Orlando Magic Playbook: The education of Mohamed Bamba

Mohamed Bamba has not quite made the immediate defensive impact the Orlando Magic expected. He is still making progress and learning the league.

The Orlando Magic have competing interests when it comes to rookie Mohamed Bamba.

Investing the sixth overall pick in the 7-foot center obviously sends a signal they believe he is part of their long-term future. And after six years outside of the Playoff without a sniff of a star player, his otherworldly 7-foot-10 wingspan brought a lot of promise.

The Magic’s plan was always to bring Mohamed Bamba along slowly. They were going to have him earn his minutes behind starter Nikola Vucevic. And Nikola Vucevic seemed more than willing to teach him as much as he could as the season went on.

But nothing would prepare and teach Bamba quite like playing in real games.

His debut was magnificent. A 13-point, 7-rebound, 2-block performance that showed all of his promise and potential. Magic fans were decrying Steve Clifford’s decision to go back to Nikola Vucevic (the season opener was arguably Vucevic’s worst game of the season so far). It was necessary, Bamba was clearly tired.

The adrenaline wore off. And Bamba has, predictably, been up and down since then. That is how all rookies play. There is a lot of learning to go through and do as the season goes on. And experience can be a cruel teacher.

With the Magic surprisingly finding themselves in the middle of the Playoff race, there is less patience for rookie mistakes and inconsistency. And Clifford is probably not a coach who would gift playing time to a rookie anyway. That has long been his philosophy.

He is averaging 6.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. That is enough to make an impact. But it is also still something searching for more.

In one instance, Mohamed Bamba can make a play like the block he had against the Portland Trail Blazers where he somehow recovered and pinned CJ McCollum’s layup against the backboard.

This is Bamba at his greatest potential.

But the numbers do not quite match up for him yet. Opponents are shooting 65.0 percent at the rim against him and the Magic give up a 110.9 defensive rating with him on the floor, the worst mark on the team for any regular rotation player.

As much as fans are rightfully excited with what Bamba can do and can become, the team is in a Playoff race and has to expect more from a player so important to the rotation.

Some of Bamba’s defensive struggles are likely attributable to the lineups he is in. Bamba mostly runs with a bench lineup that tends to struggle on both ends. He does not have a player who can set him up appropriately.

But Bamba’s struggles are less about any of that and more about comfort and confidence. Those will come and go as a rookie.

Like most of the Magic, his attention to detail is still the biggest thing he struggles with.

Plays like this one from last week’s game against the Miami Heat are fairly common. His hands are down as Dwyane Wade beings to probe the lane. Then he and Jonathan Isaac get their assignments mixed up, leaving Kelly Olynyk open for three.

This is still the biggest thing for Bamba. Just gaining an awareness and understanding both of where he needs to be and how to use his length to disrupt that play.

Much of this is not unexpected. Big men especially have the biggest adjustment to make to the NBA.

And with Bamba’s famously slight frame, he gets pushed around a lot. Even a second-year player like Bam Adebayo had several instances where he simply ducked in and moved Bamba out of the way.

Never mind going for a second jump. Bamba is just so far out of position. Adding strength will add a lot to his game by simply keeping him in position to go for boards and contest shots.

Again, most of this was expected. So too were the moments when Bamba shows that potential. Sometimes he relies on that a bit too much.

In this clip against the Phoenix Suns, Mohamed Bamba is clearly measuring Jamal Crawford. He knows he has the speed and length to catch up to him if he can bait him into the layup. It is a dangerous game in a lot of ways. But Bamba has to skill to pull it off.

But here again, it is easy to see some miscommunication and disorganization defensively. Someone is supposed to step over and close off the lane to drivers. Either he or Jonathan Isaac is likely supposed to close off that lane.

Bamba is again sort of caught in no-man’s land. Richaun Holmes is not much of a shooter but Mohamed Bamba still sticks with him too closely. This late recognition is probably the biggest thing for Bamba right now. He has the ability to make the play still, but still could find room for improvement.

Clifford has praised Bamba throughout the season for his willingness to learn and willingness to receive instruction. This is the biggest thing for Bamba. He just has to take these lessons to heart and get through the ups and downs of a rookie year.

Bamba admitted to Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel last week he is not happy with his play. He has high expectations for himself and he is still catching up to the learning curve. Bamba told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com he is quickly learning eveyrthing in the league is earned and that everything has a purpose. He likes how Clifford challenges and instructs him.

It is now about putting it all together and providing the big impact on the floor.

That effort has been sporadic. But the potential is there with some simple fixes.

Bamba at this point seems to understand where he is supposed to be defensively. There are just two steps he needs to take to make that leap.

The first is simply gaining the experience to recognize plays developing quicker. This is still too inconsisent. But that is to be expected with a rookie player.

The next is the bigger thing and could really increase his effort and engagement. Bamba has the gift of a long wing span, but it still feels like he uses it far less often. It is a basic tenet of defensive basketball to have your arms out and up. It just makes you bigger.

That is something Bamba still has to do consistently. And if he can do that, epsecially when guarding perimeter players over post players, he should be able to make a bigger impact defensively.

Bamba is going through his bumps and bruises as a rookie at this point. As Clifford continually says, the goal with him is to see him get better over time.

That is ultimately how the Magic will judge his rookie season — through all the ups and downs.