With close to half of their roster born in 1992 or later, the Orlando Magic began the season as the NBA's fourth-youngest team and therefore need to figure out which players have a future with them. Every week for the rest of the season, FOX Sports Florida's Ken Hornack takes a closer look at those players, measuring, highlighting and evaluating their progress.
EVAN FOURNIER (age 22, third NBA season, first with Magic)
Statistical averages, this month (season): 24.4 minutes (29.0), 8.7 points (12.1), 2.0 rebounds (2.6), 2.7 assists (2.1), 0.0 blocks (0.0), 0.8 steals (0.8), 45.5 FG% (43.6), 41.2 3PT% (37.7).
Advanced stats, season: 12.3 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average), 54.0 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 20.0 usage rate (possessions used per 40 minutes).
Trending: Down
Noted: More than anyone on the Magic of late, Fournier has been maddeningly inconsistent. He led the team in scoring when coming off the bench at Washington but followed that up by hitting only two of six shots in 28 minutes in a win over New York. And it was an over-and-back call against him with 15.5 seconds remaining off an inbound play that enabled the Chicago Bulls to complete their come-from-behind 98-97 victory. His 18 points against the Wizards represented the first time Fournier was the Magic's top scorer since his career-high 28-point game Nov. 12 against the Knicks. After making a total of eight starts in two years with the Denver Nuggets, the native of France has started 31 games and come off the bench in 22 for the Magic. He's shooting 45 percent and averaging 14.2 points as a starter compared to 40.9 percent and 9.3 points as a reserve.
AARON GORDON (age 19, first season)
Statistical averages, this month (season): 17.0 minutes (16.4), 4.6 points (5.9), 3.2 rebounds (3.2), 1.0 assists (0.7), 0.4 blocks (0.4), 0.2 steals (0.3), 42.9 FG% (53.8), 25 3PT% (47.4).
Advanced stats, season: 12.9 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average), 61.3 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 16.1 usage rate (possessions used per 40 minutes).
Trending: Down
Noted: Since missing the game Feb. 4 at San Antonio because of soreness in his surgically-repaired left foot, Gordon has largely struggled to regain his rhythm. He played a total of only seven minutes against the Knicks in the final game before the All-Star break as interim coach James Borrego went with Kyle O'Quinn and Dewayne Dedmon in relief of Nikola Vucevic and in place of an injured Channing Frye over the final two quarters. While Gordon is taking 3-point shots with greater confidence, he still has trouble on occasion finishing at the rim. And for someone who averaged a blocked shot a game in his one year of college ball at Arizona, he has only 10 through 23 games with the Magic, who are averaging an NBA-low 3.7 blocks per contest.
MAURICE HARKLESS (age 21, third season)
Statistical averages, this month (season): 7.6 minutes (13.8), 3.3 points (3.4), 0.0 rebounds (1.9), 0.5 assists (0.7), 0.0 blocks (0.2), 0.5 steals (0.6), 60 FG% (42.2), 25 3PT% (15.6).
Advanced stats, season: 8.4 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average), 49.1 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 13.3 usage rate (possessions used per 40 minutes).
Trending: Down
Noted: The Magic's coaching change has not resulted in any noticeable change in Harkless' minutes, prompting some speculation that either he or Andrew Nicholson could be moved before Thursday's trading deadline. With the Magic trailing by 20 through three quarters against the Wizards, Harkless was not shy about getting shots up. He attempted four 3-pointers in less than 11 minutes, making one for only his fifth successful try this season in 32 attempts. After being on the inactive list eight times when the Magic went 2-13 in January, he has yet to watch from the bench in street clothes since Borrego replaced Jacque Vaughn. But he did not play in two of those four games and got in against the Bulls for only the final 54.7 seconds of the first quarter.
TOBIAS HARRIS (age 22, second full season with Magic)
Statistical averages, this month (season): 40.9 minutes (34.6), 22.5 points (17.4), 7.3 rebounds (6.6), 3.3 assists (2.0), 0.3 blocks (0.5), 1.0 steals (1.0), 54.4 FG% (46.5), 36.8 3PT% (37.5).
