Grantland scouts Victor Oladipo in Magic's loss to Suns

Grantland contributor Brett Koremenos took in the Orlando Magic's loss to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. His notes about Magic rookie Victor Oladipo's performance that night cap Thursday's NBA Shootaround piece at that site.

Oladipo finished the game with 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting to go with three rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and six turnovers. Given how rough those numbers are, it's no surprise that Koremenos felt less than impressed.

"Last night I saw a young player thinking too much and too little," Koremenos says, likening Oladipo's approach to playing point guard--he started there Wednesday in relief of Jameer Nelson--to the Joker's anarchic approach in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

"Instead of being aware of how his movements change the shape of the defense," Koremenos writes, "Oladipo merely reacts to the consequences of his actions." And though Oladipo has drawn praise for his defense throughout his collegiate and professional careers, he didn't impress Koremenos at that end either, nothing that the Indiana product "showed little effort" defensively.

Visit Grantland for Koremenos' full assessment of Orlando's young guard, which includes reasons for optimism despite his uninspiring performance against Phoenix.