hezonja has been a point of constant obsession. What rookie isn’t?

Fans have wanted to know when the fifth overall pick from the 2015 NBA Draft would get the same opportunity as his peers. When would he see his role increase? The leash let out a little longer for him to make mistakes while still displaying his incredible shooting touch and confidence?

Hezonja faced a logjam at forward. His opportunities would come in small moments and in practice. Trust would have to get built for him to have his opportunity. Or else he would have to be thrown in by need.

Improvement has been slow, but steady. It was just a wonder when it would come.

With Evan Fournier nursing a sore wrist and the Magic thin at small forward, Hezonja got his chance, earning the first start of his young career.

His debut as a starter was both a cause of celebration for his potential and a reminder of how far he still has to go.

“Everybody wants to be there,” Hezonja said. “Me too, more than anyone, I guess. You kind of feel way different. But you still have to have the same mentality when you are coming from the bench or a starter. If you are a starter, everything depends on you and it is your duty to play good and win. When you come from the bench, you never know what situation you come from bad or good. You have to be tough mentally when you are coming off the bench. All the times I have been through helped me when I became a starter.”

Mario Hezonja had begun to take a step back developmentally. His minutes had begun decreasing and trust seemed to be slipping. But with Evan Fournier battling a sore wrist, Hezonja received his first career start in the Orlando Magic’s 130-116 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Hezonja did the majority of his damage early. The rookie forward snagged the jump ball tip and jetted past Jahlil Okafor for an easy dunk to start the night off. He came back moments later and hit a triple from the top of the arc to put Orlando up 11-0.

At that juncture, it appeared Hezonja was in for a big night.

But it was not to be, necessarily. He picked up his second foul at the 7:47 mark and checked out with eight points. He would score just five more the rest of the way.

But Hezonja is showcasing that he has the skills necessary to be a major offensive factor. His quick release has enabled him to get some tough looks off.

Often Hezonja takes tough shots, but because he can release the ball so quickly, he can convert on some looks other players may not be able to get off.

Hezonja finished the game with 13 points, three assists and two rebounds in 27 minutes of play. But most important of all, he provided the necessary play to make up for Fournier being out of the lineup. He connected on two of three from 3-point range, and he got all of his looks within the flow of Orlando’s offense.

It was but a taste of what Hezonja could do in meaningful minutes. His energy early helped set the tone for the Magic as they jumped out to their big lead.

“Mario is a baller,” Aaron Gordon said. “A straight up hooper. There was no doubt he would come in and do what he needed to do. He is a very solid basketball player, no doubt he will only get better.”

Hezonja has enough athleticism and natural basketball skills that he is going to be a fixture in the NBA for a long time. He likely would have seen more than 27 minutes if not for the five personal fouls he accrued.

But even with Hezonja battling foul trouble he was able to get into a flow against a woeful 76ers team. Hezonja also did a good job defensively, not giving either Robert Covington nor Nik Stauskas much in a game the Magic controlled pretty easily from the tip off.

The fouling might have been the only complaint — albeit a big one — from coach Scott Skiles who again said Hezonja played well offensively but like his teammates struggled on the defensive end.

Perhaps what is most important is with Hezonja emerging like this, the loss of Tobias Harris is mattering even less. Hezonja adequately gave Orlando about what Harris had been this season, and all systems are go for his development into a major wing scorer the Magic can rely on if he continues to progress.

Hezonja said he felt the responsibility of replacing some of Harris’ production and with Fournier out too, he recognized how important his play would be toward the Magic winning Sunday.

“He was ready and confident,” Elfrid Payton said. “You get out there and steal the tip from the very beginning. We just got to keep him out of foul trouble and keep him on the court.”

Related Story: Orlando Magic hold off Philadelphia 76ers again

It was a performance stunted by foul trouble and far from perfect, but Hezonja’s 27 minutes against the Sixers did showcase he is slowly getting ready for bigger minutes more consistently. It perfectly showed some of the abilities he has as a basketball player, and he did a good enough job on the defensive end against two capable shooters in Covington and Stauskas.

The performance was far from a home run, but Hezonja did enough things right and did them easily enough, that suffices as a solid first NBA start.

The first of many for Hezonja.

“It’s hard when you start at such a young age, especially if you weren’t starting for the whole season, to get put in there,” Nikola Vucevic said. “He did a good job. I’m proud of him. He has been improving a lot since he got here.”

Philip Rossman-Reich contributed to this report.