Orlando Magic Player Evaluations 2016

Backup Guards

The Orlando Magic learned pretty quickly this season how thin its guard depth was.

Sure, initially there was the problem of too much top-end talent. The Magic had to shuffle a lineup featuring Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo and Evan Fournier. Eventually one had to come off the bench. The Magic though knew that was not sustainable.

And it was because the guard depth was really stretched thin.

C.J. Watson missed more than half of the season with a strange quad injury and never got into a good rhythm. He did not really fulfill the backup point guard role the Magic envisioned for him. The only grade he could get was ‘Incomplete.’

Watson’s injury paved the way for Shabazz Napier to get some surprising playing time. And he struggled with the opportunity.

The Magic gave him a chance and he struggled to deliver. He was not a particularly good shooter and did not fit as a point guard. The Magic tried playing Mario Hezonja at the point things got so bad.

As I wrote, Napier failed to take advantage of his opportunity and picked up a ‘F‘ as his future becomes uncertain.

"As a young player, that is all he could ask for was opportunity. And yet, each time Napier came out on the floor, he struggled to do many of the things everyone expected of him — namely make shots and run the offense without much incident. He struggled to have any kind of consistency."

That leaves only Devyn Marble. He too did not get very much opportunity. When he did, he played all right. But he failed to carve his niche in the NBA, in getting a ‘C-‘ from Sam Skubala.

Next: Grading 2016