Mario Hezonja carving out a role for himself, while he can

Injuries have presented Mario Hezonja an opportunity. An opportunity he is taking advantage of as he tries to carve out a role for himself once again.

Mario Hezonja had open floor in front of him during Wednesday’s game against the LA Clippers, and he was once again the player everyone imagined when they first saw him on sometimes grainy YouTube video, hitting threes and dapping up opposing coaches.

It has felt that player was long gone. The Orlando Magic essentially signaled there is no future with Hezonja, relegating him to the bench and declining his fourth-year player option.

But there Hezonja was performing a smooth spin move and a crisp pass through a tiny hole to a teammate to set him up for a shot. Just his luck, the shot missed. But Hezonja was all that bravado and confidence that made him the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Thanks to injury, an opportunity presented itself for Hezonja. He went from playing virtually no minutes to starting the last three games. With the opportunity he was receiving, Hezonja’s talent would eventually show itself. Especially as he got more comfortable.

In Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers, Hezonja scored 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting. He added nine rebounds and four assists. This was Hezonja the Magic always envisioned. He hit 3-pointers, he drove to the basket under control. Defensively he was flying to protect the rim in transition and disciplined in his coverages.

Things clicked in this game for Hezonja. At last, he looked comfortable.

"“When you get consistent minutes, you can find a bit of a rhythm,” coach Frank Vogel said before Friday’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. “It’s a chicken or an egg thing. You have to earn your consistent minutes to get that rhythm. He has had a tough situation here from the standpoint of coming in and we drafted the same position as him so it’s kind of put him further behind on the depth chart. His opportunities are lighter. When your opportunities are lighter, you’re not going to play that well.”"

It is indeed a chicken or an egg problem. Hezonja has struggled to crack the rotation ever since Vogel came in as coach. It felt like Mario Hezonja had a quick hook his rookie year with Scott Skiles as the head coach. But that was still his most productive year.

His shooting percentage dropped and it made him hard to play. After all, Hezonja was drafted essentially to be a shooter. Shooting 29.9 percent from beyond the arc last year and 30.6 percent from beyond the arc this year, hardly inspires confidence in a shooter.

Then again, Hezonja is not playing, averaging just 12.3 minutes per game in 26 games this year. In games where Hezonja plays more than 12 minutes in the last two seasons, Hezonja is shooting 45 for 161 (28.0 percent). Hardly encouraging.

This is all part of the difficulties of finding Hezonja minutes. And ultimately why the Magic seem less enthused about his future with the team.

Still, his talent is evident. Even Vogel had to admit that after his game Wednesday. Vogel said Hezonja is one of the team’s fastest and most athletic guys. He also lauded his toughness, a trait that has seemingly been in short supply for the team this year at times.

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The trick with Hezonja, according to Vogel, is to stay within himself. He cannot try to do too much. His penchant for turning the ball over trying to force off the dribble is still evident — he averages 2.3 turnovers per 36 minutes.

The key to Hezonja remains knocking down shots. That is how he will define a role for himself.

"“With more touches, you get more confidence,” Hezonja said. “It’s not a confidence thing. It’s how to be in a system and still doing your stuff. I was practicing as double as everyone was doing. If I do that on the court, it will look like I’m trying to show off, and we’re not going to win. You have to find your own rhythm while still in the system. If I go out individually, I’m going to look good but we’re going to lose. Everyone has to have that mindset. If we go on our own, we might win almost nothing.”"

Indeed, confidence seems to be brimming for Hezonja. More than it has in some time. That is the result of getting minutes.

He is still young and could still salvage his career. Opportunity though is what he needs. That is how he builds the confidence to play at a higher level. But he still needs to produce.

He followed his strong game Wednesday with a more mediocre one Friday. Hezonja scored just four points, missing both of his shots. His defense was still solid, but Vogel opted to go in another direction at the end of the game.

Vogel said Hezonja plays hard and that is all anyone can ask for.

Right now, Hezonja has that part down. Now it is about production for him and how much of a role he can carve.

Hezonja admits he still needs to build up trust. He knows he cannot freelance or go off script too much. And making shots is necessary for him. His defense has come a long way but still requires his full attention at times.

But as long as the Magic continue to face all their injuries, the opportunity is here for Hezonja to build that trust back up.

"“He’s playing with almost all backups right now,” Hezonja said. “There are trust issues, of course. That’s normal. But I think he’s doing better. We’ve got to pick it up. We’ve talked about that. We talked about him, we talked about us, we’ve all got to pick it up. It’s not a one player thing. Everyone has to pick it up and play more.”"

The most important thing to Hezonja remains contributing to a winning team.

He knows his own production does not matter if it comes in a loss. And him trying to over-assert himself will only lead to the bad outcomes he wants to avoid.

The goal for Hezonja right now is to carve out a role and show he has some NBA value. His role now is to make shots and be active defensively.

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In the short term, that might keep him in the rotation a little bit longer — a chance he has certainly earned of late. In the long term, that might intrigue another team to give him a greater chance than Orlando can give.