Justin Harper in France: Orlando Magic Rookie Scores Career-Best, But Strasbourg IG Drops Second Straight
by Evan Dunlap on Nov 5, 2011 8:33 PM EDT
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PrintSaturday night, Justin Harper played his most effective offensive game since signing in Europe, but his Strasbourg IG club lost to Chalon, 80-70, dropping Harper's team to 2-3 on the season. Harper shot 5-of-8 from the field (3-of-5 from three-point range) for 14 points in just 27 minutes. The Orlando Magic rookie tied former Pittsburgh Panther Ricardo Greer for team-high scoring honors. Strasbourg couldn't stop Chalon swingmen Ilian Evtimov and Malcolm Delaney, who combined for 37 points and eight three-pointers.
Harper's scoring total Saturday set a new career-high for him. In addition, he tallied five rebounds and an assist. In five games, he's averaging 11.6 points and 6.2 rebounds on 44 percent shooting from the field and 36.8 percent shooting on three-pointers. In his last three games, the lanky forward has connected on 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) of his triple-tries.
Orlando acquired Harper's draft rights from the Cleveland Cavaliers on the night of the 2011 NBA Draft. The former Richmond Spider projects to be able to play both forward positions at the NBA level, and has drawn comparisons to former Magic player Rashard Lewis due to his combination of size (6-foot-9) and three-point marksmanship.
Harper and Strasbourg next take the court on Saturday, November 12th, against Roanne, a team which features point guard Andre Barrett, who spent 11 games with Orlando during the 2004/05 season.
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For me, these stats are very hard to interpret...
since European basketball a completely different game from the NBA, and I know nothing about European Basketball. 14 points doesn’t seem like a lot, but I remember following Vazquez updates on this site when it seemed like he was putting up minimal numbers and people were constantly praising his play.
So for those who have seen him in action, how does Harper look overall and how can you gauge his specialness of a basketball player? I must say I am quite excited about this guy since we drafted him—probably due to the fact that the Magic haven’t had a reasonable draft selection since they got Courtney Lee. Probably also says how desperate I am that I think the Magic need breakthrough talent— from a rookie nonetheless. Sigh.
Nice to see the improvement in Harper's shooting
…after struggling so much the first few games on his three-pointers.
Chicago Blackhawks... 2010 Stanley Cup Champions
Chicago Bears... 2010 NFC North Champion
Orlando Magic... 1995 and 2009 Eastern Conference Champions
by Mike from Illinois on Nov 7, 2011 6:11 PM EST reply actions
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