Orlando Magic Playbook: How best to use Evan Fournier

Attacking the Rotation

Evan Fournier burst onto the scene in the 2016 season. He was a solid role player with promising shooting prospects, but no one saw him as a key offensive player. Fournier’s 2016 season caught everyone by surprise and made the Magic’s Victor Oladipo decision that much more difficult.

What worked for Fournier largely was the way he got his points. In his season-high 29-point effort against the Sacramento Kings early in the 2017 season, Fournier shot 10 for 15 from the floor with just three 3-point makes. Four of his five misses came from beyond the arc.

He was clearly able to attack the basket and get into the paint. But a lot of that happened off ball reversals and attacking a rotating defense.

Fournier is adept at attacking rotating defenses and beating closeouts to create space to get to the basket.

He is also an intelligent cutter. When a player grabs a rebound or is looking to get the ball to Fournier, he knows how to use screens and space to free himself up. It is that little bit of hesitation that enables him to score effectively.

Working off screens, Fournier averaged 0.98 points per possessions with a 47.8 percent effective field goal percentage. He was not a straight spot-up shooter most of the time. He would often use screens to get himself open and then attack the defender as he tried to close out.

This play from that game against the Kings is a perfect example:

Fournier here starts on the right wing and crashes the paint as if he is preparing for a pin-down. He deftly fakes as if he will pop out to the corner to create some space and then cuts toward the left side and an awaiting screen from Serge Ibaka.

Fournier runs off Serge Ibaka’s screen perfectly and creates even more space. He has created essentially an open shot. But with the defense closing in, he adds an extra jab step and runs an impromptu pick and roll with Ibaka. He attacks the middle of the paint and scores anyway with plenty of options to pass.

This is the kind of way Fournier can score most effectively, making quick decisions against an unsettled defense. That is how he can best get into the paint and create better passing situations.

Fournier is a smart player capable of making the right play when given space. The key is to give him that space. If the Magic use him more as a cutter and working off screens, keeping him in more constant motion, they should be able to reap the benefits of his efficiency more.

With a point guard who can get into the paint, like Elfrid Payton, controlling the tempo and doing a lot of the dribbling work to create that separation, Fournier can be much more successful.

Like most players on the team, after the All-Star Break, Fournier was much more successful. He averaged 18.0 points per game and shot 37.5 percent from beyond the arc (for a 53.2 percent effective field goal percentage).

With Terrence Ross also able to cut — the Magic loved to use him on dribble handoffs and curls — an offense featuring motion and screening would seem to benefit Fournier and Ross. It could easily be a direction the team takes.