Stretched too thin, Orlando Magic defense just snapped
The Orlando Magic have made it a focus to make defense their identity. Lately that has not been happening and the defense is the reason.
It was clear in the second quarter the Orlando Magic did not have whatever “it” was to even compete with the Denver Nuggets. Maybe it should have been clear before tip off though.
The Magic announced the much-maligned Channing Frye would miss the game with an illness, promoting Andrew Nicholson to the starting lineup. Orlando was already without Tobias Harris and Dewayne Dedmon. The only reinforcement coming to the Magic lineup was Willie Green.
Orlando was shorthanded to say the least.
But with Evan Fournier and Devyn Marble missing time lately, this has been nothing new for the Magic. They have been fighting and grind their way to compete for some time now.
It has hurt them though in the area they care most about — defensively.
“We had a group out there that wasn’t focused, lacked the urgency, lacked the competitiveness to play a game today,” Borrego said. “Give Denver credit, they played well, but I don’t think we respected that group enough. I think we could have been much better today.”
Since March 4, the last time Willie Green played back-to-back games, the Magic have the second worst defensive rating in the league, giving up 109.9 points per 100 possessions. That is a major slip from where the Magic were when Borrego took over.
And it is a major slip considering this is the mentality Borrego has tried to instill the most in his team. The imprint he hoped to leave on this group moving forward.
“We had a group out there that wasn’t focused, lacked the urgency, lacked the competitiveness to play a game today.” –James Borrego
The Magic started off well enough, taking the lead and having an offense that hummed along and a defense that did enough to get stops. Then Jameer Nelson burned off some points as the bench came in, and the second unit could not maintain contact. The lead ballooned quickly as the Nuggets went on a 22-4 run to go up by 26 points.
“We’ve just got to stick to what we do,” Nikola Vucevic said. “Try to do whatever JB puts out there for us to do. Stick to what we do. Do what’s been working for us and we’ll be fine. We’ve just got to get back to that.”
The tone was set. The Magic were never back in the game. Denver capped the game with a 25-10 run at the end of the third quarter that brought the lead to more than 30 points.
The run was not all from the bench players. Starters were intermixed and they could not get things back either. The Magic’s thin bench though created several matchup problems. Willie Green was forced to play small forward and go up against Danilo Gallinari. It was no wonder he scored a career-high 40 points.
It was not an excuse. James Borrego would not use it as one and would not let it be one. They had enough bodies to play and you can only play with what you have at your disposal. Even at full strength that has not been much for these critical moments. According to HoopsStats.com, the Magic have the worst net efficiency rating with their bench players at -10.3 points per 100 possessions.
That 41-26 second quarter was about as exemplary of what can happen with an inconsistent second unit. Particularly after they had played so well in Friday’s win over Portland.
“That group has done well for us,” coach James Borrego said of his bench unit. “They have really helped us. They really helped us either extend leads or get back into games. The bench has been big for us. Tonight, I’m not sure where the lapses were or where the breakdowns were, but we didn’t get the same production or effort tonight.”
The answer is not very easy coming out of a blow out where so much seemed to go wrong and the team seemed incapable of digging itself out, even forcibly. The urgency was not there all night and things seemed to go from bad to worse.
The trends for the Magic overall are not good. Even as the team has put up better offensive numbers.
Borrego said he wanted to build a defensive identity. He said a defensive effort like Sunday’s is going to lead to more results like the one against the Nuggets. While eight turnovers in the second quarter helped feed the Nuggets fast-break offense, the team has to get back to its defensive roots some.
The early foul calls, Victor Oladipo said, forced the Magic to back off and not be as aggressive as they usually are. That certainly affected their defensive intensity and ability to dictate the game. Perhaps it should not have affected things this much.
Whatever the excuse, it was a disheartening night at Amway Center for the Magic. The corner was not turned. And more questions get asked of this group.
“I don’t think this is a huge step back,” Oladipo said. “These kind of games happen in the NBA all the time. You just come out and everything seems to be going wrong and everything is going right for the other team. At the end of the day, we’ve got to get everybody healthy, and we’ve got to come back strong.”