The Orlando Magic again focused their free agency on finding a backup point guard. They found a solid game manager in Shelvin Mack.
Shelvin Mack has been in the spotlight for a long time. Then again, he was never the one in the spotlight for all those moments. With the Butler Bulldogs, Brad Stevens and Gordon Hayward took all the headlines. Mack was the glue keeping the team together, providing some playmaking at guard.
That is Mack in a nutshell: Solid but largely unimpressive. Not unless you are looking. That is what he has done his entire basketball career. He just did what his team asked of him and did it well. Maybe not enough to stand out, but enough to carve out a solid career.
That was the case for him with the Utah Jazz last year. Just as it had been with the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks before them.
Mack’s numbers do not pop off the page — career averages of 6.3 points per game, 2.9 assists per game and 48.0 percent effective field goal percentage. That was never his game. He always was going to play a backup role coming, and he accepted that role. He is a player who keeps everything steady. His impact is not shown in his statistics.
Last year with the Jazz, that was clearer than ever. He shook off a slow start to the season to help keep the Jazz afloat when George Hill went down with an injury. That is always what he is asked to do.
The Orlando Magic made him their first free agent signing of the Jeff Weltman era. If anything, Orlando was looking for a point guard who could keep things afloat and keep the team steady. New management did not see D.J. Augustin as that point guard. Mack comes in hoping to provide the veteran stability the Magic hoped for when they signed D.J. Augustin last summer.
Mack has had a long career playing this role. It may not mean he makes a big statistical impact. In fact, it is quite likely someone looking at a box score would barely notice Mack or his contributions. But that never gets to what makes Mack valuable. He is just rock solid at about everything he does.
What To Look For
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what impact Shelvin Mack makes on the floor. The general sense is he makes a positive one.
Last year for the Utah Jazz, he averaged 7.8 points per game and 2.8 assists per game in 55 games and 21.9 minutes per game. Mack shot a 49.5 percent effective field goal percentage. He struggled a bit early in the season but came on strong later in the year, providing key point guard minutes as George Hill struggled with injury for the Jazz.
After the All-Star Break, Mack averaged 10.2 points per game and shot a 51.4 percent effective field goal percentage. This is more in line with the kind of play the Magic are hoping to get from him.
Mack has rarely hit that high for long. His two highest scoring seasons came in the last two years, and he topped off at 8.6 points per game.
Mack has gained a reputation around the league as just a solid backup point guard option. He keeps things steady by making open shots, not making mistakes and being a solid defender. Keep him in that role, and Mack can have a lot of success. He proved that last year at the end of the year with the Jazz.
Overall he generally has a positive effect on the floor. But his statistical impact is still relatively small. It is hard to express what Mack does well by looking at his box score.
Really what he does is provide a solid base for his team to grow from. Particularly with bench units. Keeping that boat steady is key for bench units. Sometimes Mack’s best skill is to stay out of the way.
He will do that when his team asks him to do that. And he will take a step forward if he is left open, hitting open shots or attacking to get to the mid-range. That is where he can operate too.
What Could Go Wrong
Shelvin Mack’s statistical profile is not going to impress anyone. He will score somewhere near six or seven points per game, grab a few assists per game and play defense. That is more or less his role. He is a game manager for others, providing a threat from the perimeter and some driving against favorable matchups. Once he gives the ball up, Mack is a cog in the machine.
The issue with Mack is that some of those things he has a reputation for, he does not exactly provide. Specifically with his shooting.
Mack is not a knock-down 3-point shooter. He is not a typical floor spreader, and not like D.J. Augustin is, at least by reputation.
Last year, Mack shot 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. He is a 32.1 percent 3-point shooter. That is not exactly the profile of a floor spacer. And perhaps, like so many of the Magic’s other supposed shooters last year, shooting percentages can drop without proper spacing. The second unit will likely feature a shooter in Arron Afflalo, but Jonathon Simmons and Jonathan Isaac do not exactly have shooting reputations yet.
Mack makes up for this poor 3-point shooting with a really strong mid-range game. Despite shooting 30.8 percent from three last year, Mack shot 51.0 percent on 2-point shots on 4.7 attempts per game. He can take a dribble into the lane and set up his own shot. Is that enough to spread the floor?
