Orlando Magic frontcourt rotation capable of excelling

The Orlando Magic swept the Atlanta Hawks in a two-game set and a major reason for that was the strong play of its frontcourt rotation.

The Orlando Magic have struggled to establish a frontcourt rotation that is effective. For one game at least, the answer seemed patently simple: Aaron Gordon, Jason Smith and Nikola Vucevic all played great on the same night.

For one night, we saw how good this could be as a three-man rotation.

The rim protection the Magic have sorely lacked was provided by Smith, who came up with two big blocks on Kent Bazemore and a third on Tim Hardaway, Jr. Gordon came up with another block and Vucevic had his standard one.

Getting six swats from the three-man frontcourt rotation is a start — a day after the team totaled 10 blocks. The Hawks did still score 46 points in the paint and got big games from Al Horford and Paul Millsap.

But Orlando’s trio came up against one of the league’s most understated All-Star 4/5 combinations, and the Magic frontcourt largely held its own. And for as much as Horford blew up, Nikola Vucevic came back at him with one of his most impressive offensive showings of the season.

Vucevic scored on five straight possessions late in the third quarter. He started off the fourth by taking it left for a layup and then came back the next possession for a tough turnaround jumper on the right baseline.

Vucevic finished the night 11 of 16 from the field, and when it came to posting up the Hawks mostly lived with Horford’s results, because double-teaming proved just as costly. Vucevic dropped six assists in the game, finishing the contest with a season-high 28 points and 13 rebounds.

Smith had his stretches of flame throwing too.

Orlando’s first big off the bench hit his first three jumpers in the first quarter and then came up with one of the big blocks on Bazemore. Smith connected on another baseline jumper before swatting Hardaway on the glass.

He would not miss his first shot until the six-minute mark of the second quarter, and he tried to compensate for that by diving on the floor to collect the rare rebound.

Smith finished 7 of 11 from the field. He shoots 51 percent in the mid-range on the season, so this was a plus night even by his standards.

Orlando’s best two mid-range shooters just got it cooking and maintained the offense for large tracts of game.

Aaron Gordon had a tougher time with Paul Millsap, but that happens when 20 year olds guard veteran All Stars. He held Millsap to 5 -for-14 shooting Sunday in Orlando, but Millsap relished the challenge to fix his blemishes from that affair.

Millsap finished with an 8-for-18 shooting performance that resulted in 22 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks/steals. It was a big game, but the sense was there it could have been far bigger if not for Gordon.

Gordon had a double-double in his own right with 12 points and 10 boards. For the most part he did once again play excellent defense on Millsap.

The Hawks forward is just that good. He scored 22 on a night he was feeling it. That is keeping a guy in check.

Orlando did not do a particularly good job calling out switches, and Millsap was one beneficiary on 3-for-5 3-point shooting.

The Hawks put a scare into the Magic late with a three from Kyle Korver, but the Magic learned their lesson and stopped switching. Atlanta was unable to find any more open threes and Millsap launched a desperation toe-on-the-line two on Atlanta’s last possession that mattered.

When all things are said and done Orlando’s 4/5 rotation of Smith, Vucevic and Gordon matched Atlanta’s rotation of Millsap, Horford and Muscala with both trios scoring 54 points.

That is a big accomplishment for the Magic rotation because Atlanta’s biggest strength and advantage comes from its two big men. When the Hawks romped over the Magic last season, it was because Millsap had huge games and Orlando’s frontcourt produced so little.

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The Magic got big scoring nights from Smith and Vucevic and big defense from all three at junctures throughout the game Monday.

There is a reason why Scott Skiles played Gordon 28 minutes while giving just five minutes to Channing Frye. He brings defensive intensity and playmaking Frye is not even capable of.

Orlando will not have this trio outplay All Stars on a regular basis. It does not have to. It just has to form pairings based on tough team play and strong mid-range shooting.

Smith and Vucevic are the closest things Orlando has to guys with “automatic shots,” most especially when it comes to the mid-range. Gordon is the Magic’s premiere athlete and best defender, and he is becoming a double-double threat consistently.

It is beginning to resemble a formidable rotation, but it must become a thing of sustained consistency. The Magic will not have Vucevic and Smith combine to shoot 18 of 27 on a nightly basis. That is 66 percent shooting and far from the average of both players.

But if Orlando gets a par for the course offensively and sees the frontcourt defend like it did against Atlanta’s All-Stars, the result could be a component in this team turning around.

Next: What can we expect from Aaron Gordon in the dunk contest?

The Magic are now on a two-game win streak thanks to their temporary dominance of a tough Hawks team. The hope is that the frontcourt remains this productive as the schedule continues to get tougher.