Befuddling player rotations theme of Orlando Magic’s three-loss week

Stability is difficult to find with Magic head coach James Borrego unable to make up his mind as to which guys belong on the court.

The story of the Orlando Magic’s 98-83 loss can be told through a simple observation of assists to turnovers.

It reveals a tale of two halves for the Magic, the latter of which went awry as the team frittered away possessions and failed to move the ball effectively.

In his short tenure with the Orlando Magic head coach James Borrego has shown a commitment to not committing. Specifically, this is to indicate that Borrego is not favoring the rotations of his predecessor Jacque Vaughn.

Instead, the 37-year old is relying on a “What have you done for me lately?” stance, one which has rendered Elfrid Payton a marginal rotation player (after his starting stint, at least). Payton’s (most recent) backup, journeyman Willie Green, has made his value known both through his defensive intensity and aggressive, yet controlled, offensive attack.

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And if any of these changes could be considered an improvement, it is difficult to discern exactly how given that the Magic lost all three of their contests this week to the Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks and, most recently, the struggling Charlotte Hornets.

What is more, is that despite the shakeups in the backcourt, it has been really the only stable positions for Orlando.

Nikola Vucevic struggled badly with his shot against Charlotte, and in the contest against the Atlanta Hawks he was the lone post player on the court with four perimeter players throughout the fourth quarter. Borrego has gone small in crunch time, opting to go with three-guard sets that feature Willie Green at the 3-spot, often matching up against opponents like Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll, who boasted a full six-inches in stature on Green.

Next: Why tinker so heavily?