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2016-17 Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Jodie Meeks

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jan 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jodie Meeks (20) drives to the basket past New York Knicks guard Courtney Lee (5) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jodie Meeks (20) drives to the basket past New York Knicks guard Courtney Lee (5) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jodie Meeks, Orlando Magic
Dec 6, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jodie Meeks (20) reacts after making a three point shot during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Verizon Center. Orlando Magic defeated Washington Wizards 124-116. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

The Good and the Bad

Per Game Table
G MP FG% 3P% eFG% FT% TRB AST STL TOV PTS
36 20.5 .402 .409 .512 .878 2.1 1.3 0.9 1.0 9.1

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/26/2017.

Jodie Meeks was probably the best shooter for the Orlando Magic all season.

For the year, he averaged 9.1 points per game and made 40.9 percent of his 3-point shots. That was the best 3-point shooting mark among regular players (sorry Marcus Georges-Hunt). He was the only regular rotation player to break 40 percent on 3-pointers.

That is saying something for a team that shot 32.8 percent from beyond the arc, 29th in the league. The Magic offense just worked better with Meeks on the floor.

The Magic had a 104.9 offensive rating with Jodie Meeks on the floor, the fourth-best mark on the team trailing Anthony Brown, Aaron Gordon and Terrence Ross. The team had a 100.4 offensive rating with Meeks off the floor.

It was clear Meeks had a positive effect on the Magic’s offense.

And the way the Magic used Meeks was completely different from any other player. The Magic would run pet plays to get Meeks open looks, giving him the ability to run off screens and just let it fly. Meeks is not someone to put the ball on the floor very often.

Every team had to account for Meeks and bend toward him to protect against his shot.

He was the Magic’s bench flamethrower, a guy who could explode for a big game at any moment and get irrationally hot. Every team needs that.

And the Magic really needed that.

The unfortunate reality for the team was Meeks was unable to stay on the floor. His offseason foot surgery knocked him out of the first 20-plus games. He missed nearly 30 games in the middle of the season after dislocating his thumb.

Orlando needed more than 36 games out of Meeks to get his full effectiveness. It was not anyone’s fault. But it hurt the team’s outcome this season.

Meeks is a sharpshooter.

But on the court, at least, if he was not making shots, he was not going to give the team much else. That is a role every team seemingly needs to have. The reality with Meeks is it can sometimes be feast or famine. And Meeks is going to believe he is hot even when he is not. That is the shooter’s mentality.

In the end, that was something the Magic needed more of. Meeks was a big benefit for the Magic all year long when he was able to play.