Who is the next Orlando Magic All-Star?
4. Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier
The two players who are most immediately playing at an All-Star level for the Orlando Magic are their two leading scorers in Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier.
While nobody views either player as part of the team’s overall big picture, these are the two players that have the most offensive consistency. And so the Magic rely on them heavily. Maybe too heavily at times and maybe to the detriment of the play style the Magic ultimately need to play with.
Still, there is no denying these players have done well and give the Magic something that they have struggled to find elsewhere on the roster. Even if the Magic are ultimately asking them to do more than they should do.
Nikola Vucevic is averaging 19.0 points per game (down from last year, but inching up lately) and Evan Fournier is averaging 18.7 points per game. Both have had their stellar moments and times when they have had to carry the team offensively.
Vucevic is obviously the only former All-Star on the roster. He had a career last year and has come back to earth some this year. His efficiency has been the most worrisome thing. He is shooting 45.8-percent from the field, his worst since his rookie year.
A center shooting that poorly is always a bad thing. Vucevic is spending too much time around the 3-point line (a career-high 4.9 attempts per game) and his post-game has taken a noticeable dip this year too — 0.73 points per possession on post-ups this year compared to 0.93 points per possession last year.
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Vucevic was due for a regression. But certainly, this kind of regression with his efficiency is holding the Magic back. And while he is good as a facilitator in the high post, it is not enough.
The Magic are relying on Vucevic by default because no one else is ready to carry that load. It is hard to see him making another All-Star Game. It is exceedingly rare for a player to make their All-Star debut at Vucevic’s age and return to the game again.
The same could be said for Fournier.
Fournier is bouncing back from a down year last year, shooting 46.2 percent from the floor and 40.8 percent from beyond the arc. He has been a lot more efficient and effective scoring off the dribble. He has been decent if miscast as the primary playmaker.
There might have been an argument if the Magic were playing better that Fournier could represent the team in the Sunday game this year. But that was always a long shot. Fournier has played well but he does not scream All-Star.
Really, he does not seem to be much of a difference-maker in that way. Fournier is still a nice player, but he is not the guy to lead the team beyond the weak Eastern Conference 8-seed.
That is probably something the Magic can conclude about both these players after this season.