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Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Volume 20: Development

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Dec 22, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel coaches against the New York Knicks during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 22, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel coaches against the New York Knicks during the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic, Brandon Jennings, New York Knicks
Dec 22, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Orlando Magic point guard Elfrid Payton (4) controls the ball against New York Knicks point guard Brandon Jennings (3) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

From Javier Gandia, via e-mail

"Hey Philip keep up the good work with lockedon. Might as well be called hooked on!You have said How important Peyton is to the Magic. Eye wise its common knowledge but stat wise whats the Magics record when peyton scores  15+pts with 5+ast?Fun stat for the haters! Considering that the magic have had a losing record in the past 4 years!"

Elfrid Payton is already a pretty hot topic among Orlando Magic fans — and now apparently management themselves. His future is seemingly as uncertain as ever.

All through this, though, Payton is starting to play some stellar basketball. It may not be consistent as everyone wants — and, true, he is doing it largely in a reserve role — but Payton is starting to hit a stride for the Magic.

Before I answer the specific question, a brief review of his current numbers.

Payton is averaging 11.7 points and 5.7 assists per game. He is shooting a career-best 46.3 percent from the floor on a career-high 10.5 field goal attempts per game. But he is making just 25.7 percent of his 3-pointers.

Yet, since he started coming off the bench, Payton is averaging 12.8 points and 5.8 assists per game while shooting 50.9 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

If the lineup change was made to balance things out more, Payton has been its biggest beneficiary.

It is quite fair to say the Magic go as Elfrid Payton goes. For exactly those reasons you state.

The Magic are 6-1 when Payton scores 18 points or more and 6-5 when he scores 15 or more points. When Payton record 15 points and five assists, the Magic are 6-4.

The Magic are clearly pretty good when Payton is both able to find others — which he is good at anyway — and scoring for himself. Obviously, you can count that this has happened only 11 or so times. The Magic have played 32 games this season. He just does not do it often.

So with Payton, his potential is still immense. His jump shooting has gotten a lot better and he has played some big games for the Magic this year.

Next: OMD Mailbag: Everyone is talking about it

The mailbag is always open even between mailbag posts! Always feel free to drop a question on our twitter @omagicdaily or e-mail us questions for the mailbag at omagicdaily@gmail.com. Until next time . . . Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Orlando Magic Daily!