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By John Denton
Feb. 8, 2016
ATLANTA – The way that Elfrid Payton aggressively sought out shots, played with confidence and stroked jump shots on Sunday against Atlanta’s sagging defense, that’s what the Orlando Magic need every night from their second-year point guard, head coach Scott Skiles said.
The Hawks make no secret about the fact that they want Payton shooting the ball, and they have used lightly regarded defender Kyle Korver on Orlando’s point guard in the previous three meetings this season.
Payton made the Hawks pay for sagging off him and daring him to shoot on Sunday, drilling five of 10 shots and two of four 3-pointers. The strong shooting helped Payton break out of another mini-slump and finish with 12 points, 12 assists, four rebounds, one steal and a blocked shot.
Skiles said that Payton – a 42.2 percent shooter this season – must be a willing shooter when teams like Atlanta are leaving him wide open. If Payton refuses to take or can’t make an open shot, it has a negative trickle-down effect on the Magic’s offense.
``Atlanta puts Korver on Elfrid to start the game and they play way off of him and he was able to make them pay for it,’’ Skiles said of his point guard, who averages 10.8 points, 5.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.24 steals a game. ``We needed baskets and he stepped up and made plays for us. Of course, we hope it continues because when teams play off of you you’ve got to make them pay somehow. He did that (on Sunday).’’
The double-figure scoring game was Payton’s first in five games and the double-double in scoring and assists was his first in eight games. He has put in hundreds on hours on his jump-shot form last summer this season, and he’s become a much more confident shooter this season. However, Payton knows that teams will contest to test his ability to make shots and he has to confidently stroke them when left wide open.
``If it’s the right shot in the offense, then I’ll take it,’’ Payton said. ``It has to be within the scheme of things because I don’t want to be out there taking all the shots. It’s just about me getting my teammates involved and when my shots come I have to step up there and knock them down.’’
A.G. ON D: One of the most impressive revelations to emerge from Orlando’s defeat of the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday was the gritty, hard-nosed manner in which forward Aaron Gordon guarded standout Paul Millsap.
Millsap came into the game as one of the NBA’s most productive forwards in the NBA this season, averaging 17.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks a game. And in the two previous meetings against the Magic – both Atlanta victories – Millsap had battered the Magic for 13 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.5 steals.
On Sunday, he seemed to have trouble with the length and strength of the 6-foot-9, 220-pound Gordon. Millsap made just five of 14 shots and only for of 11 shots in the second half as the Hawks were putting together a rally to tie the game.
Gordon, meanwhile, blocked four shots – three of which were Millsap’s shots and another by cat-quick point guard Jeff Teague. Gordon, 20 and in just his second NBA season, also chipped in 11 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and two steals to offset a poor shooting night.
``Paul Millsap is a very fun cover because he does a lot of different things,’’ Gordon said. ``He’s a strong guy and just giving him defensive coverages, I know that helps my team very much and I like doing that.’’
When asked if he thought Millsap would come back at him in Monday’s game, Gordon said, ``Oh yeah, but I’m going to be ready.’’
HAPPY BRONCOS FAN: Magic forward Jason Smith grew up in Kersey, Colo., a tiny town 57 miles northeast of Denver, so he was naturally a Broncos fan. He took great delight in Denver’s 24-10 whipping of the favored Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
``I was a little nervous the entire time because they kept it within (touchdown) difference the entire time and Carolina could have come back easily, but you have to take your hand off to the Denver defense,’’ Smith said. ``The MVP of the game, Von Miller, was insane. He did his job and he did it well. Both teams made their mistakes with interceptions and fumbles, but I’m glad the right team came out on top.’’
With the Magic playing a home game at 1 p.m. and having to travel to Atlanta afterward for Monday’s game, Smith wasn’t able to watch the TV feed for the first quarter of the game. But he was still able to track the progress of the game via friends and family back in Colorado.
``Just seeing all of the Facebook posts, everybody was so excited,’’ Smith said. ``We were excited seeing Peyton (Manning) get a second Super Bowl and we don’t know if this is his last year, then he can coast off into the sunset like (Broncos legend) John Elway did.’’
Smith said he tried to get a couple of his teammates to make friendly wagers on the game, but they declined because they didn’t want to pick against the underdog.
ANOTHER COACH GOES DOWN: When the New York Knicks fired Derek Fisher on Monday, he became the fifth NBA coach this season to lose their job. Kevin McHale (Rockets), David Blatt (Cavaliers), Jeff Hornacek (Suns), Lionel Hollins (Nets) and Fisher (Knicks) have been fired before the NBA All-Star break.
What makes all of those firings shocking was the relatively short time that each coach got before being fired. Blatt, Fisher and Hollins were midway through the second seasons with the teams that fired them, while McHale was in his fifth season and Hornacek was in his third season. Blatt guided the Cavs to the NBA Finals last season, while McHale helped the Rockets reach the Western Conference Finals last spring.
``I don’t know if (owners) have different expectations now, but we should be based on results. We work at the pleasure of whatever ownership has hired us,’’ Skiles said. ``If they make a change, I don’t begrudge people of that. But I know this is a temp job. They are and that’s what pro coaching is. Unless you somehow get in a spot and it gets to rolling, that’s how it is.’’