Orlando Magic: Is D.J. Augustin justifying starting role?

Early in the 2018-19 season, is D.J. Augustin of the Orlando Magic doing enough to keep his starting role?

Coming into the 2018-19 NBA season, the Orlando Magic looked like they finally had their young core of players in place to begin to grow.

Forward Aaron Gordon, fresh off his offseason contract extension, as well as Jonathan Isaac and rookie Mohamed Bamba, were the foundational pieces of their prolonged rebuild.

To start this year Gordon has been underwhelming, while Isaac has looked good in the condensed role he is playing in and Bamba is playing like a rookie with all of the ups and downs that come with it.

Center Nikola Vucevic has been the Magic’s best player once again, while contributions from veterans on the roster have not been where the organization would like them to be. The big question mark for their starting unit before the season began was who would be the point guard to begin — and presumably end — games for them.

By default it was D.J. Augustin. Now that the games have started, however, how exactly has Augustin fared in this role he inherited by default? Is he doing all he can to hold onto that title, or is the Magic’s ropey 2-4 start on his shoulders more than we think?

To begin by arguing the case for Augustin to continue as the starter in Orlando, you only need to look at the players backing him to see that he is the best of a mediocre bunch at present.

The Magic have arguably the worst rotation of point guards in the NBA right now, to the point where some fans wouldn’t even mind seeing Evan Fournier or Terrence Ross on primary ball-handling duties more.

Jerian Grant, an offseason addition who was supposed to push Augustin for minutes, hasn’t been much of an influence so far. Given that this is his third team in four seasons and there are only so many chances he will get in the league, he should be doing everything he can to stick in Orlando.

That’s kind of the problem though. Despite having a preseason in which Grant showed he was willing to play competitively for Orlando and for his future, the talent level just isn’t there when playing against the deepest position skill-wise in the league.

Grant is so far averaging 8.4 points and 1.4 assists in 30.4 minutes per game. He’s shooting a terrible 17.6 percent from deep with an effective field goal percentage of 36.9 percent. Isaiah Briscoe is the other player who is there to push Augustin, but so far we have seen very little of him.

Given that head coach Steve Clifford is in his first year with Orlando, it makes senses that he would go with more proven players while their record remains respectable. Augustin is about as steady as it gets at the point guard position.

The Magic are going to struggle offensively this season. They have an offensive rating of 100.2, which ranks 29th in the league, but in Augustin, coach Clifford has a player who has been a part of the organization for over two years now.

So it is comforting for Clifford to want to turn to Augustin to implement his vision on that end of the court. Looking purely at the numbers, Augustin is doing a good job in various areas too. Unsurprisingly, he leads Orlando in assists with 5.0 per game, but that is also the third-best mark of his career.

He is also averaging 26 minutes per game, by far the most he has ever had in his time in Orlando (he averaged 19.7 in his first year with the team). Augustin is no longer mentoring a lottery pick in Elfrid Payton, stepping into the starring role himself.

His 3-point percentage of 39.1 percent above his career average to date as well. Beyond that, however, nothing else really excites. Augustin is simply serviceable at a time when the Magic should have a young floor general in place to grow with Bamba and Isaac.

There is a familiarity to having Augustin play with the starters that manifests itself in most games. He has spent over two years with the likes of Vucevic, Gordon and Fournier, and he knows where they like to get the ball and when to give it to them.

This is something that can’t be taught and only comes through playing with guys for an extended period. As we’ve mentioned, Orlando is going to struggle offensively this year and will need any edge it can get in this area. Knowing each other’s games helps.

Looking at the other side of the coin, Augustin still has reason to worry about seeing his role regress over the course of the year. The list of 31-year-old guards under six feet who start for competitive teams is small for a reason.

He isn’t going to get any better as a player; this is who he is and while there’s nothing wrong with that, he is clearly better suited as a competent backup. Seeing him have a bigger role will eventually hurt Orlando, especially defensively, where he is nothing short of a liability given his stature. You can never his question his heart in this area, but the Magic are giving up 112.2 points per 100 possessions when Augustin is on the court, the worst mark of his career.

If the Magic had a player who was a bit better on this end of the court, the combination of that player, Isaac and Bamba would be frightening to opposing offenses. As it is, Orlando is not getting much defensively from its guards.

Offensively, his fantastic ability to wiggle free in the paint to get a shot or a pass off masks how difficult defenders can make scoring for him. Augustin is crafty, but when opponents stay grounded and don’t fall for his feints, he struggles to get anything going.

That says all you need to know about D.J. Augustin as a starter for the Orlando Magic right now. He has started the season reasonably well, and he is doing as much as the next guy to make the organization competitive.

Really though, he has no direct competition for his starting role, and until he does it doesn’t matter how poorly he plays — D.J. Augustin is still going to start the next game.