The Los Angeles Clippers did not play their best game and threw the ball around to give the Orlando Magic a chance. But the Magic had no chance in the end.
Chris Paul did not need to be sharp at all points of the Orlando Magic’s 107-93 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Amway Center on Friday. He just needed to be sharp enough to send the Magic reeling and down into their pit of depression, get them questioning their defensive principles again and struggling on offense.
Beating the Orlando Magic these days is not an incredibly difficult thing to do. With the team having lost 15 of 17 games, teams are having their way with the Magic. The games seem to follow the same pattern.
So even when a team is as sloppy as Los Angeles was and gave Orlando every chance to play poorly and still hang around at home, it does not matter. That killer run is a moment away.
The Clippers had to know they just needed to clean things up and their opportunity would come.
In a 30-20 fourth quarter, the Clippers shot 13 of 21 from the floor and actually protected the ball with just three turnovers. Orlando committed nine and looked sloppy despite finally getting shots to fall. Lance Stephenson was getting into the paint with ease and continuing the general trend of the Magic’s poor pick-and-roll defense.
| Score | Off. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L.A. Clippers | 107 | 106.9 | 59.5 | 17.6 | 22.0 | 31.1 |
| Orlando | 93 | 92.7 | 44.4 | 22.4 | 17.9 | 34.6 |
Chris Paul (LAC) — 21 pts.; DeAndre Jordan (LAC) — 12 pts., 18 rebs.
Victor Oladipo (ORL) — 18 pts.; Nikola Vucevic (ORL) — 13 pts., 9 rebs.
The Clippers had their way. They just needed the opportunity to put the thing finally and fully away. The Magic, despite trailing by only four entering the fourth quarter, never really had a chance.
“We just have to find a way to be able to defend every night even when things are not going our way offensively,” Nikola Vucevic said. “After a while, mentally we have to be focused on that end. We just have to do it. There is nothing else to say.”
The Magic stayed in the game largely on the Clippers’ poor play. Los Angeles committed 22 turnovers that Orlando turned into 30 points. The Magic just struggled to sustain any kind of momentum. Their offense seemed wholly dependent on creating those turnovers.
Most of those 22 turnovers were not forced. The Magic totaled just six steals — Los Angeles in comparison had 13 steals leading to 14 fast-break points. Orlando had just four fast-break field goal attempts and had just six fast-break points.
The Clippers were keeping the Magic in the game with these mistakes because the Magic certainly were not taking too much advantage of them. Orlando made just 42.0 percent of its shots and hit on just 4 of 20 3-pointers.
Whether the Magic were climbing back into the game or not seemed wholly dependent on whether Chris Paul was in or out of the game. He scored 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting and dished out six assists with a robust +25. It was certainly not all him — he had six turnovers — but the Magic had few plans to stop him.
Orlando had few plans to stop anyone, giving up 54.1 percent shooting to Los Angeles and 19-for-23 shooting from the foul line. The Clippers scored 32 points in the pain on 16-for-21 shooting inside. They were not getting many shots in the paint, but when they did they were tearing the Magic up.
“We have to stick with the system,” coach Scott Skiles said. “We actually have to get back to the system. We’re allowing people to attack us and get to the rim and our rim protection wasn’t great. We’ve got to do a better job of making a stand there.”
That defensive backbone the Magic had earlier in the season is completely gone and Scott Skiles and the team have had struggles searching for it and getting it back. The Magic have had plenty of bad beats, but plenty of efforts where the team has just looked a step slow from the beginning.
Victor Oladipo said the team has to get back to the defensive end. At this point, the defense and offense seem to go together as they did throughout Friday’s game. Orlando buckled down and cut the deficit to four and threatened Los Angeles’ lead throughout the third quarter but could not get over the hump.
“I really think we just need to get over that hump,” Aaron Gordon said. “Teams throughout a game give you opportunities to put them away. It kind of happens once or twice per game, we need to take advantage of that. We just haven’t been doing it.”
The Magic had the lead down to two until Lance Stephenson hit a fadeaway jumper over two defenders to send it back to four. The Clippers started the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run and kept the Magic at a fair distance for much of the fourth quarter before putting the finishing touches on the game by midway thorugh the period.
Orlando did not shoot the ball well, but still had a chance to win before it simply folded.
Nothing is given in the NBA and the schedule does this team no favors. It is not anything the team can control anyway.
What the Magic can control every night is their effort and attention to detail and the gameplan. They can control their execution and the little things they have to do give themselves a chance. They all recognize how small that margin for error is.
Making the mistakes the Magic have of late has only revealed that more. Even when their opponent doe snot have their best.
Next: Why Rudy Gay would be a good fit for Orlando Magic
“We need to pick up our level of intensity,” Gordon said. “We need more discipline with the game plan. Also, when we’re in the game and we something is not working, we need to be better at making adjustments on the fly.