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Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: Midpoint review

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jan 8, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) defends a shot by Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) defends a shot by Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bismack Biyombo, Orlando Magic, Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
Dec 28, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker (15) drives past Orlando Magic center Bismack Biyombo (11) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

2. What is the biggest thing the Orlando Magic must improve to salvage the season?

Palmer: Defense. How in the world is this team so poor defensively? The Magic have their second straight defensive-minded coach, they spent a ton of assets and money this offseason to improve the defense and they are still awful on that end of the ball. In reality. there is a myriad of issues on that side of the ball for the Magic. The most prominent issue being outside of Aaron Gordon the Magic do not have a decent perimeter defender on the team. None of the perimeter players seem to have any idea how to navigate pick and roll defense, they do not seem to know when help needs to be brought, and nobody is capable of pressuring the ball. The bigs have disappointed on that end too, but part of that is on coaching. Bismack Biyombo is certainly capable of defending 4s from an athleticism standpoint, but when he is pulled out of the paint he is not blocking shots or rebounding. Frank Vogel also needs to be willing to matchup with teams instead of thinking he is going to force a mismatch. This past week against the Houston Rockets, Vogel attempted to have Nikola Vucevic defend Sam Dekker. It did not go well. Do not outsmart yourself, play Jeff Green or Aaron Gordon on him.

Jumani: Consistency while building an identity. When the season first started, the Magic for a couple weeks were ranked first in the NBA in defense while their offense struggled. This resulted in the Magic picking up good wins due to the tough defensive-minded identity they instilled within themselves. Even though their offense struggled, they were able to hold teams under triple digits and grind out ugly wins. As a result, the Magic had great success, especially on the five-game road trip where they went 4-1. After that road trip, the Magic were not consistent on defense, which resulted in the struggling position the Magic are in right now. The Magic have to have an identity of how this team plans to win games on a consistent nightly basis. If the Magic want to get into the Playoffs, they must play with consistency and get a few string of wins in a row to help them have a chance come April. A record of 17-23 is certainly not satisfying and, at this point, the Magic have to truly ask themselves, whether they believe aiming for the Playoffs is the best plan for the better of this franchise, both long term and short term.

Rossman-Reich: Defense first, defense second, defense third. The Orlando Magic wanted to build their identity on that end. They acquired Serge Ibaka and signed Bismack Biyombo to anchor what they believed would be a top-five defense. When the Magic were playing their best basketball, it was because their defense had risen to the very top of the league. That three-week stretch in November and December were frustrating for the low scores, but that kind of defense was what could carry the Magic forward. Why the team went from one of the best to one of the worst defenses in the league is the greatest mystery this season. And the one the Magic must reverse to accomplish anything this season.

Doyle: As Philip and Zach said, defense is the key. The Orlando Magic were projected to have one of the best defenses in the league but that just has not been the case. The addition of Bismack Biyombo and Serge Ibaka have not transformed this defense into an elite one. The Orlando roster is never going to score that many points so if this team can somehow figure out how to play great defense, things will change. It’s not a longshot for this team to make the playoffs if they can play great defense because the eastern conference isn’t that good.

Iwanowski: They need to focus their team around Aaron Gordon. Whatever that means, whether it be playing him more minutes, changing his role to more time at the 4, running more plays that bring out his strengths. To me, salvaging the season means not wrecking the franchise going forward as I do not see them making the Playoffs. Thus the team should focus on developing Aaron Gordon as much as they possibly can. Trading at least one of the three big men is a likely step towards this goal.