Addressing the Orlando Magic’s defense begins in backcourt

The Orlando Magic have been capitulating rather easily to top backcourts and guards are having big nights against the Magic’s young backcourt.

The Orlando Magic gave up 51 points to the Los Angeles Lakers’ starting backcourt and 68 points to the Golden State Warriors’ starting tandem. That is an average of nearly 60 points per game coming from an oppositions’ starting guards. Sure one of those duos was Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but the point remains.

That level of production is not likely to give Orlando a chance in finding many wins.

Even with Victor Oladipo having a big night offensively he could not account for the double-team of offensive threats from both opposing teams. Oladipo usually does a decent job of man-to-man defense, but he has had his faults against both Klay Thompson and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson.

Elfrid Payton has been even worse. The assessment at this point has to be that Payton is lacking after D’Angelo Russell went for 27 with Payton as his primary defender (at least on paper). Payton struggled so much on defense, he sat for a good chunk of he second half and got pulled early for his lackluster play on both ends.

Payton has consistently allowed the league’s better point guards to have huge nights offensively, be it Kemba Walker or Jordan Clarkson most recently. Payton is struggling regularly to defend the best at his position, and the Magic have shown a major hole there that oppositions are seeking to exploit.

This is not a microcosm in the last two games either, though the need may appear heightened with Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell having their way with Oladipo and Payton. The Magic cannot afford to falter on the perimeter often because the rim protection is so lacking. Things have been topsy-turvy without Nikola Vucevic the last two games, anyway, but it is a mandatory aspect of a defense to stop the ball.

No matter what improvements the Magic have made within Scott Skiles’ defensive system, they are undone when the point guard can waltz into the lane and tear apart a defense.

And while the problem can also be traced to Brandon Jennings and C.J. Watson, the real issues have to begin with the starting guards and the fact the Magic are ostensibly far more committed to Payton and Oladipo and the pair’s potential prospects as a functional starting backcourt.

There is a hardline plan at this point to develop Payton as far as possible, and in many senses he has responded. Payton can be an elite distributor and creates offense out of nothing frequently.

But he gambles too often defensively, does not fight well through a lot of picks and overall just does not do a great job of really preventing dribble penetration.

That trio of problems only really describes vaguely the multitude of problems he has had with dominant offensive guards.

So often Payton is thought of as an elite defender, but reality does not check out well with that praise. He has a lot to learn and at this point he is incapable of slowing the great guards in the NBA.

The Magic often fail to do that, and so often commit silly blunders and missed defensive rotations that result in giving up 107 points to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have been playing better basketball and even knocked off the Golden State Warriors, but the Magic were three-point favorites in this game and even with what this team has become, it is a game the Magic should have been able to secure victory in — and it was not even close with the Lakers running wild in the second half.

At this point, the Magic need to find the answers to these problems or the season will begin to become a vacuum of games devoid of any real meaning. The kind of situation the Magic sought desperately to avoid after the last three years.

Orlando still has questions to resolve this season, and the players themselves should always be seeking to better themselves as professionals.

These things can be stated, but seeing them in action is quite another thing.

The Magic sometimes look as though they want to win NBA games, like against Golden State. Even though the Warriors’ top-notch backcourt wreaked havoc on the Magic, the Magic battled and were behind just two points with a minute to go. The Magic were right there with the best team in the league on its undefeated homecourt.

And then there is a puzzling loss to the Lakers where the Magic really did not look as though it was the same team that had nearly offed the Warriors at Oracle Arena.

Where can the two be resolved? Can it be?

Scott Skiles’ task list is almost insurmountable with 20 games remaining in the season, but even if the Magic miss the postseason the players are all fighting for roles and contracts. There is always a reason to play inspired basketball.

And for the Magic it has to start with the backcourt. That supposed backcourt of the future the Magic pinned their hopes to. Right now, the duo is not providing the defensive push the team hoped for. And that, as much as anything, has to change.