Orlando Magic seeking bench consistency to boost lineup

The Orlando Magic starting lineup since the All-Star Break has dominated opponents. It has brought out some of the weaknesses of the Magic’s bench.

The Orlando Magic held a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Saturday’s loss. The team had held the Cavaliers to 8-for-21 shooting and got a big boost from its starters.

Since the All-Star Break, the Magic’s starting lineup — with either Nikola Vucevic or Bismack Biyombo — has dominated the league.

The Magic’s starting lineup with Nikola Vucevic is second in the league among lineups that have played at least 75 minutes since the All-Star Break with a +16.7 net rating. The lineup with Bismack Biyombo, hampered by the loss to the Charlotte Hornets, is 14th with a -0.1 net rating. It was in the top three before Friday’s blowout.

The Magic have, in this short sample, played some great basketball using their starting lineup. Yet the team is 3-6 since the All-Star Break. Statistics suggest the Magic should be about a .500 team. Indeed, the Magic’s starters have largely done their job the statistics say.

The answer is somewhere else then.

It did not take long to look at Saturday’s final box score and see the outlier. The Magic played the Cavaliers evenly in the first, third and fourth quarters. Orlando lost the second quarter 35-26, virtually the difference in that 116-104 loss.

Indeed, Cleveland took control of the game in the second quarter. The Cavaliers went on a 13-4 run early in the second quarter to take an eight-point lead. The Magic’s second unit of D.J. Augustin, C.J. Watson, Mario Hezonja, Jeff Green and Bismack Biyombo were -9 in the second quarter.

Orlando faced an uphill climb the rest of the game. To star the fourth quarter, the bench unit fared better, shaving three points off the deficit before the Cavaliers regained distance.

This is the mixed bag the bench seems to give the Magic all season. Orlando gets some distance. But that period in the beginning of the second quarter is rocky. It has bitten the Magic a few times since the All-Star Break.

There is nothing the Magic can do besides staggering their lineup some.

"“I think it has been a mixed bag,” coach Frank Vogel said before Saturday’s game. “There have been times the bench ahs played really and picked up the starters. The starting group has definitely played better of late. It is a sign of encouragement.”"

That bench lineup of D.J. Augustin–C.J. Watson–Mario Hezonja–Jeff Green-Bismack Biyombo has played 28 minutes together with a -40.3 net rating since the All-Star Break. This all-bench second unit has struggled mightily it is clear. It struggles to score (97.7 offensive rating) and has obvious defensive deficiencies (138.0 defensive rating).

But adding in even one starter improves it in these small sample sizes.

Add Terrence Ross instead of Watson and you still have the offensive issues (98.5 offensive rating) but less defensive problems (106.8 defensive rating). Add Evan Fournier for Watson and things look really good (106.0 offensive rating and an 84.9 defensive rating).

Largely, the Magic’s heaviest bench lineups involve some mixing of the Magic’s backcourt options. The team feels fairly comfortable, it seems, balancing its lineups with its bigs whether it is Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo at center or Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green at power forward.

The Magic clearly have some issues shuffling the backcourt. This is both a sign of the team trying to manage minutes for Terrence Ross (33.2 minutes per game since joining the Magic) and Evan Fournier (33.6 minutes per game since the All-Star Break). It is tough to ask much more from them.

Orlando Magic

But it is also easy to see how much the bench units have struggled for consistency. There are moments when they play well — the bench was instrumental in the win over the Chicago Bulls going +7 with a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to seize control. Even in that game, the Magic’s second unit struggled early on going -7 in the second quarter.

To some extent, teams should not expect their bench to perform as well as their starters. There is a reason teams rely so heavily on their starters. But good teams need their bench to give them som consistency.

And perhaps the issue with the Magic’s bench since the break is that lack of consistency. They have been noticeably poor, especially in the second quarter, game after game. Orlando will have to continue addressing its depth rather than hoping to get a good stretch.

"“You have to trust those guys,” Vogel told Orlando Magic Daily after Saturday’s loss. “They have been good for us at times. When they started going on their run, we started filtering back in our starters. Those guys played a good second half and gave us good energy.”"

There is some potential relief coming. Jodie Meeks is still on the shelf and hopeful to return to the lineup before the season ends. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported he is out of his splint and starting to shoot again.

Jodie Meeks provided some incredible spacing and an offensive spark to the team when he was on the floor. Inserting him could greatly improve the team’s offense for its second unit.

The Magic will have to wait for that opportunity if it comes. The team, for the time being, will have to rely on the unit it has now. Staggering the lineups should help, but that will take away from an already-strong starting lineup.

With the Magic still trying to win, finding some consistent contribution from the bench will be critical. Then again, there is plenty of reason to rely even more on the starters. It is a tricky balance for sure.

Next: Orlando Magic need more than effort to compete with the best

For the Magic to have any success, it will need some support from the bench. At least something more consistent.