Orlando Magic shake up starting lineup, starting all over

The Orlando Magic made a switch to their starting lineup as they search for consistency and wins early in the season. The change though has consequences.

There was a new group getting introduced to the Amway Center faithful before Sunday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

The growing sense the Orlando Magic had to change something — anything — to spark the worst offense in the league by almost every metric seemed imminent. Long term, it was clear the Magic could not go on the same path they were on. Not for much longer anyway.

The defense was establishing itself, finding firmer footing and creating an identity. If coach Frank Vogel knew he needed to make some sacrifice to create some offense, this may have been the time.

Especially with a team desperate to get a win before heading off on a five-game road trip.

Vogel made the decision to make wholesale changes to the lineup. With Jeff Green out, Aaron Gordon returned to the lineup. With him were D.J. Augustin and Bismack Biyombo for Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic. Orlando’s whole makeup seemed different.

“We’re 30th in offense,” Vogel explained. “I wanted to explore some new combinations with the same nine guys being in the rotation and try to get a different feel. Really It was trying to give us a different feel and create a different identity to see if things will work. Things have not been working for us on the offensive end.”

The hope was it would maintain the defense while adding a bit more offensive energy to the start of the game. Vogel wanted to get Evan Fournier on the ball more with a shooting point guard next to him. Fournier produced with 27 points and seven assists.

In the beginning moments, the Magic looked to have unlocked something. Their 96 points were the most they have scored in seven games. But it still resulted in the same outcome, albeit for different reasons.

For the entire game, the Magic gave up a 108.6 offensive rating to the Bucks while still scoring less than a point per possession on their end. Things were better but still the same on offense. The defense, instead, became a sieve. The Magic scored the first six points but gave up the next nine.

“This is why I’m not a knee-jerk coach,” Vogel said. “Every time you make changes, guys are out there with different teammates and the chemistry gets altered a little bit. Sometimes you make a change to plug one hole and you create another hole by doing so. That was part of it. However these guys play, you have to be solid on the defensive end. But we didn’t have a good defensive start tonight.”

It was a prelude to the kind of game it ended up being for the Magic. The new lineup was a mixed bag, as perhaps expected.

The starting lineup itself performed well. Vogel may have found something that could work.

Entering the game, the group of D.J. Augustin, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo had played just 10 minutes together with an offensive rating of 103.9 and a defensive rating of 95.6. Sunday, the grouping had a +14.7 net rating (109.5 offensive rating and 94.8 defensive rating). In just 11 minutes, the group seemed to make a big impact.

Biyombo went out with early foul trouble nearly five minutes into the game in a 13-13 tie. But it was hard to see much of a tangible benefit. Things were perceptually a wash.

The bench units struggled most. Payton was good at scoring, as was Vucevic. But the defense struggled most with these two.

The team, as perhaps expected with a new lineup had some hiccups. Chemistries had to get reset and rediscovered.

Vogel still expected the defense to be the constant for his team. And it just was not. Not for this game.

Vogel would not say if he would stick with the lineup for Tuesday’s game in San Antonio — he would not give the San Antonio Spurs the advantage of knowing his plans. Change has occurred. The Magic have rocked that boat.

There will be hurt feelings as roles change.

“Obviously I was not happy with the decision they made,” Vucevic said. “I didn’t think there was a reason for me to go to the bench. It was coach’s decision. All I can do is control what I can control when I am on the court. That is to play to the best of my ability and help the team win and stay professional. Whatever is going on, I will keep giving my best and give my full effort.”

Vucevic did that. He scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. His offense continues to climb back to form.

It seemed moving Vucevic to the bench for Biyombo seemed like an inevitability. Vucevic had fought all summer against it, claiming the starting spot was his to lose. And he did nothing to lose it, frankly.

And the results after this first game are mixed.

“I think Evan had a good night,” Vogel said. “Vuc is a pro’s pro. He’s been asked to come off the bench after being a starter for a lot of years. He cam out and produced. There wer some things that were good about it and some things that weren’t. We just have to keep looking for ways to get better.”

Vogel is searching for the right combinations.  Something was wrong with the team. And the team needed some mix up.

Only time will tell if this change is the one that will get things to click for the Magic. One game is not enough to make any conclusions.

Next: Frank Vogel confident Orlando Magic will turn corner

Things have changed for the Magic at this crucial point in the season. The team knows something had to. It remains to be seen whether this will be the change that clicks things into place for the Magic.