This is the third in a series of four Midterm Progress Reports I will be posting which analyzes, assesses, and critiques Orlando's 1st half of the 2014-15 NBA season.

In the comments section below, please feel free to agree or disagree with any of my assessments. Enjoy!

Ben Gordon (37 GP), Grade: B+

MPG PPG REB FG% 3P% TS% PER 15 7.2 1.2 46 39 56 12.6

Orlando signed Ben Gordon this past summer to a two-year deal, with the second year being non-guaranteed. While a lot of fans (including myself) scoffed at the idea of signing Gordon because of his lack of production the last couple seasons, the signing now looks very low risk-medium reward. Gordon seemed to be on his way out of the NBA, but he has used his opportunity in Orlando to possibly extend his career. It will be interesting to see if a) Orlando decides to parlay Gordon's solid shooting numbers off the bench into a trade with another team, bringing back to the Magic an asset & b) What could they possibly get for B. Gordon (2nd rd. pick?)...

A 12.6 PER for a back-up shooting guard is a very strong efficiency rating. Out of qualified SG's, B. Gordon's 56% TS% ranks 4th behind only Kyle Korver, Jared Dudley, and Jimmy Butler in the Eastern Conference. I knew his numbers weren't going to necessarily jump off the page because of his limited minutes, but that's acceptable because I think the consensus around here is that we only want Gordon to play 15-20 MPG.

So why did Ben earn a "B+" if his shooting as been so exemplary you ask? Gordon is just awful defensively. Gordon is tied with Fournier and Willie Green for the worst DRtg (111 pts per 100 possessions) on the team.

Best Game of 1st Half: Gordon scored in double-figures 13 times in the 1st half of 2014-15, but his best game to date came in the home opener against the Wizards.

11/30 vs. Washington - 22 PTS, 4 AST (7-12 FG, 2-5 3P, 6-7 FT)

Kyle O'Quinn (25 GP), Grade: B-

MPG PPG REB BLK AST TO FG% FT% TS% PER 19 7.1 4.5 1 1.4 1.3 47 87 54 14.8

The 1st half of Kyle's 2014-15 campaign has been very up and down. After getting the start and playing 21 minutes on Opening Night in New Orleans, O'Quinn missed the next 15 games due to an ankle injury. Kyle was then ejected five games into his return in Los Angeles against the Clippers for a "Flagrant 2" foul.

O'Quinn recorded three double-doubles in the month of December and looked well on his way to a breakout season. Kyle posted a December split of 9 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK while shooting 52% from the field in 21 minutes. In my opinion, O'Quinn is one of the most gifted passing big men in the NBA. He has backed up that assertion by ranking in the top ten of PF's in the Eastern Conference in Assist Ratio (% of possessions that end in an assist).

Yet towards the end of December, something happened to Kyle's game, and he has been on a continual downward spiral ever since. Is he playing injured? Emotionally affected by Maurice Harkless's situation (Kyle's best friend on the team)? Is Kyle so bothered by Coach Vaughn that it's affecting his play? Has moving Kyle from a bench role to the starting unit changed his mindset? Is he spending too much time developing a three-point shot? Who knows what's going on with Kyle, but it's something very funky. He's playing with very little fire or emotion, which is really strange for (IMO) the emotional leader of this team. Especially head scratching is the fact that this is happening in a contract year for O'Quinn. Since recording a double-double against the Celtics on December 23rd, O'Quinn has produced on average a line of 3.3 PTS 2.6 REB 1.2 AST 1.1 TO while shooting 33% from the field in 17 minutes.

O'Quinn has continued to be solid for Orlando on the defensive end of the floor in 2014-15. O'Quinn ranks second on the team behind Dedmon in Blocks per/36 minutes & per/100 possessions, and third on the team behind Vucevic and Dedmon in Rebounds per/36 minutes & per/100 possessions. Kyle also leads qualified players on the roster in DRtg (102 pts per 100 possessions).

Moving forward in 2015, I will be interested to see how O'Quinn is used on this team. Is Kyle a bench/role player, where he can come in to the game off the bench and bring energy and stability while playing both the PF & C positions depending upon need, or will he continue to be used in the starting lineup opposite Nik Vucevic? At this point in his career, he seems like a fringe starter who is best served coming off the bench, but may have to start due to a lack of other options. As far as his grade is concerned, I tried to use my best judgment. We have very high expectations for Kyle, and Per/36 minutes, he is statistically having his worst season of his career to date. But you must keep in mind; the guy was a 2nd rd. pick, he's making less than $1 million this season. We are still getting a lot of mileage out of O'Quinn.

