Searching for J.J.

ESPN's Daily Dime had its No. 1 box on one J.J. Redick by Florida Today's John Denton.

Redick's story is well-known. He languished on the bench for two years. requested a trade in December last season. Re-dedicated himself in the offseason and played fantastic in summer league. Played extremely well in the preseason, earning him the first spot behind Mickael Pietrus at shooting guard. Struggled in the first few games and was buried again on the bench. Then got another chance because of injuries to Keith Bogans and Pietrus.

So far, Redick has not taken advantage of his opportunities.

His stats are less than impressive. The third-year player from Duke is averaging 4.4 points per game in 18.1 minutes per game. He is shooting just 31 percent from the floor and an uncharacteristic 29.4 percent from 3-point range.

Redick is certainly not playing as the poster child of of Better Basketball's shooting videos. Coach Stan Van Gundy still thinks he is a great shooter, and I do too.

So why is he struggling so much?

It does not seem to be so much his shooting form or his effort. He is getting open shots and has always been a player that is capable of scoring when he is on the court -- look at his stats from the past two years, when he is in the game he scores.

But it does not seem to explain why Redick is struggling so much. I have not been able to watch a lot of Magic games. But in the three games I saw this weekend, I could not find much wrong in the way he is playing.

What does seem to be missing is something he had in abundance at Duke.

His trademark cockiness.

Redick knows he is not going to be a star in the NBA (I could have told you that on Draft night when he was picked No. 11). But that doesn't mean he shouldn't act like one now that he has the chance to play.

When Redick was going into games last season, he was going out there trying to prove that he deserved playing time. Now that he is out there, it seems like the fire is gone a little bit -- at least the fire in his attitude, I am not questioning his effort.

For Orlando to be successful right now, the team needs J.J. to find his shooting touch. And it has to start with him. Nothing mechanically is wrong with him. He just needs to go out and prove that the Magic did not make a mistake in picking him.