Jase Richardson claims a bigger piece of the Magic's minutes

The number is 69. That is the percent increase in Jase Richardson's share of the team's playing time over his last 3 games. His share went from 7.2 percent in the 8 games before to 12.2 percent now. His minutes a game moved by the same 69 percent, from 17.3 to 29.3. A jump that size changes how a guard fits into the Orlando Magic rotation. It is also the part of his season that deserves attention, because the minutes have arrived faster than the production.

Jase Richardson is a guard, 21 years old, and wears jersey 11 for the Magic. He was born in 2005 in the United States and played college basketball at Michigan State. Orlando took him in round 1, pick 25 in 2025, which makes this his first season in the league. He stands 185 centimeters and weighs 82 kilograms. He has appeared in 11 games with data this season, and the Magic have played 11, so he has been in the mix from the start. Of those, he started 7.

The season line is modest. Richardson averages 20.5 minutes a game and a usage of 8.6 percent, which ranks 8th among 18 on the roster. The last 3 games tell a different story. His usage over that stretch is 12.2 percent, against 7.2 percent in the 8 games before. The minutes track it. He played 29.3 a night over the last 3 games and 17.3 before that. In the last 5 games the box scores read 17 minutes, 14, 33, 26 and 29. The two largest workloads are the most recent ones.

Here is the catch. Richardson is measured against 153 guards, and his points, rebounds and assists per 36 minutes come to 19.27. That puts him in the 13th percentile, well under the peer median of 26. Over the last 5 games the figure slips to 16.34, a drop of 15 percent. His usage sits in the 44th percentile among guards, so the ball is finding him at a near-average rate. The output per minute is not keeping up. The box scores show scoring lines of 6, 10, 4, 4 and 9 points. The minutes are being given, not yet earned.

The role itself has not changed. He started 3 of the last 3 games and 4 of the 8 before that, so the starting spot is not new. What moved is the workload attached to it. A starter who plays 17.3 minutes and one who plays 29.3 are different players in a game plan, even with the same label. The Magic have chosen to lean on him, and the next few box scores will say whether the choice holds.

The next test comes Thursday, November 5, at 9:00 PM EST, when the Magic visit the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Phoenix is 1-3 and plays on 1 day of rest. The number to watch is defensive. The Suns have allowed 122.8 points a game over their last 5, against a league average of 114. That is an opening for any guard who gets the minutes, and Richardson is getting them. Whether he turns the room into points is the open question.

The expectation is about the minutes, because that is where the role shows. His average over the last 5 games is 23.8 and his season average is 20.5. His last 3 games ran far higher than both. I expect Richardson to play at least 24 minutes against the Suns. That is a modest bar given a recent run of 29.3 a game, and it keeps the claim on the workload rather than on a scoring line he has not yet found.