Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Bismack Biyombo
The Good and the Bad
| G | GS | MP | FG% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 | 27 | 22.1 | .526 | .534 | 1.9 | 5.1 | 7.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 6.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/27/2017.
Biyombo was definitely at a disadvantage on this roster from the start with the giant logjam at the center position. Coach Frank Vogel had to figure out how to best maximize Biyombo’s talent with two other centers on the team. He never figured out the answer to that.
Offensively, Biyombo never figured out how to contribute.
The Magic had hoped he could contribute what teams look for from a center: strong screens, a legitimate lob threat and a force on the offensive boards. He did not succeed in those goals.
Biyombo was not very effective as the roll man on the pick-and-roll. The team scored 0.97 points per possession when he set a ball screen, which is lower than the average points per possession of the worst offense in the NBA.
That is a lot due to spacing issues, and not necessarily due to poor screens. Biyombo was 25th in the NBA in screen assists. But it showed that his screen setting skills were not used properly, and he was ineffective offensively.
He was a lob threat coming off those ball screens, but he often struggled to catch the ball when the passes would come. In the end, his -4.2 Offensive Box Plus Minus showcased his offensive shortcomings.
Although he was strong on the offensive glass (19th best offensive rebounding rate in the NBA), he did regress from his time in Toronto from grabbing 11.7 percent of available offensive rebounds to 9.3 percent.
Defensively, his effect was neutralized. He still had a 2.0 Defensive Box Plus Minus, but the Magic struggled mightily on defense this season.
He and Serge Ibaka struggled defensively together, as both players bring similar strengths. That left both guys trying to block shots, neither succeeding in guarding at the perimeter and those redundancies led to a subpar defense.
He could not play with Nikola Vucevic at all, and so Vogel was left in a tough position as far as his rotations go as he felt obligated to play all three of his big-money post players.
Biyombo was still able to protect the rim and bring forth some of what the team wanted, but team fit minimized his strengths.
Overall, it was a disappointing season for Biyombo, with the hope that a smaller and faster lineup will allow him to play how he is most comfortable and maximize his abilities in the near future.