Positional versatility becomes a priority for Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic have talked about positional versatility throughout their rebuild. They made sure to pick that up in this transformative offseason.

The NBA Playoffs this past season provided a blueprint for what teams will try to do to survive this monolithic era of NBA contenders. The Golden State Warriors put pressure on teams with their constant attack. Flat-footed centers would get caught deciding whether to take Curry one on one coming at them at full speed or hedge and trap, allowing Curry to loop the ball to Draymond Green for a devastating 4-on-3 attack on a stretched-thin defense.

This strategy works. It delivered 73 wins and brought the Warriors one win away from a second straight title. This devastating attack is part of the NBA’s future.

Except it did not work. The Warriors faced elimination despite their brilliance and the reason was simple.

Players like Serge Ibaka and Tristan Thompson dulled the edge of the Warriors attack. Simply because of the way they play and their capabilities as players.

When Curry came around a pick against the Oklahoma City Thunder as the Warriors fell behind 3-1, he was met by Serge Ibaka and no one else was needed. Perhaps Curry’s injury was still slowing him, but Ibaka was able to hedge and contain and defend in a way few centers could.

The NBA Finals was essentially decided when Kevin Love was able to keep Curry from getting past him while still keeping enough contact to contest a potential game-tying three (may that moment be the death of hero ball).

The NBA is always full of buzz words. It is a copy cat league after all. Teams are always looking for the next big thing and the next formula to success.

Not everyone can have a Stephen Curry or a LeBron James, but they can take advantage of the tools both the Warriors and Cavaliers used to beat a whole host of different teams and then each other in the NBA Finals. And that key was versatility.

LeBron James is a freak of nature who can play any position on the floor. But Tristan Thompson has the ability to step out on the perimeter and defend guards for short times or stay in contact and recover in time when teams attack. Draymond Green is a versatile freak able to guard centers as effectively as point guards.

All the top defenses have these kinds of players. The Atlanta Hawks have former Orlando Magic free agency target Paul Millsap. The San Antonio Spurs have Kawhi Leonard. The Indiana Pacers have Myles Turner and Paul George. The Boston Celtics have Jae Crowder.

Versatile players are key to building defenses. And that was something the Magic tried to do in building this new team they have.

“One of the things we really look for and value in players and the players on our roster is versatility,” Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said. “We see Aaron [Gordon] as a 3/4. We see Serge as a big who can play both front court positions. Same as Nik[ola Vucevic]. We see Mario [Hezonja] and Evan [Fournier] as guys who can swing between 2 and 3. A lot of it is about having that interchangeability. It just allows you to matchup lots of different ways.”

Ibaka could play the 4 or the 5 and guard on the perimeter. Bismack Biyombo even as a backup center came in and was able to contain guards on the perimeter throughout the Playoffs.

The Magic, putting that focus on defense, are looking to their positional versatility to maintain a strong defense no matter what kind of opponent they are playing. They can go big with Biyombo and Ibaka manning the paint, or small with Ibaka or Biyombo and Gordon in the post spots. They should be able to field a solid defensive front with a rim protector in at all times, allowing their guards to press and pressure with someone behind them to clean up.

Even before then, picks and screens could become less effective if defensive players are simply able to switch rather than hedge or shift the defense at all. That is a big reason for Golden State’s success on the defensive end.

It all matters though and more length also helps disrupt passing lanes and allow players to make up space when they do get beat. It all points to the team being  a stronger defensive team.

Even a signing like Jeff Green was done with this versatility in mind. Like Gordon, Green can play either forward position and has a solid defensive reputation, although he has a -0.3 defensive box plus-minus for his career including a -0.7 defensive box plus minus last season.

“I’ve done it throughout my whole career,” Green said. “I don’t see why I can’t do it now. With the team that we have, we have a lot of guys who can do that. We can matchup with pretty much everybody.”

These are all points the Magic have tried to hit throughout the rebuild. Talks of adding versatility have been present for years.

The Magic talked a lot about pairing Tobias Harris and Aaron Gordon together as versatile forwards who could switch and defend just about any position. That obviously has not played out, but the same could happen if Gordon and Green share the floor.

The positional versatility is going to be key to what the Magic do this summer. Again, it was a focus in free agency.

Adding bigs who could protect the rim and guard the perimeter — the elusive unicorn — were big for the Magic. Biyombo was a key target for the team from the very beginning of the offseason. The Ibaka acquisition became a cherry on top.

Bringing those players into a fold that has versatile players like Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja, and even Evan Fournier to some extent, was critical for this team in forging its identity.

Next: Breaking down Nikola Vucevic trade ideas

Now it will remain to be seen whether all this positional versatility pays off with results.