Reviewing Adonal Foyle

This summer, 3QC will take a look back on each Magic player's 2007-2008 season. The first nine posts will evaluate, on an individual basis and in alphabetical order, the players who played in at least 20% of the team's total minutes; the final post will briefly evaluate the five players who appeared in less than 20% of the team's minutes.

Today, our focus is Adonal Foyle.

It's hard for anyone to get excited looking at Adonal Foyle's statistics. But let's be honest: we knew when the Magic signed him that he wasn't a long-term answer as Dwight Howard's backup, and that he wasn't an offensive force in the slightest. But even though he's the Magic's biggest stiff since John Amaechi, I appreciate what he does for them.

Foyle was one of four Magic players to appear in all 82 regular-season games. Each night, we could count on Foyle to give Dwight Howard his customary five-minute break at the beginning of the second quarter. We could count on him to work hard defensively and to hit the glass hard on both ends of the floor: that 15.5 rebounding rate is nothing to sneeze at at which to sneeze. Of course, we could also count on him to bobble at least one entry pass in that stretch, but that's besides the point. Who's more to blame for Foyle's dropped passes: Foyle, or the teammate who foolishly passed to him?

Curiously, Foyle fell out of the rotation in the first round of the playoffs when the Toronto Raptors went small and played Chris Bosh, a perimeter-based power forward, at center. Foyle, who specializes in low-post defense, simply couldn't match up with Bosh. Coach Stan Van Gundy looked to rookie Marcin Gortat instead, and Foyle recorded his first DNP-CD of the season in its 85th game. He only appeared in one game the rest of the playoffs. He had the distinction of being the only player to earn a DNP-CD in the Magic's 111-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons in Round Two. His disappearance raised two key questions:

• Will Foyle exercise his player option for next season or will he instead look to sign with a team that can put him in the rotation?
• Where the heck was Marcin Gortat all this time?

It appears as though Foyle plans to return next season, if for nothing else than because no other team can offer him playing time. He'll probably play a reduced role and not make the regular rotation. I suspect that Gortat will spell Howard for much of next season. And, as much as I appreciate Foyle's effort, it's probably for the best.