2018-19 Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Jerian Grant
The Good and the Bad
| Season | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 60 | 15.7 | .418 | .364 | .509 | .650 | 1.6 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 4.2 |
| Career | 273 | 18.0 | .412 | .324 | .473 | .771 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 6.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/21/2019.
The Orlando Magic gave Jerian Grant plenty of opportunities to secure the backup point guard role. Quite simply, to start the season Isaiah Briscoe was not ready for that kind of responsibility and role. The game was still too fast for him and he was still too much of a wild card.
Grant was at least going to provide some level of consistency with his play and demeanor.
That is about the only good thing you can say about Grant throughout this season. The Magic knew he was going to provide as far as an offense initiator, driver and shooter. He was at least OK at all these things throughout the season.
Grant shot a career-best 36.4 percent from beyond the arc on a relatively average 1.8 attempts per game. He 2.6 assists per game despite playing the fewest minutes per game of his career (partly because he left the rotation midway through the season).
Grant was solid at getting into the lane, but he more about probing the defense rather than attacking it. He was rarely an option attacking off the dribble. His offensive role was more to initiate the offense and do basic pick and roll actions before finding his way to the perimeter.
That might have been a good plan to start the season, but it was not what this team needed. It was clear they needed a little bit more of a kick from their starting point guard and not someone just managing the game.
Related Story. 2019 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Jerian Grant. light
The Magic struggled mightily when Grant was on the floor. The team had a -7.6 net rating with Grant on the floor, scoring just 99.3 points per 100 possessions. The team was only worse with Mohamed Bamba on the floor.
But comparing him to the Magic’s other two backup point guards only makes this look worse. The Magic had a +1.3 net rating with Isaiah Briscoe on the floor and a +13.0 net rating with Michael Carter-Williams on the floor.
Pace had a big thing to do with all of this. It was not necessarily about the number of possessions the team had — the Magic actually had an above-average 101.4 pace with Grant on the floor — but the speed in which the team initiated its sets and ran its offense.
Grant was not one to push the pace this way. He was more of a game manager and someone who eased into the offense. It was hard for the team to remain effective around him. The team just struggled repeatedly to get into a rhythm with him on the floor. The offense floundered and the team simply could not rely on Grant to run the team effectively.
Grant had a second chance after Briscoe got hurt to hold down the reserve spot. He continued to meet mixed results even if it felt like he was a reliable offensive option. That was all off the ball. And Grant never answered the question of what position he works best at.
It certainly does not seem like he was the right point guard for this team.