National Basketball Association

Learn on the fly: Magic's Elfrid Payton embarks on first long trip

Published Nov. 27, 2014 7:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

ORLANDO -- The first month of Elfrid Payton's NBA career has been fraught with ups and downs, and it's about to become even more of a roller-coaster ride.

Make that more of an airplane ride.

Sure, the Orlando Magic have already played almost a fourth of their road schedule, something only the Chicago Bulls can also claim. And it's not as if Payton's skills in college didn't take him to points much more distant than Sacramento or Los Angeles.

"I was in China for 16 days," he said, referring to an eight-game tournament sponsored by a sports ministry in Kentucky. "But nothing like this, going from city to city. It'll be a little different, but nothing I'm not ready for."

Beginning Friday night at Indiana, the Magic will play six games away from home in six different cities. The schedule includes a pair of back-to-backs -- with one of those games being a rematch with the Golden State Warriors, who handed the Magic a 111-96 loss Wednesday night. It was more one-sided than the final score would suggest.

While Payton has gotten more than a taste of what it's like playing on consecutive nights, being on a trip that starts on a holiday and lasts nearly two weeks is another new experience for the rookie point guard.

"I guess he's a veteran at playing a back-to-back now," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "There's a bunch of things. He hasn't even taken a West Coast trip yet. I can't even tell him how to adjust to the time. So there's a bunch he's going to continue to learn. This is early. This process is extremely difficult at that position."

As was the case a year ago with Victor Oladipo, Payton's first season has included fluctuations in his role and playing time. He started the first 10 games while Oladipo was recuperating from a facial fracture. Since Oladipo's return, he has gone from being hardly used at all off the bench in a victory at Detroit to a key component in the Magic's comeback win from a 23-point third-quarter at Charlotte.

He leads the team in assists (4.9 per game) and also averages 6.8 points in just under 24 minutes, although his paltry 46.3-percent success rate at the free-throw line is almost unheard of for someone at his position.

Vaughn played 12 years in the NBA as a point guard but views Payton's situation as something of the opposite of what he went through.

"My scenario was different, where I had a lot of veterans on my team at the time," he said. "For him, the transition can be easier because he's next to Maurice Harkless (in the locker room), who is close to the same age as he is. And there are some things that other guys have gone through that he can easily relate to. So that's an advantage for him, being around guys who can tell him what it felt like just a year ago."

Payton is the lone Magic draft pick from last summer on the active roster. Forward Aaron Gordon is not expected to accompany the team on its trip after he underwent surgery less than a week ago to repair a fracture in his left foot. Guard Devyn Marble has just started to take part in shooting drills for the first time since straining his right rotator cuff in a game on Nov. 7.

Of Gordon, Vaughn said: "He is missing basketball. He is missing being around his teammates. He is missing practice. That part of it will be tough, just like it is for any competitor who could not be on the floor. But that's a good thing. That means his mind's in the right place."

A bright spot in the loss to the Warriors was Kyle O'Quinn's return from an ankle injury. He began the season as the starting power forward while Channing Frye recovered from a sprained knee ligament. O'Quinn had six points, seven rebounds and three assists in the fourth quarter, with those assists being as many as Oladipo had in 27 minutes.

"Guys have got to learn quick, myself included," O'Quinn said. "And we've just got to learn to play with each other and learn each other's tendencies. And we've got to do it really, really fast -- or, like (Wednesday night), it can get ugly early."

Except for the Pacers, all of the Magic's upcoming opponents are from the Western Conference. Although Orlando has already won four times away from home, equaling the number it had for all of last season, its last road victory over a West team came in March 2013 at New Orleans.

"We've experienced bad roadtrips before," O'Quinn said. "It's tough, especially where you're on the road that long. It's tough when you're just losing, losing."

You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.