Best Game of 1st Half: O'Quinn started in this game in place of an injured Nik Vucevic and outplayed his counterpart, Andrew Bogut.

12/2 vs. Golden St. - 21 PTS, 11 REB, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 1 AST (9-16 FG)

Channing Frye (39 GP), Grade: C-

MPG PPG REB AST TO FG% 3P % TS% PER 29 7.6 4.7 1.3 1.1 39 39 54 8.5

Frye is a specialist. He's in the lineup to spread the floor and shoot the "3". Frye has made the most 3PT's, attempted the most behind the arc, and led the team in eFG% (54) in the 1st half of the season. In fact, over 70% of Frye's shots come from behind the arc, which is exactly what should be happening since he's just as effective behind the line as he is inside of it.

The long-range shot unfortunately is where Frye's game begins and ends; he offers literally nothing else to this roster. Unfortunately, Coach Vaughn has found very little success using Frye consistently in our half-court offense. If you look at Frye's per 100 numbers the last five seasons, he is making and taking basically the same number of 3PT's this season as he has been. The big difference this season is that he's not taking as many shots in general (12 attempts per 100 possessions, compared to 17-20 attempts in prior years).

Frye is a stretch four who struggles mightily to defend stretch fours on the other end. To his credit, this is nothing new. Frye posted a DRtg of 107 in the 1st half of '14-15, which matches his career average. Crazy stat of the day: Frye's DWS (defensive win shares) value is 1.1, yet his OWS (offensive win shares) number is much lower (0.1). The Hollinger advanced stats from the 1st half of 2014-15 for Frye are not kind. Frye ranks dead last amongst PF's in the Eastern Conference in PER, Value Added, and Estimated Wins Above Replacement.

I like Frye as a reserve that plays 18-20 MPG on this roster. I hate him as a starter who plays 30+ MPG, something he did often in the 1st half of the season.

Best Game of 1st Half: 19 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST (7-15 FG, 5-8 3PT), 43 MINUTES!!!!

Elfrid Payton (40 GP), Grade: B-

MPG PPG REB STL AST TO FG% FT% TS% PER 26 6.7 3.6 1.4 5.3 2.2 39 48 41 11

Elfrid has been the most difficult to assess and grade all season long. He's 20. Rookie PG's usually aren't given this much responsibility this early in their careers, especially late-lottery picks. Orlando's roster offers very few options at PG, so Payton has been thrown to the fire in 2014-15. IN a lot of ways he has responded very nicely, but of course he has his severe limitations as well. Still, I have admittedly used a significant curve when grading Payton to this point.

Payton is the best playmaker on this roster (which isn't saying much). He leads the team in assists, assists per/36 & per/100, and AST%, steals per/36 & per/100, and STL%. Expectedly, he also paces the team in TO's per/36 & per/100, as well as TO%. I must say in Payton's defense, the turnovers have not been as egregious as I anticipated.

Payton leads all NBA qualified rookies in Assists, APG, and AST%. In fact, Payton ranks 2nd out of ALL PG's in the East who have played at least 20 minutes in AST% (behind only John Wall. Rondo is 1st on the list, but of course now plays in Dallas). That stat, while amazing, also reflects Payton's lack of a willingness to shoot unless he's within 3 feet of the basket. Do you blame him? There's noting wrong with a pass-first PG, that is if you have other guys who can put the ball in the basket (which we don't have a lot of).

The shooting has been a disaster. We knew it would be. Payton ranks 36th in the East out of a possible 37 qualified PG's in TS% (right behind Rondo interestingly enough). Payton has a long LONG way to go with his shot, everyone realizes that. I have confidence Payton will put in the work. For me, I'm pleased with the fact that he has shown, despite his deficiencies, that he can make plays for others in this league (without turning the ball over too much). Payton has posted nearly a 3:1 A/TO ratio since being inserted into the starting lineup.

Best Game of the 1st Half:

1/2 vs. Brooklyn - 16 PTS, 10 AST, 9 REB, 3 STL (6-13 FG)