When Vucevic and Augustin Sit

All this is good news but for one issue: When Vucevic or Augustin leave the floor, it all goes to bad. Augustin (+1.7/-4.8) and Vucevic (+1.7/-4.8) have the biggest on-court/off-court differential on the Magic, trailed by Fournier (0.5/-3.5). Part of the issue is that backup center Mo Bamba has been very bad (team worst on-court of -7.0) but Jerian Grant is right behind (-4.7). As this year’s first-round pick, you’ll live with Bamba’s struggles, but Grant is more inexcusable.

The replacement when Shelvin Mack moved on to Memphis this season, the 26-year old Grant is a lifetime 31.7 three-point shooter, and has never established himself as a credible offensive threat. At 6-foot-4 he has size, and that helps, particularly as a caddy for the 6-foot Augustin, and he’s creating 1.1 steals game while logging just 19.3 minutes. But his offensive deficiencies are responsible for a offensive steep drop-off that’s all the more stark given the large number of minutes he’s received. Grant’s net rating (per 100 possessions) is -11.2, almost four points worse than the other point guard, Isaiah Briscoe (-6.2), and only exceeded by Bamba’s gargantuan -18.4 differential, per NBA.com.

It seems like the best way the solidify and possibly expand upon the success the Magic have had this season is to address the point guard position. Augustin is having the best shooting season of his career, with the second-best field goal percentage of his career (44.3), second-best three-point percentage (43.6), and a career-high in true shooting (61.5). He also has a career-high with an assist-to-turnover rate of 6.1:1.9.

But at 31 Augustin is hardly the future, and his size is a big issue defensively. Opponents have shot 19-21 within 6 feet from the rim on Augustin and 25-33 within 10 feet. Last year opponents made nearly three-quarters of their shots within 6’ and almost two-thirds of those within 10’, 11.9 and 8.0 percentage points higher than expected, according to NBA.com’s defensive tracking stats.

The Magic have a lot to benefit from upgrading their backup point guard position, especially with Augustin playing only 27 minutes a game, presumably to keep him fresher given his stature and age.

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