With all eyes glued to “Emojigate” on Wednesday afternoon, the Orlando Magic announced that they’d be resting their three most important Summer League players for the final two games of the tournament.
Arguably the MVP of the Orlando Summer League – don’t forget, we have summer action taking place in Utah and Las Vegas this month as well – Aaron Gordon will be joined by the number five pick in the 2015 NBA Draft Mario Hezonja, and sophomore point guard Elfrid Payton on the DNP-Coaches Decision list on Thursday and Friday.
After a disappointing rookie season that saw him miss 35 games due to foot and ankle injuries, there hasn’t been a thing or person on the court able to slow down Gordon these past few days. Averaging team highs in points (21.7) and rebounds (11.7), the fourth overall pick from the 2014 NBA Draft has shown glimpses into why he was so highly touted coming out of Arizona, dominating on both ends of the court.
Anything said or written about players who shine in July will always be met with “yeah but it’s Summer League,” and “Adam freaking Morrison dominated Summer League, who cares?” I’ll tell you who cares, new Magic Coach Scott Skiles and GM Rob Hennigan, who looks like a genius right now for drafting Gordon, who was criticized as a reach pick on draft night.
Known for being more of an effort guy with great instincts who excels on the defensive end, Gordon wasn’t able to make much of an impact when he was healthy enough to stay on the floor last season. Even though he posted the team’s fourth best defensive rating, the 6-foot-9 forward gave Orlando very little offensively, as he averaged just 5.2 points on 45 percent shooting (27 percent from three) in 17 minutes per night.
I don’t like to get sucked into trends, and just because the Golden State Warriors were able to win a championship by playing small doesn’t mean the entire league is going to give into small ball, but Gordon has looked like a perfect small ball power forward this summer, as he’s been able to extend his game behind the three point line, where he’s shot a team best 50 percent (6-of-12). Of course this is a small sample size, but Gordon’s jumper in general has looked much more fluid, and I think if he lives up to his potential he’d be an ideal fit next to the defensively challenged Nikola Vucevic in the Orlando front court.
We’ve focused enough on the “big man” for now, and as impressive as Gordon has been these last few days, I have to think Skiles and Hennigan feel great about their newest addition, Hezonja. Although he’s only appeared in two games, the 20-year old Croatian wing has probably been the second most impactful player on the team, as he’s their second leading scorer with 13 points per game.
Super Mario has lived up to the billing as one of the most electrifying players in his draft class, showing great composure in big spots:
And blowing up the opposition when he gets a chance to attack the rim:
I’m not sure that Hezonja will be able to start for the Magic next season, keep in mind he played less than 15 minutes per game in 32 games for FC Barcelona last season, but he’s lived up to the hype as an exciting scorer with an abundance of confidence in himself so far this summer.
Of the three players the Magic will be resting, Payton has probably already proven himself to be the most capable NBA player, yet has been least impressive this summer. I understand resting this trio in an attempt to not risk any terrible injuries, but Payton struggled shooting the ball in the two games he played, and had a pretty terrible assist to turnover ratio (13:9).
Again, we’re talking about a player who earned First Team All-Rookie honors last season, and for a guy who’s going to be relied upon more for his defense and facilitation than scoring, I’m not going to make a big deal out of Payton’s inability to put the ball in the hoop. With that said, I would have thought we’d see Payton show improvement on the offensive end, especially when you consider he averaged 9.2 points (on 59 percent shooting), 7 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game last summer.
The future is clearly bright for Orlando, who may still be able to win the Orlando Summer League despite resting these three players. Sure, they could win because they have a Blue and a White team – all three of the aforementioned players are on Blue (1-2), White is undefeated still, but after a sneak peak at what’s in store for the future, the Magic look like winners regardless.
