Principle or opponent: Orlando Magic try to defend the Golden State Warriors
The Orlando Magic have a difficult task ahead of them Thursday as they take on the Golden State Warriors and their juggernaut of an offense. Defense is key.
. 38. . 41. Final
Time/TV:
7 p.m./FSFlorida
Line:
Warriors by 8.5
Tickets:Season Series:
Tonight in Orlando; March 7 in Oakland
| Pace | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | eFG% | O.Reb.% | TO% | FTR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State | 102.3 | 112.5 | 99.9 | 56.1 | 24.2 | 15.0 | 26.3 |
| Orlando | 96.9 | 101.3 | 103.0 | 49.4 | 23.7 | 14.8 | 22.3 |
The Golden State Warriors demand perfection.
That is just how good that team is. Even on a bad night, the Warriors have a chance to win. And there are very few teams in the course of the year that require teams to play with the utmost focus and perfection even to have a chance. And the Warriors might be in a world all by themselves.
At 51-5, the Warriors are flirting with the 72-win Chicago Bulls. They are any combination of two wins or two Houston Rockets losses away from clinching a Playoff spot. Yes, the Warriors can clinch a Playoff spot tonight.
Stephen Curry could set the new NBA record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer.
There is a buzz around Amway Center even in the afternoon leaving morning shootaround that has not been there before — the scalpers are already circling Amway Center preparing for the secondary ticket market bonanza.
This is a different kind of game. The kind of game where the Magic have to be just about perfect and even that might not be enough. The Warriors put that kind of pressure on teams.
“The reality is it’s a team where we could have a phenomenal defensive possession and do everything right and they could still get a basket,” coach Scott Skiles said. “Any team like that that is that good, they demoralize you. You play a great defensive possession, and Steph hits a 30-foot fadeaway and the crowd oohs and ahs and everybody drops their shoulders. In reality, you have to take the ball out go the other way and get the pressure back on them as best you can. They have an uncanny knack of demoralizing teams like that. They are very good.”
How do you prepare for a team with this kind of firepower and this kind of swagger? It almost feels like the Warriors defeat you with all the hype coming into the building before teams even step on the floor.
The Magic may be shorthanded for the game with Victor Oladipo dealing with a quadriceps bruise. Skiles said he is 50/50 to play and Oladipo said he will see how he feels before the game. He seemed unsure if he would be able to play.
If Oladipo is slowed in any way that could be a bad sign for the Magic overall. This is a team that requires your full defensive attention.
Skiles said what makes the Warriors so dangerous is just how difficult it is to prepare for them. They have so many good players and passers that they are often just playing basketball and not running any set plays. If everyone is not sharp, they can get beat backdoor on a cut and give up an easy basket. The team has to be prepared for their tendencies and just be really in tune to the game plan.
But Skiles said he cannot throw a ton of information at them. There is a balance to preparing too much for a team like the Warriors because they can do so much.
Instead what the team seemingly has to do is have a firm grasp of their principles on defense and how they want to attack pick and rolls. They will do their best from there.
“We have concepts and everything like that,” Oladipo said. “Obviously we have to adjust because of who we’re going against. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to guard and do whatever it takes to make it tough on them. That’s what we’re going to do tonight.”
The Warriors, in other words, will really test the Magic’s defensive principles and their commitment to doing certain things.
Those principles have been tested again and again throughout the season. The Magic have struggled many times to stick to the basic defensive principles of closing out strong, flooding the strong side and keeping ball handlers out of the paint. They can scramble well, but that has also been inconsistent.
To beat the Warriors, a team has to have a plan and really stick to it. They have to know who they are as a team and commit to those principles even if the Warriors beat them sometimes.
Aaron Gordon said the teams that have beaten the Warriors this year, including Brandon Jennings‘ Detroit Pistons, they made it difficult for the Warriors and stuck to their game plan no matter what that was. And they did it for the full 48 minutes.
“Obviously we have principles that we have had for the entire season,” Gordon said. “You can’t get too far away from that. We also have a game plan to adjust to
the best team in the league. But it is going to be 48 minutes of Orlando Magic basketball.”
Tuesday’s game was discouraging after the team had made so much progress in the last five or six games previous.
All the cliches about effort are in play. It will take a good 48-minute effort. And even then that may not be enough. The Warriors are good enough to beat good defense too.
And it is just as important in those moments for the Magic or any opponent not to get discouraged or lose morale when better offense beats good defense. There has to be enough faith that good defense consistently will win out in the end.
Really to beat the Warriors, it takes the Warriors being a bit off and the team trying to beat them to be really on, Skiles said.
The Magic are not walking into a buzz saw after all. The game has to start at 0-0. And the Warriors are beatable. It just takes a concerted effort to do so.
Related Story: Orlando Magic will need best defense to topple Golden State Warriors
“You’ve got to believe you can win, one,” Oladipo said. “And two, you have to be able to guard them. It’s as simple as that. You’ve got to be able to slow them down. It’s easier said than done. That’s going to have to be a key for us to win the game tonight.”