Orlando Magic forced to go small now

The Orlando Magic’s acquisition of Terrence Ross and trading of Serge Ibaka has forced the team to go small and embrace the new era of the NBA.

When the Orlando Magic signed Bismack Biyombo, they knew they were doing something a little different. They had already acquired Serge Ibaka in a league that was seemingly getting smaller by the moment. Teams wanted to spread the floor and stretch defenses thin with shooting.

The Magic were, as everyone seemed to conclude, zigging while everyone else zagged. They were going to go big, using Bismack Biyombo and Serge Ibaka’s ability to switch onto the perimeter and protect the rim to anchor the defense. And use that defense to create fast-break opportunities.

It was a gamble. But one the Magic had confidence could pay off with the personnel they brought in with Biyombo and Ibaka and with Frank Vogel as head coach.

The gamble did not pay off, of course.

The Magic played elite defense for the first quarter of the season and then completely crumbled. They currently rank 20th in defensive rating, giving up 107.3 points per 100 possessions. That was hardly where the Magic expected to be.

Faced with the pressure of having to re-sign Ibaka this summer in light of this disappointing season, the Magic finally relented and had to go small. They acquired Terrence Ross from the Toronto Raptors, failing to replace Ibaka with another starting power forward.

Barring another trade before Thursday’s trade deadline, the Orlando Magic will be playing small the rest of the season.

Orlando Magic

“In the short term, we are going to make the movement toward playing small,” Vogel said in reaction to the trade. “We tried to play a lot of big lineups and it, in my mind, hurt us on both ends. Both the mobility on the defensive end and the 3-point shooting element and the speed you need on the offensive need and to counter these offenses that you are seeing. In the short term, you will see a lot more smaller lineups.”

This feels something of an admission the Magic’s plans to go big and use versatile, switching bigs did not work out. The record speaks for itself too.

At various points, the Magic have tried going smaller. They have switched Jeff Green primarily to a backup power forward behind Ibaka. With Ibaka’s 30.5 minutes per game open, it is likely the Magic will use Aaron Gordon some at power forward finally, the place many believe is Aaron Gordon’s natural position.

There will be a lot of shifting and adjusting. The Magic will have to run some different offensive sets to account for losing a big player like Ibaka, but Vogel said most of the sets they run have the three wing positions — shooting guard, small forward and power forward — relatively interchangeable.

That interchangeability will become greater now. Vogel hinted yesterday on Magic DriveTime that Mario Hezonja could see some time at the 4 too, as crazy as that sounds.

With the Magic adding another shooter in Ross — he is shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc — the Magic have the opportunity to spread the floor more and become the transition team they envisioned early in the season.

There may not be a ton of difference with how the Magic run offensively, but the threats from the perimeter will be different. The team will just have added another shooter to their lineup in Terrence Ross.

“I think my role stays the same,” Elfrid Payton said. “Just try to get to the paint and find shooters. There might be a little more room out there. My role stays the same to push the ball, push the pace, get into the paint and go from there.”

Orlando is not unfamiliar with playing small. They have done it at various times this year. But, perhaps not in the same way they will play small this time around. The Magic seem prepared to embrace a fully small lineup. One that spreads the floor with shooters at nearly every position potentially. Or at least in a way that seems more balanced than before.

Vogel will have to do some experimentation and figure out what works and does not work with his new team. There could be some rough minutes as the Magic try to make this transition.

But Ross should be the kind of player that fits in relatively smoothly. He can spread the floor with his shooting and is great in transition. It is unclear what he can do in isolation or off the dribble. He never had to do that with the Raptors.

The only player that might really have to step up is Nikola Vucevic. He played 1,060 of his 1,569 minutes (67.6 percent) this season with Ibaka on the floor. Nikola Vucevic has played an additional 271 minutes with Bismack Biyombo, meaning 84.8 percent of his minutes have been with at least one of those other two bigs.

Vucevic has played in small lineups before. But Vucevic will have to be more assertive and aggressive on the boards with the team likely going smaller. Aaron Gordon’s rebounding should tick back up to support.

Vucevic, who has shown significant defensive improvement, will also have to be a defensive anchor. His rim protection has improved, but it was certainly helped with Ibaka being around.

“It will be different now that we won’t have two big bodies on the court like we are used to since the beginning of the season,” Vucevic said. We played some small ball last year as well. It wouldn’t be too new to me. It will be different for the team. We will have to play a little different. Everyone’s part will be a bit different now that we don’t have two big men inside. It is part of the business we’re in. We have to adjust fast.”

Orlando will have to adjust fast. The season does not wait. And the Magic want to make the most of these final 24 games. Their shift in philosophy will be the big storyline the rest of the season.

Orlando has finally gotten on board with what the rest of the league is doing. Perhaps it was obvious from the start what they had to do.

“I think the whole league is changing this way,” Vogel said. “I find it very difficult to play with two bigs in today’s NBA. They’ve got to be dominant guys to play that style of play. It’s difficult. I’m more comfortable playing small with the way the league plays today.”

Next: Serge Ibaka was the correct gamble for the Orlando Magic

The Magic finally relented and are shifting toward this future. It is likely how they will build for the next year.