The Orlando Magic nearly took down the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference before melting down in the fourth quarter and allowing a 17-0 Hawks run. Even so, Atlanta was impressed with the Magic’s intense defense.
The Orlando Magic may have lost Wednesday night’s game to Atlanta by double-digits (95-83), but two Hawks walked away postgame beaming about the Magic’s defense. Kyle Korver and Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer both had mostly positive things to say about Orlando’s rebuild.
Given that Atlanta ranks No. 7 in defensive rating (an argument could be made it is better than several of the six teams ahead of it statistically), the praise does not come cheap.
Getting a compliment from a strong defensive team about that aspect of the game speaks highly to the ultimate potential of a team that does feature several “plus” defenders.
Kyle Korver was asked why Orlando was able to jump out to an early advantage in the game and build a 23-13 lead which eventually turned into a 31-23 lead following a corner three from Willie Green to end the period.
Korver attributed the early lead to Orlando knocking down a number of shots, including a running baseline jumper from Tobias Harris that was as pretty as it was tricky. Korver went on to say the difference in Atlanta’s comeback was via the same M.O. as Orlando’s early dominance: strong defense.
This is a team that has learned the value of defending.
“Coach (James) Borrego is doing a great job,” Budenholzer said of the Magic’s emerging defense. “Their defense gave us a problem…notice how well they play us.”
Good defense also creates easy offense. The Magic outscored Atlanta in fastbreak buckets 21-15. By night’s end, the Hawks still had (“only”) 14 turnovers and the Magic had coughed it up 17 times. Atlanta’s defense and transition game is one to model after—but rarely defeat, in other words.
It follows the Hawks are legitimate contenders for the first time since the days of “The Human Highlight Film” Dominique Wilkins. It is hard to call the Joe Johnson era one of contention given the sweeps and second round bounce.
Korver and company realize titles can be won on the “backbone of defense.” He said the Hawks “can’t just expect to go into the playoffs and flip the switch.”
The J-Notes
But flipping the switch is the mark of a strong team, and the Hawks closed each quarter on a run.
The first quarter was a 10-5; the second a 14-2; third an 8-3; and (get this) a fourth quarter run of 23-4, including the 17-0 stretch that put the game out of hand for Orlando in just six minutes of time, delivering Atlanta the win. That is flipping the switch for sure, and good teams like Atlanta can do that, particularly against bad teams like Orlando. San Antonio and Memphis do the same — essentially putting a lid on the basket by forcing tough shots.
Of course, it was a two-way street, and much of the Hawks struggles were caused by players missing shots they ordinarily knock down. In the first quarter, Atlanta shot just 33 percent from the floor. ;At the half, Paul Millsap was 5 of 9 from the floor, due to Nikola Vucevic being forced out of his comfort zone defensively.
Even so, by halftime the Hawks had shot 10 of 33 from the floor outside of Millsap’s strong performance. He was getting no help. But that is because Orlando would not allow it. Passes were tipped or stolen, and the Magic managed to maintain the lead 52-47, though it led 13-2 to start the game, the largest lead of the half.
What it all boils down to is that the Magic can become a very strong defensive team by simply adding a 4-man that is capable of defending both stretch-4s and also bang inside. It stands to reason that these types do not just circulate the league, but the missing piece is never easy to find.
Landing such a talent (Willie Cauley-Stein keeps coming to mind) would greatly enhance the ‘D,’ which is to say it could be entirely suffocating. The Magic even forced a shot clock violation by just not allowing anyone to break free, and at that point (6:26 in 4th quarter) the Magic still led by seven points.
The Hawks called for timeout and came out to race out to a 7-1 run…in 58 seconds.
The Magic would respond with a 7-0 run of its own. And then came the Hawks 24-3 run to close the game, erasing all doubt that the Magic are still the guppies and the Hawks the sharks.
But to have the shark acknowledge the guppy and its potential may be enough for now. And, impressing Korver and Budenholzer speaks volumes.