Orlando Magic Playbook: Evan Fournier, the double screen earn a big win
The Orlando Magic desperately needed a basket and turned to a reliable play to spring their best shooter. Then they kept going back to it.
The Orlando Magic had no timeout to prepare. Coach Frank Vogel was not about to spend one of his two precious timeouts late in the fourth quarter quite yet. But his team’s lead was slipping.
The Miami Heat had cut a 17-point deficit to two points thanks to a pair of Goran Dragic free throws. The Magic desperately needed a basket. Their starters were doing what they could to hold on, but it was precarious. The team was tight.
Vogel had plenty of options, but there was one player who was the most consistent delivering in the clutch. Someone he could rely on for a big shot and to make the right play.
It is still unclear whether Frank Vogel or Elfrid Payton made the play call that helped decide the game. But the one thing that is clear: the play worked. And then worked again. And then worked again.
Evan Fournier went on a scoring barrage in the final two and a half minutes, scoring seven points to help the Magic get some distance and score a 116-109 victory in the Magic’s season opener.
And he did it all on the same play — a double screen that set up a curl for Evan Fournier to get to the top of the key. The different variations the Magic used on this play showed Fournier’s savvy with the ball in his hands and just how much he rose to the moment.
Orlando Magic
It is where the Magic will likely go again the next late-game situation they need a basket. It is a play that displays everything that makes Fournier good. And that goes double in late-game situations.
"“He did that for us a number of times last year, and give Miami credit, they made a heck of a run in the fourth quarter,” Vogel said after Wednesday’s game. “The best way to stop a run is to score the ball. Evan kept us in the game and sealed the game for us by continuing to play good offensive basketball. You need a guy like that to carry the load. It can be a different guy every night with our team, but he was terrific tonight.”"
Fournier finished the game with 23 points on 9-for-17 shooting. In the fourth quarter, Fournier scored nine points, making all four of his shots and dishing out two assists.
Fournier’s play late in this game was reminiscent of his play last year. In clutch situations, defined by NBA.com as any game where the score is within five points with less than five minutes to play, Fournier scored 25.3 points per 36 minutes in 132 “clutch” minutes. He shot an astounding, and near-NBA best, 56.3 percent effective field goal percentage.
When Fournier gets the ball in these late-game situations, something clearly works. And that was evident in the execution of his final plays.
First, his 3-pointer with 2:27 left to get the Magic up five points. This play would set everything else that would come for Fournier and Orlando.
The play starts off simple enough. Elfrid Payton brings the ball up on the wing to create some spacing with the two bigs starting high. It initially looks like a horns set. Fournier begins making his move across the lane to give Payton even more space. This could also free him up to run a pick and roll with Nikola Vucevic.
That is all a decoy. The real purpose of this play is the get Fournier on a curl to the top of the key where he can either take a 3-pointer or begin his attack. In fact, in a final decoy, Evan Fournier acts as if he will set a back pick for Aaron Gordon, hoping to get a lob play.
Evan Fournier instead bursts around a screen from Aaron Gordon. He already has Dion Waiters behind him and Nikola Vucevic’s well-placed screen frees Evan Fournier up to get him open.
James Johnson hangs back to guard Aaron Gordon on the lob and Hassan Whiteside fails to hedge. Fournier has a clear path to his spot.
And he takes it quickly firing for three and the five-point lead.
No doubt, this was a risky shot for Fournier. Waiters is not too far behind him and is a hair late on his contest. This was a tough shot, virtually well defended. Fournier used the natural advantage of the offense to execute.
But what this play sets up the next two times down the court made the difference in the game. As the Magic ran Fournier off this staggered screen, they had to worry first about his 3-pointer. And that opened everything else up.
The following possession, with the Magic up two points, they set up with the same design.
Orlando actually executes the fakes poorly here. This time, Gordon actually tries to cut down to get the lob and Fournier is a little late to set the screen. So as he comes around the Vucevic screen, Waiters is right on his hip.
But Fournier makes two great reads to set up this play.
First, because he knows Waiters is on his hip rather than trailing him as he was the last play, Fournier completes a curl instead of stopping at the 3-point line. This gets him heading downhill automatically and into the paint. The defense has to collapse to stop him.
It is easy to see the gravity from Fournier this causes. Dragic pinches down from Payton to try to help. More importantly, Whiteside leaves Vucevic, who has popped to the weakside elbow area, to try to deter the drive.
Fournier’s chemistry with Vucevic is evident here. He throws a perfect overhead pass to Vucevic and he drains the 20-footer.
This is the second variation on this play and shows its versatility — and trust in Fournier. Fournier has the freedom to make a read coming around the screen from Gordon and Vucevic. He can stop short and take the three or curl it into the paint where Terrence Ross has vacated to the corner and Aaron Gordon has created space with his run to the rim.
The spacing here is not great. It is clear the way they ran this play on this occasion had only a few options. They all belonged to Fournier to make.
And he made one more to help ice the game.
The Heat got the two points back on the following possession and so the Magic turned to this type of set up again. No reason not to go back to the well, especially with Fournier feeling it and making such impeccable reads.
This time the Magic use a slightly different setup. Gordon has the ball at the top of the key as Payton and Fournier dive in from the wings to cross in the paint.
Payton here sets a screen with Vucevic in a staggered screen. Payton gets the first contact on Fournier’s man before Vucevic finishes him off.
While the play setup is different, the effect is the same. The staggered screen gives Fournier two chances to create space for a shot and puts pressure on the defense to cover. The two players covering the screeners have to communicate and figure out how to cover the cutter and then the screeners. The second play was proof of that.
Here, Whiteside again drops. In fact, he does not really even drop. He does a half-hearted show and barely moves to cut off the lane, giving Fournier almost a free lane. He likely has some concern with Vucevic, who has popped to the corner and is still fairly open. Whiteside has to cover both areas. And ends up getting caught in no-man’s land.
But Fournier comes down an almost clear lane and easily flips the ball over Dragic for a floater.
That made it a five-point game with 1:30 to go. That was as close as the Heat would get in the game.
In Wednesday’s game, Fournier was extremely effective coming off screens, according to NBA.com. He scored 12 points on eight possessions. He shot a 75.0 percent effective field goal percentage. That is the most points on such plays in the season so far. This is a great way to get the most out of Fournier’s skills.
It was last year. Fournier scored only 3.2 points per game and 0.98 points per possession on screen plays last year. He shot a 47.8 percent effective field goal percentage.
Those are not terrible numbers. And Fournier will not be able to maintain that level of play. But the Magic found a pet play that takes advantage of their most skilled player. Especially in late situations.
Next: Orlando Magic pass their first test of adversity
Orlando clearly trusted Fournier to make the right read and make the right play in these situations. Wednesday night, he made the right play every time. Expect to see the Magic go back to this play late in games again.