Kyle O’Quinn’s starting campaign

With Nikola Vucevic out with a back injury the past four games, Orlando needed someone to step in. Fresh off an injury himself, three-year veteran Kyle O’Quinn has answered the call.

In Vucevic’s absence, Kyle O’Quinn is contributing more than 13 points, one block, one steal and almost five rebounds per game in just 17.5 minutes per game.

Sure some might call it a hot streak, but in these five games O’Quinn is doubling his points per game average from the 2014 season.

Overall this season O’Quinn is averaging close to 10 points and more than four rebounds per game in less than 17 minutes per game. To put into perspective how great that is, Kyle O’Quinn’s stats per 36 minutes would be 21.3 points, 2.8 blocks, 1.7 steals, 4.2 assists, 9.7 rebounds while shooting better than 60 percent from the field.

With such a rapid ascent in basketball talent, O’Quinn is making a strong case to make a permanent spot in the Orlando Magic’s starting lineup. He is certainly not going to replace Vucevic in the starting lineup long-term, so the only other option in the frontcourt is Channing Frye.

Though the Magic are highly invested in the stretch four at more than $8 million in salary this season, it does not take much to tell that Channing Frye is struggling. This year, Frye is only averaging 8.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in more than 32 minutes per game.

If we look at Frye and O’Quinn’s stats side-by-side, keeping in mind their minute totals, to me it becomes clear-cut O’Quinn should be a permanent figure in the starting lineup.

Outside of statistics, Kyle O’Quinn seems to fit the Magic’s style of play. He is not a 3-point shooter – a style the Magic have started to move away from post-Stan Van Gundy era – but he brings one of the biggest outside the stat sheet intangibles that Magic lack –toughness.

In a growing era of big men who do not even look “big” and instead of working down low for easy points, they would rather shoot the ball like everyone else, O’Quinn stands out. He is decidedly not that guy. Sure he has an 18-foot jumper, but in the 2014 season O’Quinn takes 63 percent of his shots from the paint and the short corners. Frye shoots less than 20 percent of his shots in the paint and 55 percent of his shots come from behind the 3-point arc.

Channing Frye will never be seen bodying up big men for position, and to me would be better served as a player who can score off of the bench. The Orlando Magic have players who can score in the starting five, but outside of that the scoring talent drops off significantly.

O’Quinn is the kind of player that provides intangibles that help keep a team together. His numbers do not look too shabby either — one more for you, he has an amazing 28.3 PER, the best on the team and a number that is sure to be brought up as he prepares for free agency this summer.

Maybe coach Jacque Vaughn give O’Quinn the nod to start when Vucevic gets back, or at the least give the best beard in Orlando more than 17-minutes per game.

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