Orlando Magic Playbook: How best to use Evan Fournier

Isolation Problems

Where Fournier gets himself into trouble is when he tries to work in isolation and slows the game down. He works best when he can attack quickly.

As teams put him further up their scouting reports, the attention paid to him is greater and greater. So when Fournier is forced to break someone down off the dribble, he tended to struggle.

Fournier is not a supreme athlete. He does not have an array of dribble moves. So putting the ball in Fournier’s hands to create for others is a bit of a fool’s errand.

Last year, Fournier isolated very infrequently. He had about 0.7 possessions per game in pure isolation, according to NBA.com. He was fairly strong, posting 1.02 points per possession.

But in pick and rolls, Fournier struggled. He posted just 0.92 points per possession on pick and rolls as the ball handler, shooting 43.0 percent in those situations.

Observationally, Fournier seemed to struggle to try to attack the basket and working off the dribble. He would often drive too deep to where there was no play to make except to force a rushed shot.

He was solid shooting at the basket, but when he got in between — five to nine feet — he struggled, making just 39.3 percent of his shots. Nearly two-thirds of those attempts were unassisted. He was not much of a playmaker, despite averaging a career high in assists.

It is not that Fournier is incapable of playing on the ball. He showed plenty of potential. And, this being his first year as a featured offensive player on an offensively challenged team, Fournier had a lot to learn.

He can certainly improve. But the team’s record this past year suggests the team needs to go away from using Fournier as a primary ball handler. It just was not efficient enough to be an effective mode of attack.