Orlando Magic Player Evaluations 2016

Backup Bigs

The Orlando Magic used several post players off the bench that each had their turn in the sun throughout the season. It was difficult however for one to emerge.

Perhaps Jason Smith had the most consistent role.

He became a reliable mid-range jump shooter and a surprisingly effective rim protector too. At least at times. He had a strong run of play and then he would have a run of play where he was clearly struggling.

As Sam Skubala wrote on Smith, he emerged as an interesting player off the bench:

"What was interesting, however, was the 30 year old appeared to show several wrinkles to his game that were unexpected. He played generally good team defense, showed some on-court leadership, and at times even resembled a rim protector. That is not to say Smith had a perfect season — far from it. His individual defense, while improved, was still lacking. He was the team’s worst big-man rebounder, and as he played more minutes, his game started to become exposed."

Smith’s season was solid overall — we graded it a ‘B.’ He is someone the Magic may very well be interested in bringing him back now that his one-year deal is expired.

While Smith emerged, he seemed to take minutes away from Dewayne Dedmon and Andrew Nicholson.

Both had showed promise and it felt like they could take a step up when given the opportunity. When they actually got playing time both Dedmon and Nicholson contributed a lot.

Dedmon can still protect the rim, but he did not take steps forward with his defensive discipline. He still struggled being in the right spot in helpside defensively. Although he could certainly recover.

As Zach Palmer wrote in giving him a ‘B,’ Dedmon just did not fit whatever Skiles was trying to run.

"Instead of using Dedmon as a defensive weapon when teams assailed the Magic in the pick and rolls, Skiles glued Dedmon to the bench because he was not able to score or perhaps play defense exactly how Skiles or his system demanded. The Magic’s misuse of Dedmon is just another point to mark against Skiles in his first season with the Magic. For whatever reason, Dedmon stayed glued to the bench for most of the season."

Nicholson too faced that problem.

He got playing time toward the end of the season and made the most of it. He gained Skiles’ trust and was often overused at the end of the year.

The fact though Nicholson never found his footing though is both disappointing and frustrating. He enters restricted free agency without a sure sense of where he belongs both with the Magic and in the NBA.

His return to the post when he did play though was very encouraging, as Zach Palmer wrote:

"Andrew Nicholson was revived this year under new Magic coach Scott Skiles. While many of Nicholson’s improvements can likely be attributed to hard work opposed to a coaching change, Skiles did allow Nicholson to get back into the post and even ran plays for him there. This season Andrew Nicholson carved out a role as a long-term NBA player, be it with the Magic or another team."

We gave him an ‘A-‘ as Nicholson performed well when given the opportunity. Yet again, he could not seem to find the court.

Next: Backup Guards