Analyzing the different Orlando Magic starting lineups
The Orlando Magic have gotten off to a slow start in 2017, which has forced Frank Vogel to mix and match his players as he tries to find balance and consistency from his starting lineup.
There have been many areas of struggle for the Orlando Magic so far in this young NBA season. The offensive struggles have been well documented and the inconsistency from game to game continues to be an ongoing issue.
One area that has surprised many fans is the amount of changes the Magic have made to the starting lineup less than two months into the regular season.
Most teams in the NBA enter the regular season with an expectation of who their starters will be, but that was never the case for the Magic.
After an offseason of many changes, coach Frank Vogel and the Magic entered the regular season with an open mind about who will be a part of the starting lineup and knew they would have to experiment different things early in the season.
The Magic started the season with a starting lineup of Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Serge Ibaka and Nikola Vucevic. Vogel decided to start the season with the starting lineup that many anticipated the Magic would use.
This starting lineup only lasted two weeks and a total of eight games.
At the time, the Magic had a 3-5 record. But the main reason why a change was needed quickly was because the Magic were struggling significantly on the defensive end of the floor.
The starting unit had a direct impact on the early struggles as they had a horrendous defensive rating of 112.2 points allowed per 100 possessions. The defensive struggles were a big surprise to everyone since there were very high expectations about the defensive abilities of this team.
Another concern for Vogel and the Magic was the amount of games the Magic were getting blown out in. A reason for that was the Magic seemed to always struggled to start games, often facing a large deficit early on.
On the offensive end, this unit struggled to stretch the floor, which made it difficult for Serge Ibaka and Nikola Vucevic to operate in the post. Through eight games, this starting lineup shot 45.7 percent from the field, 29.3 percent from beyond the arc and had an offensive rating of 104.0 points per 100 possessions.
With his team struggling on the defensive end, Vogel decided to make a small adjustment to his starting lineup on Nov. 11 prior to the game against the Utah Jazz. At the time, it was a surprising move. Vogel decided to send Aaron Gordon to the bench and start Jeff Green in his place.
Jeff Green had an immediate impact in the starting lineup and on the defensive end of the floor. Each passing game since the Magic added Green to the starting lineup, the Magic defense played better. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the offense.
Vogel fixed the defensive struggles by replacing Gordon with Green in the starting lineup, but the one area that quickly became a major concern was the offense. The Magic struggled significantly to score the ball. They were still finding themselves losing games despite remarkable performances on the defensive end.
The starting lineup featuring Green would only last two weeks and the Magic had a 3-5 record during that span.
On the defensive end, this unit played extremely well with a defensive rating of 86.0 points allowed per 100 possessions. On the offensive end, however, this unit struggled significantly only shooting 39.4 percent from the field, 32.8 percent from beyond the arc and an offensive rating of 89.7 points per 100 possessions.
The improvements on the defensive end allowed the Magic to play more competitive basketball. But the offensive struggles were holding the team back from ultimately winning more games.
After a month into the regular season, Vogel once again decided to shake things up a bit to find more balance between the Magic defensive improvements and the offensive struggles.
On Nov. 27, prior to a Sunday game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Vogel made some drastic changes to his starting lineup. He decided to start D.J. Augustin in place of Elfrid Payton, place Gordon back in the starting lineup replacing Green, and start Bismack Biyombo in place of Vucevic.
Since the new starting lineup has been in place, the Magic have a 4-4 record, including a 4-1 record during a five-game road trip. This starting unit has allowed the Magic to find some balance between their defensive improvements and their struggling offense.
The production off the bench is a major reason why the Magic have played better since the lineup changes. The bench now features Payton, Green, and Vucevic, who are all players that can provide a lift when the starters need a rest.
The Magic also welcomed Jodie Meeks back from injury during the road trip, which has added even more strength to the bench. Jodie Meeks provides the Magic with a solid scorer who can stretch the floor, which is something that the Magic have been lacking all season long.
The new starting unit has shown improvement on the offensive end. They are currently shooting 42.9 percent from the field, shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc and have a 94.8 offensive rating. Those numbers were certainly harmed by Friday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
On the defensive end, the team has taken a slight step back as of late, which is something to keep an eye on.
This starting unit has a 106.9 defensive rating. And, in the last three games against the Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets, the team has allowed more than 100 points in back to back games for the first time since Nov. 9, the last game before the Magic’s first lineup change, and in three consecutive games for the first time since the first games of the season.
It is hard to predict whether Vogel will make another lineup change in the upcoming days or weeks, but Vogel will not stop making adjustments until he is happy with the results he is seeing night in and night out.
Each adjustment Vogel has made so far has resulted in a positive outcome so far. But only for a short time. It seems he has settled with this lineup for now. But it will be interesting to see what he does next.
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For now, Vogel and the Magic seem to have found a good balance between their defensive strengths and their offensive weaknesses. The next step for Vogel and the Magic is to find consistency and find a way to execute better in close games down the stretch.