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Orlando Magic Playbook: Defense and closing out

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Oct 13, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Miami Heat center Keith Benson (13) shoots over Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) during overtime at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Miami Heat 95-92 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Miami Heat center Keith Benson (13) shoots over Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) during overtime at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Miami Heat 95-92 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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In the first edition of our Orlando Magic playbook video series, we look at how the Orlando Magic handle dribblers and look to close out quickly on shooters

Wherever Scott Skiles has gone throughout his NBA coaching career, defense has followed. He has had all of his teams in the top 10 on defense at some point during his coaching tenure and that is a main goal of his.

The Orlando Magic struggled mightily defensively last year, finishing 25th in the league in defensive efficiency. This was a major step backward after the team showed a ton of defensive promise in 2014.

Skiles made it clear defense was an expectation and part of the team’s identity, offering no excuses for a young backcourt like Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton and numerous other young players willing and ready to defend to be this bad on the defensive end.

He immediately came in and set a goal for the Magic to reach the top 10 in defensive efficiency.

There is still a lot of work to do, but there has been modest progress. Entering Thursday’s games, Orlando is 17th in the league with a 99.2 defensive rating. Wednesday’s high-scoring game in Houston probably did not help the Magic’s defensive rating much.

There has been moderate improvement though and it is hard to miss. The team even coming semi-respectable defensively is a huge step forward.

So what are the Magic doing? Their rotations are much crisper and they are willing to sell out to help. That has led to some strong moments and exposed them in some ways as I explain in my first Playbook post of the year:

Indeed closing out has been absolutely critical to what the Magic are doing. It is really their last line of defense and it really is an art. A weak close out leaves an open jumper. A strong close out can either get the shooter to put the ball on the floor and allow the defense to scramble and reset or can affect a shot already taken.

This is a skill coaches drill into players. And nowhere is this skill more important right now than within the Magic’s defensive system.

Orlando has been better, but inconsistent to start the season. They will give up too much dribble penetration at times, leaving them exposed as they did in the video above.

Generally though, the effort is there to cut off the ball and scramble back out to the perimeter. The final piece is getting a hand up and giving the team a chance to get a stop.

As shown in the video clips above, the Magic are doing a better job getting around screens and stunting to the shooters to allow teammates to recover and close out again. The closeout though is ultimately the key piece to the defensive puzzle.

Orlando is giving up the most 3-point attempts in the league right now with 30.6 attempts against the team per game. However, the Magic are eighth in the league in 3-point field goal percentage against, giving up a paltry 29.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

A big reason is what is displayed in the video above. The Magic look to attack and stop ball handlers by flooding the strong side some and being in good help position, leaving 3-point shooters on the weak side open or strongside shooters within closeout distance.

A good closeout is really the difference between a rushed 3-point attempt and an open look within the defense as it is constructed right now.

And as noted, the results can be very good when the Magic’s aggressive defense works in sync.