Orlando Magic Collapse Shows Perimeter Defense, Rebounding Issues

The Orlando Magic managed to do what seemed impossible: give a hapless Philadelphia 76ers team its third victory of the season, despite leading 42-37 at the intermission.  Poor rebounding and lack of perimeter defense were primarily to blame.  

The 76ers battered the Magic for 15 offensive rebounds while allowing Michael Carter-Williams and company to get to the free throw line 25 times in a game that featured plenty of takes to the basket…and, plenty of turnovers due to sloppy play.

What keyed the 96-88 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday was basically a complete capitulation on the Magic’s part after taking an 11-point lead on the shoulders of a hot shooting Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic’s persistence in fighting for second shots. Jacque Vaughn warned his players not to play according to the scoreboard, to stay aggressive and to extend the lead.

The exact opposite happened.

Following a Sixers timeout, the Magic proceeded to allow the 76ers to jump out on a 7-0 run before Oladipo again got in on the act to stop the run with a jumper from the right wing. But the success was short lived, as Syracuse product, rookie Jerami Grant keyed another mini-run with a tomahawk jam on a fast break which helped Philly eventually compile a 14-2 run extending on the previous before an Evan Fornier 3-pointer.

But that was the M.O. of the night for the Magic.

The second half featured Philly either making such small runs, or simply trading baskets for much of the fourth quarter.  The Magic hardly showed any real signs of threatening the double-digit lead Philly built swiftly in the third quarter and continued to extend throughout the fourth.

From the 6:56 mark of the third quarter, the Sixers outscored the Magic by 19 points for the final period and a half.

Noel achieved a double-double early in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia had 15 offensive boards in the game and Noel had four of them, though he was just 5-of-13 from the floor.

The former Kentucky Wildcat’s perspicacity on the boards showed as he wormed his way around Magic defenders.  He has the makings of a very good rebounder in time, and his play may have gone overlooked by those focused on the show Carter-Williams was putting on against Elfrid Payton in the backcourt.

Using the offensive glass as a tool for extra possessions, the Sixers used a plus-7 advantage on the boards to help outscore the Magic 59-46 in the second half.

The tally is inaccurate considering Philadelphia had the game all but won with a 14-point lead and three minutes to go in a low scoring, poor shooting affair. A nearly inconsequential couple buckets by the Magic cut into the lead in the final minutes.

With the Magic down 11 and 45 seconds to go, the officials headed over to review an out of bounds play for what seemed like an eternity, seemingly adding insult to injury as the remainder of the few 15,000-some fans in attendance sulked towards the exits.

The Magic continue to struggle at home, falling to 3-8 at the Amway Center.

Another big problem for the Magic in staving off 76ers runs or building momentum was issues at the free throw line. Orlando hit just 11-of-20 from the stripe.

There will be nights when the shots are not falling, and sometimes it will lead to losing to poor teams. But this was the 76ers, a team which many are joking could not beat the Kentucky Wildcats.

Last year’s Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams got to the basket with ease, as did rookie K.J. McDaniels, who brought a high energy nine points and five boards off the bench. Tony Wroten shot just 3-of-11 but found ways to beat defenders off the dribble with relative frequency. The trio of guards finished with 40 points collectively on 14-of-29 shooting.

Carter-Williams also dropped six dimes and Wroten came in for another seven off the bench, both players having benefited from Magic wing defenders failing to seal off the paint.

Payton, who was inserted into the starting lineup, but had his issues despite his defensive matchup in Wroten being cold in this one. Payton picked up a couple of silly fouls trying to jumpstart a struggling unit attempting to generate some fast break points.

Then, the cold Wroten hit a late three to put the Sixers up by 12 points and improve the fourth quarter shooting to 11-of-16 at that juncture.  Good defense does not result in teams shooting 68 percent through the first eight minutes of a final quarter. It was not a complete lack of effort necessarily, but a clear lack of focus and poor court awareness in rotating when the Sixers penetrated a porous perimeter ‘D.’

Essentially, this loss can be blamed on sloppy play and devolved second half defense. The Magic have to be better at putting away poor teams, and building an 11-point lead only to go down by 14 points later in the same half of basketball is entirely unacceptable and the mark of a 10-20 team as Orlando is at this point.

Earlier, we drew a parallel between this and the 90-91 team, but that team played .500 basketball after starting out the season 5-23. At this point, the Magic are on pace to win 27 games if the winning percentage stays about the same. It is a matter of getting things together, though, and improving as the season goes on. If tonight were the lone indicator, it would be impossible to say that has happened.

But Sunday may have been the mark of a change. With Payton starting and Kyle O’Quinn subbing Channing Frye as the starting power forward. Both represent defensive upgrades for the Magic and that may be the key in preventing these collapses.  It just didn’t happen in this affair.

Dec 21, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn (right) with guard Evan Fournier (bottom), guard Elfrid Payton (left) and forward Maurice Harkless (21) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Amway Center. Philadelphia 76ers won 96-88. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Payton struggled in his first start, offensively as well— but this will be a process of growth for the rookie.  He failed to connect in seven field goal attempts and had just one point, the result of splitting a pair of free throws following a jaw-dropping spin move on the game’s opening play.  It was a smashing start to an otherwise disappointing performance.

O’Quinn looked far better, coming up with four blocked shots and even hitting a three, but he finished with the worst plus/minus of any Magic starter (negative-6).  It’s hard to know whether to even blame that on O’Quinn, though, given his solid play and the game’s inconsistent nature with the squads alternating periods of being “hot” (let’s keep this term relative, to be honest here).

For Orlando to avoid meltdowns like this one against the 76ers, the defensive intensity and rebounding will have to cue the changes.  Payton and Oladipo are going to have to function better in tandem, but this was of course the start of what could be a long tenure together in the Magic’s backcourt.

The 76ers committed 19 turnovers but the decisive edge on the boards as well as the inability to cut off penetration gave the Magic fits in the second half.

It ultimately led to losing to a team that lacks any household names, never mind having a handful whose identities remain a game of ‘Guess Who’ even to avid NBA fans.