The Orlando Magic have lost four games in a row and have now fallen out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Despite the bad run they are currently on, the Magic have had a nice season so far, as some of their young guys seem to be taking the step forward they had hoped. Victor Oladipo, though, has been a bit underwhelming so far this season, and because of that, his role has changed a few times. Oladipo has started the past couple of games, and it looks like that may continue, according to Dana Gauruder of HoopsRumors.
Oladipo started the season in the starting lineup before being moved to the bench when the Magic went to a bigger lineup. The 23-year-old guard has spent the majority of his time this season coming off the bench, but he was recently moved back into the starting lineup as the point guard. This move coincided with Elfrid Payton missing a couple of games with an ankle injury, but it appears head coach Scott Skiles would have made the move anyway, as he was noticing regression from his team on defense.
"It makes sense to put my best defensive player back out there. Offensively it's a tough balance for a player as talented as him whether to dribble, drive, do things like that, or if the ball movement is more important for our team. You play better when the ball is moving around, so they're not easy decisions. But we need him to be aggressive," said Skiles.
Oladipo is currently having the best defensive season of his career, according to the advanced metrics, but his offense has been way down. Skiles is trying to find the right balance with Oladipo, but he believes that if he starts him at point guard, it will make him move the ball more and it will allow him to let his offensive game come to him.
Oladipo struggled in his first start at point guard against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he had one of his best games of the season in his most recent outing on Monday. For the season, Oladipo's offensive numbers aren't pretty, as he is averaging 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and four assists in 29.1 minutes per game, but he is shooting just 39 percent from the field and 29 percent from three.
The Magic are hopeful that Oladipo can be a very good two way player, and so far, he has made the jump defensively, but it has come at the expense of his offense. Having him as the starting point guard is an interesting strategy to try and break him out of his season long slump but it looks like Skiles will stick with it for a little longer, even when Payton comes back.
