This is audition time for Mario Hezonja. Each game the Magic play, he gets to face a new team, a team that might be willing to open up their checkbook for him in the summer. Two games ago, the Bucks, last game, the Bulls, tonight, the Hornets. He scored 20 or more against all three, and with each successive scoring performance, his chances of getting a big payday go higher and higher.
There’s a lot of risk to signing him to a big contract. However good he’s been playing in the last month or so, it’s still only one good streak among three years of subpar basketball. Teams might be reluctant to give him too much, or too many years, or both. But I sense that some bad team will give him an offer he can’t refuse. That team may even be the Magic. They didn’t trade him at the deadline, maybe they still want him around and are regretting not picking up his option for next year?
Tonight was one of his more “highlighty” games. No dunks, but that one-handed catch and finish on the lob from Speights was better than almost any dunk I’ve seen from him. That spin in the post to finish with the finger-roll? Jeremy Lamb is still wondering where he went. Add in a bunch of swaggy jumpers (almost too swaggy, really, some of those were TOUGH) and no free throws (hell yes), and you have some sick highlights. And if you’re reading this from a future where he signs with your favored team, I hope you enjoy how sick he’s going to be for you this year.