Evan Fournier returns to his mean to pace Orlando Magic

Evan Fournier has struggled this season. His return to better shooting adding to his improvements has been a big part of the Orlando Magic’s turnaround.

If there was one thing anyone could say about Evan Fournier it was that he was consistent.

Sure, he may not have been the dynamic attacker off the dribble or isolation player that is the envy of teams around the league. But Evan Fournier had followed a slow upward trajectory increasing his scoring average each year. The Magic knew they could rely on Fournier for a solid 17 points per game and consistent outside shooting. And that was what they needed.

The Orlando Magic were going to scale back Fournier’s usage rate and maybe give him a bit more playmaking responsibility as other players took on bigger roles. But his key skill would remain to be an outside shooter. That is something the Magic have in short supply.

Of all the assumptions the Magic had to make this season, they certainly did not feel like Fournier would be one of the bigger issues the team would have to account for.

This season has perhaps proven that assumption wrong.

Fournier, for the first time in his career, is not on pace to increase his scoring average. That is not the big problem. Getting 14.9 points per game from Fournier is well below average but not a complete loss.

Instead, it is his 33.8 percent 3-point shooting that has been the most concerning aspect of his game. That is down from a 37.2 percent career average from beyond the arc.

For a team short on outside shooting, seeing one of their best 3-point shooters struggle from beyond the arc was more than a bit concerning.

A difficult season turned around

At various times, it was easy to dismiss Fournier’s struggles as an unnatural funk — he started the year shooting poorly making just 28.6 percent of his threes in his first eight games.

Fournier had some pockets where it looked like he was coming out of his shooting funk, but it has never really come.

Every good game was followed by more frustration. The Magic were unable to turn the corner with Fournier struggling to hit from the outside.

That is until now.

Like so many things during the team’s five-game winning streak and winning run, Fournier too has started to come back to life.

In the last eight games, Fournier is averaging 15.5 points per game and is shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. He is not dropping the big games he might have had to last year, but the Magic do not need that from him.

They might work better with Fournier having a usage rate at 21.8 percent. Especially when he avoids forcing up shots or trying to create too much in isolation.

Instead, they are getting efficient scoring and solid outside shooting. That is exactly what they need from him.

Especially considering Fournier has added better passing and playmaking to his game. For the season, he has averaged a career-best 3.7 assists per game (0.7 per game better than his previous career-high). That has bumped up to 4.8 assists per game in the last eight games.

Defensive improvements

As if to further this point, the Magic have a 107.6 defensive rating with Fournier on the floor this season. The team is only worse defensively with Mohamed Bamba on the floor. That does not speak entirely to an individual’s defensive effort.

Fournier has had coach Steve Clifford’s trust defensively even if he has had his struggles. Fournier has been a willing defender, but clearly not a long-term answer to the team’s needs defending players like James Harden.

Although Fournier, individually, has been better on that end — his -1.2 defensive box plus-minus is not encouraging, but still a career-best by that metric — asking him to defend the best player on the other team nightly has sapped some of his offensive energy with mixed results.

Granted, the team has played much better in the last eight games. Fournier has been a part of that defensively too.

Orlando has a 97.7 defensive rating with Fournier on the floor in the last eight games. That is a testament to the starter’s general improvement defensively (and it should be noted the bench has also played a lot better). Fournier has not matched up with elite players then either. But it is hard not to see Fournier’s defense is better overall.

It all comes together

Everything is clicking and coming together. That goes for everyone. But Evan Fournier’s play taking a bump up is as much a benefit as the improved bench and Jonathan Isaac‘s emergence and maturation.

Orlando Magic

Some of this is Clifford finally finding a rotation that works for his team. Evan Fournier has helped steady the Magic’s second unit with Aaron Gordon. That has been key again to the team’s sudden success and surge.

The Magic will come off this high and face adversity again. Jonathan Isaac is playing the best basketball of his short career, but he will inevitably struggle as defenses adjust to him. It is hard to account for him playing this way consistently.

Fournier is someone the Magic can count on this kind of production every night.

All year, it has felt like the way Fournier was playing was an outlier to the rest of his career. He had only two games all of last year scoring fewer than 10 points. This year he has 14 such games. This season has been an odd one in that front.

But the Magic do not need Fournier to score in the same way he did last year. He does not have to hit 17 points per game or score tons of points for this team to succeed.

The team has improved in that way quite clearly. Even during this winning stretch, Fournier has two games scoring fewer than 10 points. The Magic’s success is not tied directly to Fournier’s individual output.

It is not really the amount of points Fournier scores but how he gets them. And the spacing he gives as a shooter. And the passes he makes as an improved playmaker. Not to mention his defensive effort.

If Fournier can add more efficient shooting with the other things he has developed this year, he will be a successful player.

Evan Fournier playing more like Evan Fournier has helped the Magic tremendously. And more than anything else the team is getting something they know they will be able to rely on as the Playoff chase continues.