Mar 27, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) talks to head coach Frank Vogel against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Magic 131-112. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
The Orlando Magic needed a player to make some sort of leap to keep the belief that their youth movement can work over time. Elfrid Payton delivered.
The Orlando Magic's 2016-17 season has come to an end and while the postseason continues on, now is a time for evaluation.
Although none of their players has come close to winning a league-wide award, that doesn't mean their achievements can't be recognized in house, which is why we will be crowning certain players with unofficial awards as we take one last look at the season that was.
Already we've looked at the MVP campaign Nikola Vucevic put together, despite many fans feeling he is a prime candidate to be traded in the near future. When it comes to this team's Most Improved Player, however, there can only be one winner, and that is point guard Elfrid Payton.
In his third season with the team, he had career highs in points (12.8 per game), assists (6.5 per game) and rebounds (4.7 per game). Other statistical highs included his Player Efficiency Rating (17.2), win shares per 48 minutes (.88) and offensive (104.7) and defensive (107.5) rating.
Essentially every part of his game improved, but sadly, the team as a whole did not. In fact, the Magic finished bottom of their division for the fifth season in a row, and won less than 30 games for the fourth time in that period.
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Despite that, they had the 15th highest attendance average in the league (17,753), despite putting a sub-standard product on the floor. The big thing that kept these fans somewhat entertained is also directly linked to Payton as well.
He had five triple-doubles throughout the regular season, a number which is already good for the highest in the history of the franchise. As quirky as that personal statistic is given some of the players the Magic have had through the years, it was really overlooked.
This was because the otherworldly exploits of both Russell Westbrook (42 triple-doubles) and James Harden (22) dwarfed what Payton was doing on a poor team.
Still, the five he put up was the sixth-most in the league, tying Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
As little as four years ago that would have led the entire NBA too, with Lance Stephenson amassing a league-leading five back in 2013.
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In any event, part of what made the Magic fun to watch after Christmas was the strides Payton kept making, and seeing if he would put up a triple-double in a game.
It was hardly Westbrook-level stuff, but for Magic fans Payton's play was exactly what they needed it to be: a young player showing promise while they ultimately lost most games, which in turn enhanced their draft position.
He really doesn't have much competition for this award either (Aaron Gordon isn't there yet, but is improving nicely), but this actually presents a problem for the team as well.
Do the Magic gamble on Payton's ceiling continuing to rise, or should they pursue a potentially great point guard in this year's draft?
For that reason, Payton's improvement couldn't have come at a worse time.
Then again, with players who aren't even professionals yet already snubbing the team, maybe they should stick with who they've got running the point.
The team needs to nail its lottery pick this summer, after years of missing out on top level talent or not giving their picks enough time to grow (see Oladipo, Victor).
At least in Payton and Gordon, the Magic have two players who still look like they could one day start for a playoff team.
Then again, a floor general who can shoot the ball well would also look really nice on this team, and that remains the glaring weakness in what Payton does on the court.
He doesn't shoot the ball well at all.
Often that doesn't matter, as he is so good at getting into the paint. In fact, 63.3 percent of all Payton's points scored came around the basket. The reason that number was lower than last season (69.2 percent) is because he tried to extend his range. It did not go as planned.
Payton attempted a career-high 1.8 three-pointers per game, making 27.4 percent of them. He hit 40 threes all season, a modest improvement on the 30 of a year before, but it took him nearly 50 more shots to get there (from 92 to 146).
For some context Marc Gasol, who had made 12 three-pointers in eight years in the league prior to this season, made 104 this time out.
It's an area that needs serious work, and yet Payton's aforementioned effective field goal percentage was a career-high. Not bad when you consider he doesn't have range to his shooting, and that his free throw attempts (2.6 per game) remained the same from the season before.
If he'd added a more dependable three-point shot, Elfrid Payton could have been the Orlando Magic's MVP this season as well.
Although it didn't happen, there were enough positives on display to put the team in a difficult position in terms of what kind of player to draft this summer.
Payton's style was one which fans enjoyed too, as he tried hard in every game, and looked like he cared when the result went against them.
One late season loss against the Charlotte Hornets stands out in particular.
As the team left the court, they laughed and joked with Hornets players. Not Payton though. He was straight off the hardwood alone, scowl etched across his face.
It's only a little thing, but in a season where the Magic needed to get the little things in order before handling bigger issues, it was nice to see.
Elfrid Payton was the Orlando Magic's Most Improved Player this season, and it remains to be seen if that will end up actually being a good thing or not.
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