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Orlando Magic begin to answer questions about roles

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Feb 8, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) and guard Evan Fournier (10) react after a basket against the Atlanta Hawks during overtime at Philips Arena. The Magic defeated the Hawks 117-110 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) and guard Evan Fournier (10) react after a basket against the Atlanta Hawks during overtime at Philips Arena. The Magic defeated the Hawks 117-110 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder, Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
Jan 27, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) dunks in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) at Target Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-123. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

Is Serge Ibaka a 4 or a 5?

The similar question is left for Serge Ibaka too.

Ibaka has made his name throughout the league as a rim-protecting 4. The unicorn, if you will. There are just not many players with his ability to play defense on nearly all five positions and block shots from the power forward position. All with a decent enough jumper.

There is no doubt the 6-foot-10 forward has seen a pretty steady decline. His defensive numbers have slipped and his offensive shooting numbers have slipped too. There are plenty of narratives and potential reasons for this to have happened.

Ibaka was pulled away from the basket too much. Players got smaller and quicker at the 4, limiting Ibaka’s ability to protect the paint. Constant injuries slowed him down. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant demanded the ball to much.

The Magic certainly will use Ibaka in a way he has never been used before. He very well could have more plays called for him. That usage rate should creep to more than 20 percent for the first time in his career.

But Ibaka has overwhelmingly played at

center

power forward in his career — he has not played more than 30 percent of his minutes at center since his first two years. The vast majority of his minutes have been at power forward. And that is where the Magic are planning on using him.

“My vision is that Serge was going to play the 4 and Biz was going to play the 5 with Vuc,” Vogel said. “We can slide Serge over there. We always tried to have two rim protectors in Indiana. So we play 48 minutes with shot blocking. Now we can play 48 minutes with the ability to switch at the big position as well, making us versatile enough to be elite as a defensive unit in today’s NBA. To have two guys like that puts us in a great position to achieve our goals.”

It would seem since the Magic acquired and targeted Bismack Biyombo — and he was according to Hennigan always the team’s top free agent priority, before and after acquiring Ibaka — Ibaka was always slated to play primarily power forward.

That does not mean there will not be the occasional stray lineup with him at center, but it seems clear Ibaka is penciled in and locked in at power forward for the most part.

Next: The Big Man Rotation