By John Denton Feb. 9, 2017
ORLANDO – It's not the manner with which he wanted it to come, but Orlando Magic small forward Mario Hezonja got his first start of the season on Thursday.
Hezonja, the fifth pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, was moved into the starting lineup to replace forward Aaron Gordon, who has a bone bruise in his right foot.
Magic coach Frank Vogel could have opted for veteran Jeff Green at small forward, but instead he decided to reward the work and patience of Hezonja. The Croatian swingman has had to bide his team as he's been out of the rotation much of the season because of a logjam at the small forward.
Hezonja, 21, started nine games as a rookie last season, but Gordon's absence – his first missed game of the season – created an opening for Hezonja. Vogel joked before Thursday's game that he's “going to give Mario a chance to turn Aaron into Wally Pip,'' referring to the legend of how Lou Gehrig got his start with the New York Yankees as an injury replacement for Pip.
On a serious note, Vogel said of Hezonja: “The kid has worked his tail off to stay ready and take advantage of it, so we're going to give him the chance.''
When asked how Hezonja handled being benched at various times this season, Vogel said: “Better than any player I've ever pulled out of the rotation. His attitude was better than a 10. He's worked even harder, he kept a smile on his face every day and he was a team-first guy. His work ethic doubled or tripled, so he's been great.''
Hezonja had seven points, three rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes on Tuesday night while playing in place of Gordon. For the season, he's averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 37 games. Vogel wants to keep him at small forward against liked-sized players instead of asking him to try and shake smaller players on the perimeter.
“One of the things that I've learned about Mario – and this is a bit of a shift in how I viewed using him – is that we came into the season thinking he's a long, lengthy (shooting guard/small forward),'' Vogel said. “But he's really struggled, like anybody his size, to guard and get open against 6-2, 6-3 shooting guards. I've had to redefine how I use him. He's really one of those combo (small forward/power forwards). We're not viewing him at all as a shooting guard.
“One of the reasons that he's fallen in the depth chart in terms of his minutes and his opportunities, he's not behind (shooting guards) Evan (Fournier), C.J. Watson and Jodie (Meeks); he's behind Serge Ibaka and Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green at (small forward/power forward). And Serge and Aaron have been two of our most durable guys all year.''
PAYTON BACK AMONG RESERVES: In a move to try and address Orlando's sagging defense, Vogel also made a switch at point guard on Thursday night.
Watson, who recently started five games at shooting guard, was tabbed to start at point guard, while long-time starter Elfrid Payton was moved back into a reserve role.
It is the second time this season that Payton – the starter at point guard the previous two seasons – has been moved to a reserve role. He started the first 16 games of the season before getting replaced by D.J. Augustin on Nov. 27. Payton played off the bench for 20 games, averaging 12 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists in 27.9 minutes.
He was returned to the starting lineup on Jan. 4 and he stayed there for 18 more games before Thursday's decision to make another switch. Vogel has been unhappy that opposing point guards Dennis Schroder (17 points, 10 assists and four rebounds) and Patrick Beverley (14 points, seven assists and six rebounds) have had their way with the Magic.
“I'm really trying to pound the rock in getting our defense right and where it needs to be,'' Vogel said. “Rim protection hasn't been good enough – not just by our centers, but by our low-man rotation and the pride that it takes to protect our paint and protect our basket. It hasn't been there and it has to start there.''
Watson has been one of Orlando's steadiest players of late and it was his defense on all-star point guard Kyle Lowry that helped the Magic grab two victories. Watson, 32, came into Thursday averaging 9.9 points, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 50 percent from the floor over the previous 10 games.
A.G.'s INJURY: Stressing that “we don't feel it's that serious of an injury,'' Vogel believes that forward Gordon could return to action in a matter of days – something that wouldn't put his availability for the NBA Slam Dunk Competition in jeopardy.
Gordon, the defender that Orlando has used to guard the best player on the opposing team all season, missed his first game of 2016-17 on Thursday because of a bone bruise in his right foot. Gordon left Tuesday's game in Houston in the second quarter because of persistent pain that he said worsened over the course of the day. X-rays revealed no fractures and a MRI showed the bone bruise in the middle of the foot.
The injury is unrelated to the fractured left foot that Gordon suffered two years ago when he was a rookie and had to miss eight weeks of action.
“It's never fun leaving with an ailment, but my body comes first,'' said Gordon, who came into Thursday averaging 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. “I have to be smart with this injury.''
Gordon, 21, was announced last week as a participant in the Feb. 18 Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Saturday night. Gordon electrified the basketball world last February with six dunks – two of which he jumped off Magic mascot, Stuff – to earn a controversial runner-up finish.
Coincidentally, the winner of the last two dunk contests, Minnesota guard Zach LaVine, announced that he wouldn't dunk this year and then tore his ACL in his knee days later. If Gordon can't get back on the court, his availability could be in jeopardy as well, but Vogel doesn't think it will come to that.
“Obviously, we'll be smart,'' said Vogel, referring to Gordon not being rushed back onto the court. “If it's something where that would be a negative to our ability to win games, then he wouldn't do (the dunk contest). But I don't think that's going to be the case. We don't feel it's that serious of an injury. I don't think it's going to impact him (for the contest).''
A more pressing need for the Magic is figuring out how to cushion the loss of Gordon on the defensive end of the floor. All season, Gordon has shown up at arenas knowing that he would have the responsibility of guarding the other team's best scorer. And because of his rare physical gifts and his versatility, he's guarded everyone from point guard (Chris Paul and Damian Lillard), shooting guard (James Harden, DeMar DeRozan and C.J. McCollum), small forward (LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George) to power forward (Paul Millsap and Carmelo Anthony).
“It will have to be a collective effort with everybody pitching in,'' said Payton – Orlando's only player to appear in all 55 games – referring to missing Gordon's defense.
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