The Orlando Magic played without energy yet again and paid for the error. An early fourth-quarter run buried the Magic and sent them to another blowout.
The shot was no good, a rare sight for the Orlando Magic for much of this game. The ball floated in the air above the rim waiting to come down. Nikola Vucevic was staring at it waiting for it to come down and into his hands.
Andre Drummond was there though. He got past Vucevic time and time again, whether it was on this play or another. He pulled the rebound down and heads started drooping. Effort flagged and Detroit attacked.
How many times did Drummond or Aron Baynes pick up the rebound and kick it back out to Anthony Tolliver or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a 3-pointer? How many times did a Pistons player leak out or race down the court off the dribble in transition while the Magic were scrambling or looking for a foul?
Orlando had few pockets of energetic or precise play. The Magic seemed to be going through the motions some until the Pistons put them away.
Detroit used a 19-2 run to start the fourth quarter and buried Orlando 115-89 at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Monday.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando | 89 | 96.9 | 48.1 | 12.2 | 11.4 | 13.6 |
| Detroit | 115 | 128.9 | 56.8 | 41.9 | 9.3 | 23.9 |
Victor Oladipo (ORL) — 18 pts., 7 rebs.; Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 16 pts.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (DET) — 21 pts.; Andre Drummond (DET) — 17 pts., 12 rebs.
The Pistons made their run simply outrunning the Magic to the 3-point line, to the rim and to the glass.
Detroit made 14 of 30 3-pointers as one of the teams with the worst assist rates had 25 assists on 43 field goals. The Pistons grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, collecting a 41.9 percent offensive rebound rate.
The Pistons were quicker to every loose ball and parading through the lane. The Magic had no answer for Andre Drummond on the glass — 17 points, 12 rebound, six offensive rebounds. He was running easily through the lane as the Magic pick and roll defense could not keep Reggie Jackson or Brandon Jennings out of the lane and left Drummond free.
Orlando was poor defensively and had few periods where the team provided much resistance to Detroit.
Offensively, the team was still a bit of a mess. The Magic shot 44.4 percent from the floor but did not get consistent efforts from their key players.
Victor Oladipo was great and patient attacking the basket. He scored 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting. It was one of his best games. No one came up the rope with him.
Nikola Vucevic struggled to crack Andre Drummond, spending much of the first half searching for whistles. Tobias Harris had difficult finding shots — just seven of them. And Evan Fournier failed to score in 25:36.
Scott Skiles has long said the Magic have a small margin for error in these games. To win, everyone needs to be playing well on defense and multiple players need to be scoring well.
That formula has been knocked out of what as the defense as fallen apart and the team has lost its traction offensively.
Missing Elfrid Payton, missing his first game of his NBA career, was important for the team, even though Oladipo had a good individual game. He helps drive the offense and gives them good defensive energy guarding the ball handler on pick and rolls.
Orlando just could not find consistency. Trailing by 10 at halftime, the Magic played with some energy defensively and got the offense flowing again. They cut the lead to two and seemed poised to take the game down the stretch. When Orlando does that, the team seems to play well.
The Pistons retook control though. Firing in 3-pointers and sucking out the Magic’s energy with offensive rebounds and extended possessions.
When Orlando did get a stop, it was often thwarted with Detroit just going after the rebound harder, beating non-existent boxouts and making plays. The Pistons made the Magic pay every time.
Orlando can point to the energy level from the very start. It never really raised throughout the game. It has been a problem for a few games now.
Next: Orlando Magic have not yet moved up a weight class
And the beatings will continue until morale improves.