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2018-19 Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: D.J. Augustin

By Philip Rossman-Reich

D.J. Augustin does very little flashy and that is what a young team needs to breakthrough. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
D.J. Augustin does very little flashy and that is what a young team needs to breakthrough. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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D.J. Augustin, Orlando Magic
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 07: D.J. Augustin #14 of the Orlando Magic dribbles against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter at TD Garden on April 07, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. 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 Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

The Good and the Bad

Per Game Table
G GS MP FG% 3P% eFG% FT% TRB AST STL TOV PTS
81 81 28.0 .470 .421 .566 .866 2.5 5.3 0.6 1.6 11.7
807 307 24.1 .413 .381 .497 .863 1.9 4.0 0.6 1.5 9.8

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/6/2019.

Last year, D.J. Augustin took over the starting point guard role after trading Elfrid Payton. The going consensus was he helped stabilize the team and, as one of the best shooters on the team, spaced the floor.

That is something everyone could easily take for granted. Augustin’s reliability and dependability at the position was nothing flashy or special. But he was always there.

Perhaps the lowered expectations for Augustin entering the season was more about the feeling Augustin could not repeat the performance. His career history seemed to suggest that.

What the Magic got this year was a continuation of that play to end the season. Augustin was never someone who was going to do more than he was capable of doing. But perhaps he was more capable than we all imagined.

He averaged 11.7 points per game and 5.3 assists per game. Those numbers track to his successful early-career runs with the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets. The only other time he had any kind of stability in his career. He shot 42.1 percent from beyond the arc, a must for a team without much shooting.

More than that, Augustin was extremely good at orchestrating the offense. The team operated better with him in there — +3.5 net rating on the floor, the third-best mark of any rotation player behind Michael Carter-Williams and Nikola Vucevic.

Related Story. 2019 Player Outlook: D.J. Augustin. light

Augustin was great at getting into the lane and working the pick and roll to twist defenses. He was not always looking to score but showed toughness finishing around the basket. He could keep the ball moving and get it back to hit critical 3-pointers. He worked as well off the ball as he did on the ball.

No one will say Augustin is the future at point guard. The team acquired Markelle Fultz seemingly to man that spot as they move forward. He fits more of the length and size profile the Magic are looking for at each position.

He still has some deficiencies at point guard — bigger guards especially were still able to move him as Eric Bledsoe and Kyle Lowry did throughout the season and he is not a natural scorer. Augustin’s role was to keep the boat steady more than anything else.

But that is what the Magic needed more than anything else. They needed someone who could hold the boat steady and he delivered.