This will be the first 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!

Andrew Nicholson (15 GP), Grade: Incomplete

MPG PPG REB FG% TS% PER 8 2.5 1.2 35 37 5.1

The former 2012 1st rd. pick (Hennigan's first draft pick in the organization) has become an afterthought on this roster. Nicholson has seen his playing time dwindle down from 17 MPG in 2012-13, to 15 MPG in 2013-14, and now 8 MPG this season. Nicholson participated in at least 75 games the last two seasons, but has only logged minutes in 15 games so far in 2014-15. The coaching staff has long given up on Andrew to contribute in any kind of way, and it seems that even the fan-base has moved on from Nicholson. 1st round draft picks chosen outside of the lottery are completely hit-or-miss, and it seems like this pick (at least with Orlando) was a miss. In very limited action, Andrew has posted the lowest WS/48 figure on the team in 2014-15 (-0.08, even lower than Willie Green).

Best Game of 1st Half: 11/19 vs. LAC - 10 PTS, 2 REB (5-9 FG)

Aaron Gordon (11 GP), Grade: Incomplete

MPG PPG REB TO FG% FT% TS% PER 15 5.8 3 1 58 67 64 15.4

Orlando surprised a lot of people in June when they made Gordon the 4th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The teenager from California struggled mightily in the Summer League, but was off to a very hot start in his rookie season. Unfortunately, Gordon was diagnosed with a fractured left foot on Nov. 15th following a game in Washington. Aaron only saw action in 11 games prior to his injury. His shooting numbers were surprisingly positive, but a lot of basketball pundits will point to an extremely small sample size. Before his injury, Gordon was leading all NBA rookies in TS% and PER. It will be interesting to see when he comes back the type of impact he can make on this team. At the halfway point, Aaron Gordon paces the Orlando Magic with an ORtg of 110 (again, only eleven games played - not a lot of shots, minutes, games).

Best Game of 1st Half: 11/7 vs. MINN - 17 PTS, 6 REB, 2 BLK (6-9 FG, 2-2 3P)

Devyn Marble (7 GP), Grade: Incomplete

MPG PPG REB FG% TS% PER 5 1 1 37 33 3.2

The former Hawkeye and 2014 2nd Rd. pick has had very limited run so far in 2014-15. Marble played (sparingly) in two of Orlando's first three games, but then didn't see action for two months due to a shoulder injury. Marble was sent to Erie the last week of December, but then returned to Orlando in 2015 and surprised everyone by logging 20+ minutes (has only played a total of 33 minutes in his career) against Brooklyn. I'm going to assume that Marble will move back and forth between the Magic and the Bayhawks (depending upon the schedule) for the rest of the season. I noticed during the Summer League that Marble had an above average ability to rebound the basketball for a wing player, which could be the case moving forward (his advanced stats such as TRB% and REB per 100 & per 36 put Marble in the same category as Tobias Harris and Aaron Gordon rebounding the basketball).



Jacque Vaughn, Grade: D

To this day, Jacque Vaughn is still one of my favorite college basketball players of all-time. Vaughn was undeniably the man in a Kansas Jayhawks uniform. I place Vaughn on a very short list of best college basketball floor "leaders" of all-time (in my era) with Bobby Hurley, Mateen Cleaves, and Shane Battier. When I heard Orlando hired Jacque Vaughn in 2012 to lead a youth movement and guide a rebuilding team, I was really excited about the leadership and voice he could bring to the organization.

Not a lot (win and losses-wise) was expected of Vaughn in 2012. Orlando's overall record slightly improved in 2013, the Magic even played near .500 ball at Amway (despite having the league's worst road recrod). After two seasons, most fans concluded that Vaughn wasn't the best X's and O's coach in the NBA, but also that his talent to work with on the roster was pretty limited.

I think most logical and rationale Magic fans didn't/don't expect Year 3 under Vaughn to be the year he guides Orlando to the playoffs, even in a weak Eastern Conference. Still, expectations of team improvement (30-35 wins) were not uncommon around these parts.

Vaughn can hang his hat upon the fact that Orlando has been competitive and shown vast improvement on the road (signature wins in Phoenix and Miami) in 2014-15. And that folks is about it...

Vaughn's Magic teams have really struggled offensively in his three seasons in charge. Currently, the Magic rank 28th in PTS/G, 28th in ORtg, and 30th in FT/FGA. Some of this can be attributed to personnel. We all know Orlando has recently identified defensive acumen and athleticism as desirable attributes in some of their players, opposed to maybe a developed offensive game. Yet our team defensive numbers are pretty pedestrian, certainly not dominant enough to mask the offensive ineptitude (14th OPP PTS/G, 17th in DRtg, 18th in OPP eFG%).

What has happened to Maurice Harkless's role on this team (and has his lack of a role affected others on the team emotionally)? Why does Coach Vaughn insist on playing Oladipo at PG for long-stretches at a time? Is Kyle O'Quinn more effective coming off the bench? Can Vaughn not find a way for Oladipo and Fournier to play alongside one another effectively? What was the love affair with Willie Green for over a month all about?

Simply put, Vaughn and his staff aren't getting it done with these young guys. In year 3, it seems apparent now more than ever that players are tuning Vaughn's messages out at times. The leadership and communication skills that I thought Vaughn would resonate with are clearly lacking at this time. I watched the pre-game conference Vaughn conducted prior to the Nets game last week, and just then I came to the conclusion that I had enough. He was snarky and sarcastic, but I think those attitudes were really just masks for a bigger issue: he just can't fix this team and take them any farther in their development. Morale is pretty poor surrounding this organization, and I'm starting to believe a change will be made at the end of this season. I've never been a fan (in any situation) of firing a coach just to fire a coach midseason if no positive and realistic option is readily available. But I do believe that in the 2nd half of the 2014-15 season, Jacque Vaughn will be coaching for his job. This team is broken right now. Some of the parts just don't fit. Some of this falls on JV, a lot of it does not. Unfortunately, the coach is often times the first to go before players are moved, and I do think this will eventually be the case.