By John Denton
Nov. 25, 2015
ORLANDO – Searching for combinations that will cure the Orlando Magic’s sluggish starts to halves and improve the imbalance between the first string and the second unit, head coach Scott Skiles will bring standout guard Victor Oladipo off the bench tonight.
Shifting Oladipo to a reserve role will have a trickle-down effect on several players on the team. Channing Frye, a starter much of last season but a reserve most of this year, will start at power forward. Meanwhile, Evan Fournier and Tobias Harris will move back to their more natural positions at shooting guard and small forward.
That lineup, which will also include center Nikola Vucevic and point guard Elfrid Payton, has statistically been Orlando’s best this season in a small sample size. The Vucevic-Frye-Harris-Fournier-Payton grouping has played together just 33 minutes, but it has had a 117.2 offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) and a 90.3 defensive rating (points per 100 possessions).
The Magic (6-8) will debut their new lineup tonight at the Amway Center against the New York Knicks (8-7). On the heels of disappointing losses to Sacramento and Cleveland, Skiles came to the decision that he needed to make changes – not in a punitive manner – but something will address some of the glaring needs on the team.
“The thought process – like I said (on Tuesday) – it’s nothing punitive, but we feel like we’ve got to find a little bit better balance,” Skiles said. “I’d like Victor to have more opportunities like he’s had in the past where he can get on top of the floor and attack and be more vertical (toward the rim). Not only get to the rim, but attack, while not necessarily starting the game that way. That’s the thought process. And it’s about finding some better balance with Tobias back at (small forward) and our 3-point shooting hasn’t been great so we’ll get Channing back in the lineup.”
Oladipo, who is averaging 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals a game, has played in a reserve role before in his three-year NBA career. He came off the bench for 36 games as a rookie in the 2013-14 season and he played off the bench one game last season after returning from a facial fracture.
Oladipo stressed on Wednesday morning that the move won’t shake his confidence and that he will play with the same aggressiveness as he always has.
“You just can’t let it do that,” Oladipo said the move having an effect on his confidence level. “The biggest thing for anybody who would be put in a situation like this or go through adversity – whatever you would call it even though I don’t think it’s anything important – just don’t listen to what everybody is saying because everybody else doesn’t know what is going on. Everybody else thinks they know, but they have no idea.
“Just do whatever it takes to help your team win and that’s what I’m doing,” Oladipo continued. “I’m going to embrace it and I’m going to get it popping like I always say. So whatever it takes to win, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Skiles has been highly complementary of Oladipo’s play this season, saying that he’s played defense at an all-league level so far. Skiles said Oladipo’s fight defensively made this a difficult decision to remove the guard from the starting lineup, and he conveyed that to him when the two met privately on Tuesday to discuss the changes.
“Victor and I sat together and talked about it, I explained it and we had a nice conversation about it,” Skiles said. “Like any player would be, he was disappointed. I wouldn’t respect him as a competitor if he wasn’t disappointed. He handled it well (on Tuesday) and he was fine this morning and I think he will play well.
“I made it clear to him that there’s no permanence to this, necessarily, because we’re not that type of (veteran) team,” Skiles added. “We’re looking to get some consistency. This was just one thing that we looked at doing. We’re hoping it works, that it works for Victor and more importantly for the team.”
Oladipo has struggled somewhat in the Magic’s passing and cutting offensive system. His drive rate has dropped dramatically this season and his shooting percentages – 37 percent overall and 26.4 percent from 3-point range – have plummeted. Oladipo, 23, did show some growth in finishing around the rim on Monday in Cleveland, converting five of eight shots in the paint.
The hope, now, is that Oladipo will be the focal point of the second unit and he will have more opportunities to use his explosive quickness to get to the rim with drives through the heart of the defense.
“I’ve just got to come in and give us energy, come in and lead (the second unit) and come in and get us going. I’ve just got to get us on the right track,” Oladipo said. “(Skiles) said it (about getting more drives to the rim), so I’m looking forward to that opportunity. I’m just going to go out there and play my game, play hard and do whatever it takes to win.”
Frye, a nine-year veteran, started two games while Oladipo was out with a concussion and he’s been effective of late with his 3-point shooting from the power forward position. He has kept himself ready through pick-up games against the likes of Andrew Nicholson – another power forward who has seen reduced minutes off the bench. Frye drilled three fourth-quarter 3-pointers on Monday night in Cleveland.
“I talked to Coach (Skiles) early in the year when I wasn’t playing and I said whenever you’re ready play me whenever that is and I’ll be ready,” Frye said. “I think all of us have the understanding that we just want to win. It just happens to be Vic’s spot today. But, hey, whatever works. I’ll go play my game, get that first group going and make sure we start the game off right.”
