Magic first-year coach Scott Skiles and the front office took the then-19-year-old to dinner and seemed sold he had the physical abilities and the mental makeup to make it big.
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The move shifted the balance of the two lineups, giving the starters more spacing and shooting with Frye, and the bench a more proven slasher and finisher than they had.
Just how much more aggressive was he? Yet, Porzingis has proved that he is the further of the Knicks franchise, even team leader Carmelo Anthony believes it as well. Adding Frye to the starting lineup also should improve the Magic’s spacing and create more space for teammates to drive and more space for Nik Vucevic to operate down low.
In some ways, Skiles acknowledged, the decision is not fair to Oladipo.
At some point, the Magic must determine whether Oladipo and Payton – both below-average 3-point shooters – can share a backcourt. The Magic have shot better than 50 percent from the floor only once this season.
But Oladipo now finds himself coming off the bench.
The Knicks played the Magic tonight in Orlando.
Both teams continued to shoot poorly from the field, with Orlando shooting 32.7% and NY shooting 29.3% at halftime The Magic held a 46-35 lead heading into intermission. Festivities include: a guest appearance by STUFF, the Magic Dancers and the Magic Blue Crew; a Magic Fit exercise station, Pop-a-shot and Bounce House; caricatures, games, face painting, balloon art; and music by 104.5 The Beat.
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NY will attempt to end their losing streak with a 4-game homestand going forward, beginning by hosting the Miami Heat (9-5) at the icy Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The team ran several pick-and-rolls with Oladipo handling the ball at the top of the key, and he drove into the lane aggressively. The closest the Knicks got after that was three in the third quarter. But the Knicks scored seven unanswered and closed to within 76-70 after a Calderon three-pointer with 7:56 left. He got downhill and drew fouls and made shots.
