The Orlando Magic’s defense was bad this season, falling to the bottom of the league. James Borrego’s identity shift helped lay the seeds for improvement.
The Orlando Magic finished the 2014 season ranked tied for 17th in defensive efficiency, giving up 104.8 points per 100 possessions. For a team with just 23 wins, it was seen as a positive sign.
Here it could be said the Magic had something to build on. They could cut their teeth on the defensive end as the team learned how to play better offense and developed into a great team (not just a collection of young talent).
With young teams, ascent seems inevitable.
So it is when teams take a step back that concern rises and identities rebuilding teams hoped would form do not.
The 2015 season was all that and more. The Magic’s defense slipped dramatically — 25th in the league at 105.2 points allowed per 100 possessions. The team that had invested both of its draft picks on defensive-minded players, could not find its defensive identity.
The Magic struggled on the backline with both Nikola Vucevic and Channing Frye lacking the lateral quickness to cover each other. They were mismatched in the post to defend the pick and roll. Magic guards struggled containing the ball handler on pick and rolls and getting through screens.
The Magic were even worse before the coach change — 106.1 points allowed per 100 possessions, tied for 25th in the league when Jacque Vaughn was fired. Afterward, the Magic defense improved moderately under James Borrego — 105.2 rating, 25th in the league.
No matter how you cut it, the Magic’s defense was not good.
Yet, the end of the season, the team felt like it was starting to make important strides defensively.
“The group is committed to an identity,” James Borrego said. “They are committed to defending at a high level, not at just a solid level. They want to win in this league. And they understand to win in this league you have to defend. They have bought into that as a group. They decided on their own that they want to win games. That’s the start of it. It starts on that end for us and it ends on that end.”
If Borrego did anything, it was to try to restore a little bit of pride on the defensive end.
The focus was on collapsing the paint and limiting shots up close. With Vaughn as head coach, Magic opponents shot 43.1 percent of their shots within 10 feet, sixth fewest in the league, but opponents shot 57.5 percent on those shots, second worst in the league. With Borrego as coach, shot attempts within 10 feet decreased to 41.3 percent of shots, fifth fewest in the league, and gave up 53.9 percent shooting, 14th in the league.
With Borrego as head coach, the Magic defense in the paint improved that dramatically.
Objectively, the Magic were better preventing points in the paint. But the more basic defensive scheme did not yield many more wins — the Magic’s win percentage did increase in the final 30 games with James Borrego, but obviously it was not enough to get back into Playoff contention.
Still the added emphasis on defense seemed to help the Magic build an identity — the same identity they lacked early in the season.
“I think you have to credit the coaching staff for working with us and coming in at practice and saying, ‘This is how we are going to play. We’re going to keep guys out of the paint. We’re going to make them shoot contested jumpers,'” Willie Green said. “But we want to help each other on defense. That is a part of our defensive execution. There is no second-guessing. I know for a fact that if Vic [Oladipo] is on the wing guarding somebody and I’m at the top, if his man drives, I’ve got to be there to help him. I think that’s the biggest difference of what you’re seeing on defense.”
Why it took so long during the season to get this basic defensive premise down is anyone’s guess. It was certainly a detraction from the rest of the season.
Even if it was only modest improvement within the confines of a broken defensive scheme to begin with, the Magic’s small late-season defensive improvement suggested the team can re-commit to the defensive end again.
With the roster’s composition — Victor Oladipo was given some All-Defensive Team recognition and Elfrid Payton is considered a player with strong defensive potential and Aaron Gordon is more defensive savant than anything else — defense and particularly perimeter defense seems to be the strong suit.
The Magic’s scheme to protect the paint brought small improvements on the defensive end. Moving forward, a more involved scheme could return them to mediocrity on defense. That could be worth a few wins in the long run.
Borrego may not have done enough to become the team’s permanent head coach. However, he did re-establish an emphasis in defense. Even if it was something basic.
He may have set up the team’s defense and restored their defensive identity.
The players knew they had bought in more defensively and the focus was put more on that end. It did make them a better team, even if the results seemed slight.
Borrego established an identity — even a small one — something that did not happen before he took over. That does not mean he should keep the job or the Magic defense was objectively good. It was just better, slightly better.
“The group should feel proud,” James Borrego said. “They should feel that they are moving in the right directions. By no means are we satisfied. Our defense is a work in progress. We’re far from where we want to be. The goal is to be an elite defense, not just a good or solid defense. This group has that potential.”
At least the seeds were laid in the final 30 games.
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