| Magic-A-Lee Productive Authored by Andrew Perna - January 7, 2009 - 1:45 pm
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Lee spent four years at Western Kentucky earning the reputation as an NBA-ready scorer with an above-average jumper and great offensive movement and awareness.
It took some time, and a few "unfortunate" breaks, but Lee has begun showing signs of just how productive he can be for Orlando as of late.
He made his first professional start on Tuesday night in the Magic's 89-80 home win over the Wizards. Lee scored 8 points on just 3-for-7 shooting, but added 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block to his statline.
Lee wasn't thought of as a tremendous defender coming out of college, despite his impressive steal numbers in school (1.9 career average), but the presence of Dwight Howard has allowed him to relax, and at times, gamble defensively.
"It's crazy knowing that if you get beat there's always going to be a dude there that's going to help," Lee told RealGM's Jarrod Rudolph of Howard last month. "He'll just do everything he can to get that block, and a majority of the time he gets them. It's been a blessing for me, you know if I mess up on a defensive assignment he blocks the shot and it clears everything up. It's good playing with a guy like that."
The rookie is averaging just 0.9 steals per game this season, but has grabbed 1.2 in his last 17 games with eight performances of two or more thefts.
Orlando, however, didn't bring Lee in for his defensive prowess on the perimeter. He was drafted largely because of his 46.3 field goal shooting percentage, and 40.0 mark from beyond the arc, at Western Kentucky.
He struggled in November, averaging 2.4 points on 32.4% shooting, but that can be blamed on inconsistent playing time. He's seen at least 20 minutes of action in 15 of Orlando's last 18 games. Of course, injuries to Keith Bogans and Mickael Pietrus have played a huge role in that.
"Coming from a system where I was 'the guy' to just coming in and settling down to define my role more as a scorer/energy guy when I come in has been the hardest transition," Lee said of NBA life.
Lately, Lee has shown coach Stan Van Gundy just how capable he is of providing both scoring and energy as a permanent member of the second unit.
He's averaging 8.3 points since the beginning of December, and is hitting 48.7% of his shots -– which includes 44.7% from three-point land. He's far from a go-to guy in Orlando, but he'll continue to adapt to his new role with hopes that he could blossom into a star on the pro level.
"I'm going to have to adjust and get used to it, and as time goes on maybe my role will change and develop into that again," he said of being one of the team's top options. "But as of right now I'm just continuing to work at things and do what they need me to do."
The Indianapolis native is only 30 games into his NBA career, but he has already noticed just how different the league is when you are a part of it.
"In college you watch an NBA game and you say 'this dude isn't playing hard' or this or that, but once you're out there they are going hard, man," Lee revealed to Rudolph.
Lee appears to be getting comfortable with the Magic, who have grown into a title contender this season thanks to stars like Howard, Rashard Lewis and the growth of point guard Jameer Nelson.
"There's a different pace to the game, and being the court with these freaks ... who are getting triple-doubles and double-doubles everyday is great."
Lee's in good company in Orlando, just like the Magic -- 27-8, fourth best record -- are in the NBA.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM’s Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. |