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On top of all this, Mack has a reputation as a solid defender. But the numbers do not necessarily support this.
For his career, he has a negative defensive box plus-minus. And last year, even on the defensive-minded Jazz, the team had a 104.8 defensive rating with Mack on the floor and a 101.8 defensive rating with him off the floor. That may be because he did not play many minutes with Rudy Gobert. There are a lot of extenuating circumstances to this number.
But there is plenty of data and plenty of signals Mack does not live up to his reputation.
Going to a new situation, especially one without some of the infrastructure and success the Jazz have already experienced, could put Mack in the spotlight again. It might lead to his stats regressing some.
Then again, his play is not really about his numbers. But more about how he helps others work.
The Backup Point Guard Problem
The Orlando Magic have put a priority on their backup point guard position the last two years. That is understandable. Rob Hennigan and the franchise believed it had its future starting point guard in Elfrid Payton. And they wanted to show some confidence in him. But it is also clear the team could not rely on veterans like Ronnie Price, Willie Green and E’Twaun Moore to handle point guard duties. They were too inconsistent and unproductive to adequately man second units.
Last summer, the Magic’s first free agent signing in a busy free agent summer was to sign D.J. Augustin. Orlando at that time believed it had a solid veteran backup option. Augustin was someone who could come in, keep the ship steady and spread the floor with his 3-point shooting.
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Things did not work out that way. Augustin struggled on defense and his 3-point shooting dipped dramatically — a 37.1 percent shooter hit on just 34.2 percent of his 3-pointers last year. Augustin disappointed in many ways.
Still, it was surprising to see Jeff Weltman put a focus on the point guard position in free agency this year. His first free agent signing was a two-year, $12-million contract for Mack. It is hard to say whether the Magic upgraded their point guard position with the move, except to add depth in the form of two veteran backups. Maybe it is a bit of a hedge if Elfrid Payton struggles again, but no one is going to consider Shelvin Mack or D.J. Augustin a full-time starter.
Orlando will likely see Mack and Augustin battle for backup point guard minutes all year. There will probably be times where Augustin takes the role and time Mack takes the role, depending on feel from coach Frank Vogel and how each is playing.
No one is expecting either to blow the doors open. But the Magic know full well how important this role can be. Someone has to initiate the offense for the second unit. Mack may not be the guy to stir the drink, as it were, but he will get the team into its offense and play his role for the team.
From there, it is going to be wholly about performance.
Overall Outlook
Shelvin Mack has always been solid. Even dating back to his days with Butler.
He never quite stood out or did anything eye-catching or special. He was just solid. Mack has made his career as a player who does the simple things and the things that do not show up on a stat sheet that ultimately benefit his team.
The Orlando Magic signed Mack to do those things. The Magic are not going to ask him to expand his role, become a starter, dominate the ball or anything like that. They are not signing him to expand his role or test the limits of his game.
Orlando focused on its backup point guard position to create some stability. The team, after all, was focused on improving its bench this coming season. And that was more about adding dependability and stability, especially as the Magic moved around other big pieces.
Mack is there to keep things level.
That is what he has done his entire career. His numbers will not pop off the page. He is not even a great 3-point shooter. But Mack is just a solid player. He has always known his role and played it.
He will make open shots when he gets them, drive to his spots in mid-range and hit jumpers and play at least decent defense. That is all the Magic can ask of him again.
The question is whether that will be enough. Orlando improved its bench for sure but how much did they improve their bench. The team is banking on Jonathon Simmons to take on a bigger role or relying on Arron Afflalo to be the star of that second unit. Mack is not necessarily a driver and creator as a playmaker. He is a game manager.
He may not be the one to change the team’s fortunes in that way.
Mack provides stability. The question is whether the Magic need stability or need something more from their backup point guard position. Mack is a bit more defensive-minded than Augustin. But the two will do much of the same thing.
A lot of people questioned the Mack signing when the Magic made it. Maybe they would have done things differently after they saw how their summer eventually shook out.
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Mack will provide a solid backup point guard option. Beyond that, it is hard to say what his impact will be.