Potential lineup change not punitive, Orlando Magic looking for balance

The Orlando Magic’s potential lineup change is not a punitive one, Scott Skiles said. Instead he is looking to get the team to a comfortable place to win.

The impact of Scott Skiles suggesting to the media following Monday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that there needed to be change to the starting lineup had dulled a bit Tuesday.

There was still a determination to get to the root of what has gone wrong and consistently been inconsistent. Something is still off about the Magic and the way they play so far in this early part of the season.

That may necessitate a lineup change. . . or it may not. Everything remains in consideration.

Skiles said after practice Tuesday he has talked about lineup changes and he is not sure how many he might make. The team may still do something. They are not going to tip off Wednesday’s opponent, the New York Knicks, this far ahead of tip off.

What was made clear at least to the media is the idea of changing up the lineup is not to punish any player for poor play, but to find the right combination that would help the team succeed.

“It’s just we’re trying to find a little better balance between the first and second units and how we can maximize everybody,” Skiles said. “We’re just trying to find a better balance. We don’t want to constantly be searching during the course of the game and have one unit that isn’t playing really well and the next unit comes in and rescues us. We just want to get more consistent in general.”

That has been the big buzz word around the Magic for several games now. That search for consistency has seemingly been a constant struggle. The team needs to have more confidence and focus, particularly coming out of the locker room, Skiles said.

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The main starting lineup the Magic have used for most of the first 14 games has not performed up to standards.

In 111 minutes, the lineup of Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo, Evan Fournier, Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic has an offensive rating of 94.7 points per 100 possessions and a defensive rating of 111.2 points allowed per 100 possessions. Those numbers are similar in both the first and third quarters of games, so it is not merely an issue of the time of game. Based on these numbers, there is an issue with the lineup itself, particularly since it tends to go up against the best lineup from the other team.

At this point, Skiles is looking for a lineup that will give him some consistency and balance the lineup some. He does not want the team to rely on constantly having to cover for the unit that is underperforming.

“It’s all right,” Victor Oladipo said of the chemistry in the starting unit. “We’ve just got to come out and play harder. Come out with more juice, more energy.

“We’ve just got to address them and correct them or else we’ll keep getting the same result.”

Nothing is set in stone yet.

Tobias Harris said he does not know exactly what has caused the team to slip in these moments. But he said he feels it is correctible. The starters just have to come out better in the first and third quarters and defend and move the ball the way they know they are capable of doing.

“We know we’ve have to play better on both sides of the floor.” –Tobias Harris

The team has to play with its backs against the wall and play like they are down coming out of the locker room. There is still plenty of time to correct these issues, lineup change or not.

“[The goal is] just for us to come together as a team,” Harris said. “We know we’ve have to play better on both sides of the floor. It’s just us engaging in that and taking that focus and excelling at that. It’s a big goal for us as a team and big goal for us to accomplish.”

Any lineup change that might or might not occur will get a few games’ worth of commitment. The comments made Monday night may have raised a few antennae around the team and put in some urgency. Maybe that will be enough.

Harris said he always reflects on what more he could have done after games. He said he is always trying to make himself and his team better.

At this point, it feels the Magic need just a bit more to get over the hump.

Skiles is looking for comfort and looking to set a rotation. But he can only do that if the team is playing at a consistently high level. He is, after all, trying to win games and not simply fill minutes.

The moment the magic find that comfort, the team should take that step forward.

“The goal always is if the team is a good team and winning, usually the 9-10 guys whatever your rotation is feel comfortable in their own games and their own roles,” Skiles said. “That’s the goal is ultimately to get all the guys to feel comfortable in what their role is and that they are bringing something positive to the group.”

Right now, perhaps a lineup change is the only way to do that.