After getting traded from the Sixers to the Magic at the trade deadline for a 2nd round pick, James Ennis basically became their full-time starter at the small forward position. He continues the long, prestigious line of Magic SF’s which includes Moe Harkless, Jeff Green, Jonathon Simmons, and Mario Hezonja.
On a side note, I think I just discovered one reason why the Magic are never anything more than a mediocre team destined for bad lottery odds or to be first-round fodder.
Despite being the starter, Ennis didn’t manage to generate a highlightable performance until last night. He would sometimes score in double digits, but he would never score the amount of points that makes this particular highlight maker go, “Wow! That’s a fairly large amount of points!” Now I am in my highlights den saying those exact words, because sixteen points is a fairly large amount of points for somebody like Ennis. It’s also his second-highest-scoring game of the season, and only four points off his season high.
It was the last game of the regular season so Ennis decided to channel his inner Dirk for some nifty fadeaways. Has he always been able to do that? Probably, it’s just that if he tried those moves when the game mattered, he would get benched. Are Dirkaways from Ennis they secret key to Magic playoff success? Maybe! They should try it and see how it goes.