Advanced stats, season: 16.9 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average), 54.6 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 23.5 usage rate (possessions used per 40 minutes).
Trending: Up
Noted: The excitement over his career-high 34 points Feb. 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers has been replaced by some level of concern about a sore right knee which forced Harris to miss the Magic's games with the Wizards and the Knicks. Until a 6-of-17 showing against the Bulls, including a missed putback attempt just before the final horn, Harris had regained the form he displayed before missing five games in January with a sprained left ankle. He scored in double figures in all 37 of his games before that injury a month ago but had fewer than 10 points in four of six games after his return. Harris went 2 of 19 from 3-point range over that stretch but was a combined 7 of 14 in the three games which followed.
DEVYN MARBLE (age 22, first season)
Statistical averages, this month (season): 0.0 minutes (13.0), 0.0 points (2.3), 0.0 rebounds (1.9), 0.0 assists (1.1), 0.0 blocks (0.1), 0.0 steals (0.6), 0.0 FG% (31.8), 0.0 3PT% (18.2).
Advanced stats, season: 5.9 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average), 36.2 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 13.2 usage rate (possessions used per 40 minutes).
Trending: Down
Noted: Marble has not played for the Magic since coming off the bench Jan. 25 at Indiana. He's back with them after a second stint with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, although he was inactive for the win over the Knicks. Marble was recalled Feb. 7 from Erie, where he averaged 17 points in 34 minutes a game. He was only 4 of 19 from 3-point range and 5 of 14 from the free-throw line in the seven games which he started for the Magic in January. Those statistics are out of character for someone who was a 34.9-percent 3-point shooter last year as a senior at Iowa, where he also made 71.4 percent of his free throws.
VICTOR OLADIPO (age 22, second season)
Statistical averages, this month (season): 37.2 minutes (34.1), 16.3 points (16.6), 6.2 rebounds (4.1), 4.3 assists (3.8), 0.5 blocks (0.2), 1.5 steals (1.6), 37.2 FG% (44.3), 23.8 3PT% (34.1).
Advanced stats, season: 15.5 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average), 53.3 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 24.6 usage rate (possessions used per 40 minutes).
Trending: Down
Noted: After averaging 20.6 points a game in an otherwise forgettable January for the Magic, Oladipo went into the break in a slump. He shot only 35 percent (28 of 80) over the last five games and was turnover-prone in the loss to the Spurs. But one encouraging sign is that he has blocked almost as many shots in four games since Borrego took over (3) than in his previous 42 games combined. Despite a seven-inch height disadvantage against Knicks backup center Cole Aldrich, Oladipo recorded this rejection. And his athleticism was very much on display over the weekend in both the Rising Stars Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest in which he finished second to Minnesota's Zach LaVine.
ELFRID PAYTON (age 21, first season)
Statistical averages, this month (season): 31.6 minutes (28.0), 8.5 points (7.9), 5.0 rebounds (3.7), 5.0 assists (5.7), 0.0 blocks (0.2), 2.2 steals (1.6), 47.7 FG% (42.3), 0.0 3PT% (19.0).
Advanced stats, season: 12.3 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average), 45.0 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 18.4 usage rate (possessions used per 40 minutes).
Trending: Up
Noted: Payton's offensive range remains limited. He is shooting less than 35 percent for the season on field-goal attempts of more than six feet. But his free-throw touch appears to be coming around, based on his combined 7-of-10 performance from the line against the Wizards and the Knicks. The rookie point guard had three games with five turnovers after the Magic went to a more up-tempo approach in January but has avoided numbers like that since Borrego began making defense a primary focus. Overlooked in the loss at Washington were Payton's career-high six steals that further illustrated why the Magic thought so highly of him going into last year's draft. Getting to join Oladipo in the Rising Stars Challenge and being a late addition to the Skills Challenge was clearly an honor for Payton, who has still yet to miss a game for the Magic all season.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
