Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.
By John DentonApril 6, 2016
ORLANDO – This season, much like Andrew Nicholson’s four years in Orlando with the Magic, has been a wild ride with plenty of dramatic highs and lows. But the versatile forward is confident that his strong finish has showed that he has a long career ahead of him in the NBA.
Nicholson, the longest-tenured Magic player after arriving following the 2012 NBA Draft, came into Wednesday night averaging 15.1 points and 5.0 rebounds over his last six games while shooting 61.8 percent from the floor and 45.4 percent from 3-point range. He scored in double figures in all six games, and had a career-best 24-point effort last week against Brooklyn when he made all nine of his shots and three 3-pointers.
“I know that I belong here (in the NBA) and I just needed the time and the opportunity,” Nicholson said on Wednesday. “It’s come and gone (through the years), but when it does come I feel like I go out there and show that I prove that I belong here.”
Nicholson’s 2015-16 season has been an uneven one, much like his time with the Magic. In December, he played in 15 games and averaged 8.6 points while shooting 51.5 percent from the floor. His play and playing time fell off dramatically in January (3.4 ppg. in 11.8 mpg.) and February (1.2 ppg. in 5.8 mpg.), but it has come back in March (9.7 ppg. in 14.4 mpg.) and April.
“He’s got a good pump-fake game and when people come at him, he can take off on the dribble and he generally makes pretty good decisions, making layups or kicking it to somebody,” Magic coach Scott Skiles said. “He’s a good offensive player.”
Nicholson, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward, will be a restricted free agent this summer if the Magic make him a qualifying contract offer. Regardless of what happens, Nicholson is confident that he’ll get opportunities in the NBA to further his career following his strong finish to the season.
“Wherever the best situation is, (he’ll go),” Nicholson said. “I’m just doing consistently what I did early in the year when I had the opportunity. I’m showing now that once I get an opportunity that I can play.”
OLD FRIENDS: When Orlando’s Aaron Gordon and Detroit’s Stanley Johnson faced off on Wednesday night for the third time this season, there were warm greetings, some good-natured trash talk and some lively competition.
After all, Gordon and Johnson have known each other for seven years. The two California natives were once on the same AAU team – one that they lead to a national championship – and they faced off in the state championship during Gordon’s senior season and Johnson’s junior year.
“Stan’s a very talented player and a smart basketball player,” Gordon said. “The times that me and Stanley were on the court together we never lost.” Gordon, who played one season at the University of Arizona, was there for advice when Johnson was picking a college (he also went to Arizona) and for when Johnson was breaking into the NBA back in October.
“After high school I talked to him and I went out to Arizona and we had a couple of conversations about what he needed to do (to get to the NBA),” Gordon recalled. “We’ve just shot texts back and forth a little bit and (they talked) about his rookie season a little bit. By that time Stan was ready for the NBA.”
LOOKING BACK: The Magic have many regrets for a season they expected to end in the playoffs, namely a six-week stretch in January and early February that saw them go just 2-15. Had the young roster been able to stabilize itself – and if the Magic hadn’t given away two games where they had sizeable fourth-quarter leads – they very well could have been in the fight for a playoff spot all the way to next week’s finale.
Of the primary regrets, Gordon said on Wednesday, was that the Magic got away from their running game at some point in the season. Part of the reason was the struggles on defense, making it difficult to get into the fast break when they were having to pull the ball out of the net.
Orlando has picked up the pace of late, using the athleticism of Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton, Dewayne Dedmon and Gordon to set up easy baskets. That allowed Orlando to score more than 110 games in each of the five games prior to Wednesday night.
“I don’t know why we weren’t running (earlier in the season) like we are now,” Gordon lamented. “At the beginning of the year we were a little bit hesitant and we were waiting. Now, there’s no wait and whoever gets the rebound pushes the ball and basically the first one who runs down the floor gets an alley-oop. That’s basically the way it is with myself, Dewayne, E.P. and Victor. We’re a very fast team and that’s how we need to play.”
