Orlando Magic Week 1 Takeaways: Scott Skiles knows what he is doing

By Zach Palmer

My big takeaway this week is Scott Skiles has a clear vision for this team.

Scott Skiles understands the Magic are not the most talented team when it comes to half-court offense. So in an effort to get scoring up Skiles desperately wants the Magic to push the tempo in an effort to get great looks before the opposing team’s defense can get set.

In addition to that, Skiles wants his team to be very aggressive defensively. What I have noticed most about the Magic in the first three games of the season is that they are pressuring the ball handler nearly every play in an attempt to make every pass difficult.

This aggressive defense has forced opposing teams into a bunch of turnovers which then helps Orlando score some desperately needed points.

How much does Skiles believe in this vision? Maybe a little too much.

Sunday night was a perfect example of what could go wrong if Skiles gets too carried away with playing his “style” of basketball.

Skiles put in Shabazz Napier, Jason Smith and even Andrew Nicholson (very briefly) into the lineup late last night and it just was not enough.

To me it does not make much sense to sit your best players late in the game, but Skiles did just that when he stuck with those guys over the $64 million man Tobias Harris, and developing point guard Elfrid Payton.

Next: Optimism