Stephen Zimmerman returns from Erie BayHawks to minutes
Stephen Zimmerman followed up a successful stint in the D-League by returning to the Orlando Magic to some minutes. He still has a ways to go.
A few days ago, Stephen Zimmerman had to fold himself into a flight from Erie, Pa., to New York City for a game against the Long Island Nets at the Barclays Center.
Zimmerman is 7-feet tall, making those tight commercial flights tough for him to get in and out of. It is extremely different from the private flights he took when he was with the Orlando Magic to start the season.
His knees may have been hurting for that puddle jump across the mid-Atlantic and back, but he was getting what he needed most at the time — some playing time.
“Just to show everybody what I can still do,” Zimmerman said of what he was trying to accomplish in his D-League stint. “I’m trying to get better and show myself the things I need to work on to produce at this level.”
Zimmerman played four games with the Erie BayHawks, averaging 21.8 points per game and 15.5 rebounds per game. That included a franchise-record 24 rebounds in an overtime win over the Long Island Nets on Wednesday.
The Magic always planned to have him play some with the BayHawks this year. They selected Zimmerman with the 41st pick in the 2016 Draft. The athletic and talented center had shown plenty of solid offense and rebounding in his time at UNLV. For much of the season, he was projected to go in the first round and possibly even the Lottery.
Zimmerman obviously had a long way to go. The Magic were certainly willing to wait and give him some time to grow.
Seeing how he would respond to playing time, even in the D-League, was something the Magic surely looked forward to. And they were happy with how things went for him.
“He kicked some butt down there,” coach Frank Vogel said before Saturday’s game against the Denver Nuggets. “I was impressed by his numbers. Not surprised by them. He has a great feel for the game. He does everything that you want a big man to do in terms of protecting the rim, rebounding the basketball, taking care of the basketball and playing with the pass.”
The plan for Zimmerman was for him to spend a little more time in Erie in this stint. Likely the team wanted to get him a few more games before their practice schedule resumed some regularity and they could work with him more intently.
Injuries from Friday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets forced the Magic to quickly recall Zimmerman. Nikola Vucevic missed Saturday’s game with a sore lower back after he was tripped going for a loose ball. Bismack Biyombo was questionable until tipoff with a sore shoulder. He wore a sleeve for extra protection.
Zimmerman went from playing in the D-League, hopping on a plane to get to Orlando, to entering the game as a needed part of the rotation. Vogel barely had time to say hello, shaking Zimmerman’s hand on arrival before getting into the pregame shootaround.
And Zimmerman entered the game pretty early in the second quarter. He played 6:40 in the first half. It was just his third game for the Magic this season.
His results were certainly extremely mixed.
He hit one jumper and then followed it with an air-balled jumper. Further, he struggled defensively with the brute force inside from Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic.
Zimmerman’s strength is still his biggest weakness. He came into the league thin and needing to put on muscle to bang around with the bigs in the league. And like many rookies, he needed to get up to the NBA speed. Particularly on defense.
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That was all reinforced with his first meaningful minutes of the season — Zimmerman previously only played at the end of blowouts. The Magic gave him a chance, one he was pressed into in many ways.
“The game is so much faster at this level,” Zimmerman said before the game on the difference at the NBA level. “Calling out screens a lot faster. The overall game pace is faster and more urgent. I think that’s a big thing that helped out down there.”
The season will remain a learning experience for Zimmerman. He will likely spend another stint in the D-League at some point — likely in another stretch where the Magic are on the road or unable to practice for an extended period.
The Magic may rely on Zimmerman or Arinze Onuaku until Nikola Vucevic can return to action.
Zimmerman played extremely well while in Erie. But the NBA is a different animal. And the rookie center is still getting his footing in the NBA. It will be something that continues to develop for him throughout the season.
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