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 Thursday for the rest of the season, FOXSportsFlorida.com'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, last week (season): 0.0 minutes (28.8), 0.0 points (11.9), 0.0 rebounds (2.6), 0.0 assists (2.1), 0.0 blocks (0.0), 0.0 steals (0.7), 0.0 FG percentage (43.7), 0.0 3PT percentage (37.4).
Advanced stats, season: 12.3 player efficiency rating (based on 15.0 league average), 53.9 true shooting percentage (accounting for free throws and 3-pointers), 19.8 usage rate (percentage of possessions used).
Trending: Down
Noted: Though Nikola Vucevic, Willie Green and Luke Ridnour all returned from their injuries for Tuesday night's loss at Indiana, Fournier remains sidelined with a sore right hip. He has not been in uniform since trying to play through the injury Feb. 25 against the Miami Heat and is questionable for the Magic's game Friday night at Boston. He ranks among the top 40 players in the NBA in 3-point accuracy but, not unlike many guards his age, is a less reliable mid-range shooter -- a shot he has attempted only 59 times in 56 games according to Basketball-Reference.com. With Fournier out, Victor Oladipo has averaged almost 40 minutes at shooting guard over the past five games.
AARON GORDON (age 19, first season)
Statistical averages, last week (season): 14.8 minutes (15.3), 3.3 points (5.1), 3.0 rebounds (3.0), 0.3 assists (0.6), 0.5 blocks (0.4), 0.0 steals (0.3), 35.7 FG percentage (50.8), 20.0 3PT percentage (40.0).
Advanced stats, season: 12.0 player efficiency rating, 57.9 true shooting percentage, 15.9 usage rate.
Trending: Down
Noted: The fourth player taken in the draft is starting to get somewhat more consistent playing time in coach James Borrego's rotation. But Gordon has played more than 20 minutes only seven times all season and not once since the first game after Borrego replaced Jacque Vaughn. On the bright side, Gordon was on the floor for most of the fourth quarter Sunday night, when the Magic defeated the Celtics and contributed this emphatic rejection of a shot by Jae Crowder in the final minute. The 6-foot-9 forward has only 13 blocks in 31 games as the Magic, despite moving Dewayne Dedmon into a starting role, continue to rank last in the NBA in that category.
MAURICE HARKLESS (age 21, third season)
Statistical averages, last week (season): 17.4 minutes (14.2), 5.3 points (3.3), 4.0 rebounds (2.2), 1.7 assists (0.7), 0.3 blocks (0.2), 1.7 steals (0.7), 36.8 FG percentage (39.1), 50.0 3PT percentage (17.5).
Advanced stats, season: 8.8 player efficiency rating, 44.8 true shooting percentage, 13.8 usage rate.
Trending: Up
Noted: When Borrego brought him in against the Celtics with a little more than three minutes gone in the second quarter, the Magic trailed 39-21. Fourteen points and seven rebounds later, Harkless finally looked like the player who made 100 starts in his first two seasons with them. "When you play so little all year, you never know when you're going to play. And sometimes it's tough to be ready," he said afterward. Harkless never got off the bench at all in the win over Sacramento, his 23rd DNP-CD (did not play, coach's decision) of the season. As effective as he was in establishing season highs in points, rebounds and minutes played, he didn't play in the second half Wednesday night at Milwaukee in a game the Magic were outrebounded 51-33.
TOBIAS HARRIS (age 22, second full season with Magic)
Statistical averages, last week (season): 37.0 minutes (34.7), 19.8 points (17.0), 4.8 rebounds (6.3), 1.5 assists (1.9), 1.0 blocks (0.6), 1.3 steals (1.1), 44.6 FG percentage (46.1), 36.4 3PT percentage (37.0).
Advanced stats, season: 16.7 player efficiency rating, 54.6 true shooting percentage, 22.8 usage rate.
Trending: Up
Noted: After nearly a month without scoring as many as 15 points in a game, Harris topped that mark in all four contests as the Magic went 2-2. He was their only player to sustain a high level of shooting against the Pacers and hit all four of his shots in the first half to help the Magic take a 57-54 lead over the Bucks. But he went 3 of 12 over the final two quarters and was frustrated about not getting to the free-throw line once in 39 minutes. Harris accounted for the Magic's only four points in the final six minutes of the 97-91 loss but also failed to capitalize down low after Vucevic got the ball to him with the Bucks nursing a two-point lead. He hoisted up 21 3-pointers in the past week, which was even more than the number gotten off by Channing Frye, the Magic's leader in 3-point attempts this season. Harris is a 50 percent shooter in 11 games on the second day of a back-to-back, compared with 44.8 percent with one day's rest and 43.1 percent with two days' rest.
DEVYN MARBLE (age 22, first season)
Statistical averages, last week (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 percentage (31.8), 0.0 3PT percentage (18.2).
Advanced stats, season: 5.9 player efficiency rating, 36.2 true shooting percentage, 13.2 usage rate.
Trending: Down
Noted: Marble underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a detached retina in his left eye. His projected recovery time is from four to six weeks, raising the possibility that the second-round pick out of Iowa could miss the rest of the season. Marble had appeared in fewer games (16) and averaged fewer points than anyone on the Magic before the injury.
VICTOR OLADIPO (age 22, second season)
Statistical averages, last week (season): 38.5 minutes (34.9), 20.3 points (17.4), 3.5 rebounds (4.1), 5.5 assists (4.0), 0.8 blocks (0.2), 3.3 steals (1.6), 42.0 FG percentage (44.7), 53.8 3PT percentage (35.3).
Advanced stats, season: 16.4 player efficiency rating, 53.9 true shooting percentage, 24.8 usage rate.
Trending: Up
Noted: As Oladipo goes, so go the Magic? He averaged 27 points and shot better than 50 percent in their two victories but went a combined 8 of 29 from the floor in the losses at Indiana and Milwaukee. In the 18 games the Magic have won this season with the guard from Indiana available, he is shooting 50.4 percent and has an average plus-minus rating of plus-9.7. In the 38 games they have lost with him, Oladipo is shooting 42.3 percent -- a shade over what he averaged in 80 games as a rookie -- with a plus-minus rating of minus-14.3. He's only a 59.1-percent shooter at the rim. By comparison, the Heat's Dwyane Wade is shooting 67 percent from that close this season. But Oladipo has cut down significantly on his turnovers since being guilty of a season-high seven March 4 against Phoenix, and he is 26 of 28 from the free-throw line this month.
ELFRID PAYTON (age 21, first season)
Statistical averages, last week (season): 37.8 minutes (28.7), 11.8 points (8.1), 4.8 rebounds (3.8), 7.5 assists (5.9), 0.5 blocks (0.2), 1.3 steals (1.5), 45.1 FG percentage (41.6), 0.0 3PT percentage (16.0).
Advanced stats, season: 12.5 player efficiency rating, 44.5 true shooting percentage, 18.3 usage rate.
Trending: Up
Noted: What rookie wall? Payton can match his longest streak of games scoring in double figures (five) if he puts up at least 10 points at Boston. That's not too shabby for someone who ranked 369th out of 387 NBA players a week ago in true shooting percentage. He also set career highs in assists (12) against the Kings and in rebounds (10) against the Celtics. "I just tried to stick my nose in there. A lot of balls were just bouncing my way, and I was able to grab them and start the break," he said after grabbing nine defensive boards in almost 42 minutes in the 103-98 victory. Payton has been far less of a liability at the free-throw line, having made 11 of 14 attempts over the past three games. But opposing teams continue to dare him to shoot from 3-point range, where his last successful try came more than two months ago against the Brooklyn Nets.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
