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2018 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Marreese Speights

By Philip Rossman-Reich

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 7: Marreese Speights #5 of the LA Clippers handles the ball against Jon Leuer #30 of the Detroit Pistons during a game on November 7, 2016 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 7: Marreese Speights #5 of the LA Clippers handles the ball against Jon Leuer #30 of the Detroit Pistons during a game on November 7, 2016 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Marreese Speights, LA Clippers, Luis Scola, Brooklyn Nets
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 29: Marreese Speights #5 of the Los Angeles Clippers fights for a rebound with Luis Scola #4 of the Brooklyn Nets in the first half at Barclays Center on November 29, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

What Could Go Wrong

Marreese Speights has a pretty well-defined skill — his 3-point shooting and general offensive game. The good news with him is he knows exactly what he is and rarely goes beyond his role — other than a penchant to look for his own shot. The Magic accepted that in him when they signed him.

And with the Magic’s roster situated as it is, Speights might find some difficulty getting minutes. So any impact Speights has might be limited or dulled if things go wrong.

As noted before, Speights is not much of a defender. If Biyombo is a center who only plays defense without any semblance of an offensive game, Speights is an offensive player without any semblance of a defensive game. That is why it seems likely Speights would only get spot minutes.

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But there are certainly ways Speights’ play could become concerning.

The first is that nobody really knows if Speights’ shooting last year is something sustainable. He certainly will not have the spacing the Clippers created last year as he plays in Orlando. So much of his shooting last year was an outlier.

He had never taken more than 1.0 3-point attempts per game, let alone 3.4 per game. And that accounted for more than half of his attempts. Essentially, Speights was a spot-up 3-point shooter last year, eschewing the post game that had been the bulk of his play earlier.

The question with Speights is whether his evolution into a stretch-5 is fully complete or if there is still a bit of development to go. Or whether, at age 29, Speights is starting his decline. And for bench players, their decline tends to come a bit quicker.

Speights is a bit of a wild card for this team. He is one of the few players that seems to fill that shooting need without fitting the versatility and defensive mindset the team is building.

Any talk of playing him at power forward should be put to bed. He simply does not have the mobility to play that position anymore. That makes finding his time difficult with the players the Magic have. And even then, it is hard to see how he fits cleanly into the team — especially if his shooting numbers decrease.