Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
As I’ve said before, the Orlando Magic are just fine with staying put this offseason. The highlight of their summer has been selecting Indiana swing man Victor Oladipo in the 2013 NBA Draft. In a draft class that wasn’t chock full of many future stars, the Magic made sure they took one of the few excellent prospects at number two overall.
While Oladipo will more than likely eventually become a starter on the wing, the other guard spot is still somewhat of a weakness. At point guard, the Magic have had Jameer Nelson running the offense for the past nine seasons. Remarkably, the team has not looked to try to find a legitimate replacement for him recently and are kind of stuck in 2013 with the same old, same old.
The 31-year old veteran out of Saint Joseph’s has been nothing but a mediocre point guard for most of his career. Quietly, he had his best season last year in terms of assists, averaging 7.4 per game. He definitely displayed great passing ability in 2012, but offensively he was pretty poor outside of that aspect.
Nelson put up 14.7 points per game last season on 39 percent shooting. For the Magic, a team looking to scrap and claw for every single win they can get, that’s simply unacceptable. 2012 was the worst shooting season of his career, by far. His career percentage from the field sits at 44.8, not too shabby.
If the Magic are to have any more success than they have had recently, Nelson must step up and take a bigger role on offense. Orlando isn’t exactly going to be contending for a championship anytime soon, but the remainder of Nelson’s career may hinge on how he performs in 2013. After all, the sports world is becoming more of a ‘what have you done for me lately?’ type of game.
Ryan Heckman is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmheckman, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
