NBA Summer League 2013: Victor Oladipo easing into playing point guard

A listless Orlando Magic team fell victim to the aggressive Miami Heat on Tuesday, falling by a 94-80 final in the third day of Orlando Pro Summer League action. Despite the loss, Magic guard Victor Oladipo came away happy with the experience.

"I'm glad, actually, they did it today," Oladipo said of Miami's hard-trapping defense against him. "I knew it was coming. I didn't know what team was gonna do it. They did it today. I'm just glad they did it so I can see what it looks like and learn from it. It was tough."

Oladipo's defense, efficient scoring, and terrific demeanor led the Magic to select him second overall in June's Draft. They've moved him from shooting guard to point guard in Summer League as an experiment, with mixed results. The former Hoosier leads the Magic with averages of 17.3 points and 4.7 assists per game, but he's also averaging 4.7 turnovers per contest.

"I'm glad they did what they did," Oladipo said. "It just gave me a different look and a different thing that I can definitely learn from."

Despite Miami's defensive pressure, Oladipo still managed to go off for a game-high 22 points, including a 12-of-14 mark at the foul line. He also led the team with five rebounds and tied for the team lead with two steals, but he had just two assists against five turnovers.

As his high free-throw rate attests, there's no question that Oladipo can get to the rim to score. The next step will be tweak his playmaking instincts so he's a threat to score or pass once he gets there.

Fortunately for the Magic and their young guard, Orlando has the day off Wednesday. Oladipo said he plans to work out, shoot, and rest. "I know they want us to take a break," he said, "but I just got to keep that rhythm going. It's a whole new position for me, so I gotta but some type of work in so I can be confident for Thursday." In that game, he'll be matched up against the Philadelphia 76ers and Michael Carter-Williams, the 11th pick in the Draft.

Oladipo also plans to pass the time Wednesday with some film study, a habit he picked up at Tom Crean's program at Indiana. "My film's been helping me a lot," said Oladipo. "So I'm gonna continue to keep watching it and see what I need to do to improve."

One change is obvious to Oladipo even before looking at the film.

"I need to cut down on the turnovers," he said. "My last name's gonna change from Oladipo to Mr. Turnover Man, so I gotta fix that, definitely."

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