Orlando Magic: Defending D.J. Augustin as the starting PG

After Hoops Habit ranked Orlando Magic starting point guard D.J. Augustin dead-last in its point guard rankings, it’s time to come to his defense.

Our champion over here at Hoops Habit, editor-in-chief Gerald Bourguet, had this to say about Orlando Magic starting point guard D.J. Augustin in his rankings for all 30 projected starting point guards in the NBA for the upcoming 2018-19 season:

"“It’s fitting that the team with the worst point guard rotation in the league also has the worst starting point guard in the league. Maybe it’s disrespectful to put D.J. Augustin dead last, behind rookies like Trae Young and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but at this stage of his career, he’s for sure the least exciting starting PG in the NBA.”"

He’s not wrong about the Magic having the worst point guard rotation in the league, which at this point looks to have been done on purpose. He’s not wrong about Augustin not being an exciting player, as he is not super flashy. He wasn’t even wrong about intimating later in the piece that Augustin might just be a placeholder for Jerian Grant or a bigger move next offseason.

The one area that needs defense, however, is that Augustin was placed him dead-last behind rookie Trae Young. Yes, Young will have better stats, but he will also be playing for the worst team in the league and have the ultimate green light.

Augustin knows his role and plays it to a T. He won’t necessarily win games for Orlando, but he won’t shoot them out of ones like Young could. He will provide all-around solid play for the Magic this season and could even surprise people with an offensive game that is perpetually slept on.

Last season, Augustin averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 assists and 2.1 rebounds in only 23.5 minutes a game. He also had shooting splits of .452/.419/.868, with his field goal percentage being a career high. If you stretch those numbers out to per 36 minutes, his averages look good: 15.7 points, 5.9 assists and 3.3 rebounds. Per 100 possessions, Augustin averaged 21.3 points, 8.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds.

Augustin also had one of the best spot-up effective field goal percentages in the NBA at 67.9 percent. The only point guards who were better last year are Chris Paul and Jose Calderon. However, Augustin has taken more spot-up jumpers than both Paul and Calderon combined. Once again, he’s an effective shooter.

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This tells me two things: Maybe Augustin should get more minutes based on his per 36 numbers, and maybe Augustin is slept on harder than previously thought.

Yes, this is a stretch, but someone has to defend him, right? I personally have been a fan of Augustin since his college days at the University of Texas and he is still a serviceable starting guard in the league.

Throughout his career, Augustin has been reliable. He’s rarely injured, with only one season where he played less than 50 games. He’s steady, averaging 9.6 points a game for his career, and is constantly looked at as a leader for the teams he plays on. No, he is not the future for Orlando. But for the 2017-18 season, he is a veteran presence who knows how to play within a system and run an offense.

I think Augustin’s biggest asset to this team is that he knows his role well. His job will be to get the ball to Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and others in position to score. He is a capable scorer himself when he needs to be, but that’s not going to be his job. He will be able to run an efficient offense under head coach Steve Clifford and will use his veteran know-how to be a positive presence both on and off the court.

I look at D.J.’s role like Mario Chalmers with the Miami Heat, except Augustin is better in every facet. What I mean by this is, Augustin will bring the ball up the court, pass to a wing and clear out. He can knock down a jumper when things get clogged in the paint as an above 40 percent 3-point shooter, and is also effective in finishing in the paint. The guy averaged more than 10 points a game only shooting 7.2 times a game on average. He is effective and efficient, and this trend should continue next season.

Augustin will fit in well this season with Orlando’s youth movement, surprisingly. While he isn’t the long-limbed point guard they will probably look for in the future, he will do a good job this year in getting the ball to the right spot and being able to score when needed. While I also like Jerian Grant and could see him taking over starting duties at some point this season, for now, Augustin is a solid starter. He brings reliability, experience, efficient scoring and knowledge.

I want to argue for a spot higher on the point guard list that Hoops Habit published. I think that Augustin will be better for his team this season than Trae Young will be, and he could maybe be better for his team than someone like former Magic point guard, Elfrid Payton (ranked 27th) who might wind up coming off the bench. Let’s not sleep on D.J. He’s the best Orlando’s got right now.