A non sexy name who will come cheap. Not any good lately, especially from deep. Up until the last two seasons he was a 38% 3PT shooter. Maybe it was the injury?
This season isn't about the wins anyway. Just a cheap option.
C.J. Watson’s subtle impact helping Orlando Magic
28w ago
C.J. Watson, Orlando Magic, P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns
Nov 23, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard C.J. Watson (32) shoots the ball over Phoenix Suns forward P.J. Tucker (17) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
C.J. Watson‘s statistics look poor this season. Yet Frank Vogel has continually turned to the veteran guard for his subtle impact on the floor.
C.J. Watson’s play is very much like his public personality.
Watson is relatively unassuming. He generally keeps quiet. His responses to the media — when they do ask for him — tend to be short and to the point. Watson stays on message and speaks somewhat in cliche and generalities. It is easy to forget Watson is around.
Watson’s seeming absence has characterized his two years in Orlando so far. He missed most of last season with a mysterious calf strain, keeping the veteran on the sidelines as the team’s season blossomed and unraveled. The Orlando Magic never got to see what he might provide the team as a steadying force and shooter.
This season, Watson got buried a bit in the rotation crunch. The Magic added Jodie Meeks at shooting guard and D.J. Augustin at point guard to push him out of the rotation. But with Evan Fournier injured, the Magic have turned to Watson somewhat controversially to fill those backup shooting guard minutes.
Watson is averaging 2.7 points per game and shooting a 36.2 percent effective field goal percentage. In his latest stint in the rotation the past six games, he is averaging 4.2 points per game and shooting 31.3 percent from the floor and an icy 17.6 percent from beyond the arc.
It is admittedly hard to justify his play by his individual statistics. He does not do a lot that impacts the box score. Eventually, his struggles hitting shots are going to push him out of the rotation. Almost certainly when Evan Fournier returns, his minutes will dry up. Yet Watson still plays a major role for the Magic.
The reason Watson plays is something different. It is not necessarily what he provides on a box score, but perhaps the versatility and knowledge he brings. Watson is rarely in the wrong spot on either end of the floor. He is not a player who is going to make a ton of mistakes.
His role is to settle things down and do something much more subtle.
“[C.J. and Damjan Rudez are] guys who know what they are doing,” coach Frank Vogel said last week. “On both ends of the court, they have great IQs. I told C.J. the other day that was most productive 0-for 4 performance [against Memphis] maybe I have ever seen. He played really well and didn’t make a shot.”
Watson concurred. He said his role is to come off the bench and bring energy, trying to change the pace of the game. His job is to “make shots, play hard on defense and try to keep everyone settled.”
Fans can certainly debate whether he does that successfully.
RIP mags