Orlando Magic’s bench the biggest weakness in quest for wins
As the Orlando Magic seek to pick up wins before the end of the season, they have found their biggest weakness are those minutes the bench takes over.
Every team to some extent goes through a bit of existential dread to start the second quarter. No player can go 48 minutes of a game and some of the skill in coaching is knowing how to manage a rotation to keep a similar intensity level throughout.
It is the toughest balance, especially for a team that is struggling everywhere anyway.
The Orlando Magic are not exempt. They have seen since the All-Star Break a new identity take hold that has worked for their starters. The bench? The bench has seen its share of struggles.
The Magic are not the deepest team in the league. That is part of the reason they find themselves sitting on 27 wins with nine games left this season. The Magic will have to address and improve their talent base after this disappointing season.
Until then, and as the Magic try to build some momentum for the offseason and win games (as vain as it might be) they have to find a way to get better balance between their bench and their starting unit.
That difference has become more obvious since the All-Star Break.
"“The more we’re out there and the longer we’re out there, the better we play,” D.J. Augustin told Orlando Magic Daily after practice Sunday. “We try to do whatever we can when we are out there. Whatever it takes.”"
The bench unit certainly has had its moments. The reserves were critical in the fourth quarter during a home victory against the Chicago Bulls. But more often than not, the reserves have struggled.
Every reserve player for the Magic has at least a -7 net rating since the All-Star Break. Only Terrence Ross among the starters has a negative net rating.
The storyline since the break has been pretty evident. The Magic’s starting lineup of Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic has performed well, but the bench unit as a whole has not. That starting lineup has a +5.5 net rating.
But Orlando’s primary “second unit” of D.J. Augustin, C.J. Watson, Mario Hezonja, Jeff Green and Bismack Biyombo has struggled mightily. The unit has a -27.2 net rating in 61 minutes since the All-Star Break. But the Magic still largely give them four or five minutes together to start the second quarter.
Even the lineup featuring Jodie Meeks instead of C.J. Watson has struggled, posting a -6.2 net rating in 11 minutes.
Introduce a starter or two into that group and things improve. Play Terrence Ross instead of Watson, and the Magic have a -12.2 net rating. Use Evan Fournier instead of Watson, the net rating improves to +7.4.
The typical bench lineup with Mario Hezonja at power forward — Augustin, Watson, Jodie Meeks, Hezonja and Bismack Biyombo — has a -30.1 net rating in 22 minutes the last two games.
Looking at those early numbers, it is clear the Magic’s second unit of an all-bench lineup plays about 11 minutes per game. Those 11 minutes have seen some pretty significant swings.
It has been a tricky balance for the Magic to strike.
"“The starters have definitely played better than our bench has of late,” Magic coach Frank Vogel told Orlando Magic Daily after practice Sunday. “We’ve just got to do all the little things better. I don’t think it is any one thing with that group. You’ve got to pass the ball better, run the floor better and work harder on the defensive end. It’s not always something you put on one or two guys. But certainly, it is something we’ve got to do a better job with.”"
Vogel said staggering a starter with the second unit is something he is considering, but not a change he will make anytime soon.
Vogel said he does not want to change the rotations too much while they experiment with Hezonja playing power forward with the second unit. He said he did not want to overreact to what happened prior to this transition.
Orlando Magic
And the Magic are not just trying to integrate Hezonja into the lineup at power forward. The team is also working Meeks back into the rotation before the end of the season. And, perhaps, they will also have Jeff Green hanging around. Green has missed the last two games with back spasms and is not traveling with the team to Toronto for Monday’s game against the Toronto Raptors.
But there is certainly a difference — and a clear one — even in small sample sizes between the all-bench lineups and in lineups that introduce at least one starter (particularly Fournier).
If the Magic are trying to pick up more wins as the season concludes, the early numbers suggest keeping one starter and limiting the rotation to a nine-man rotation will be far more effective. It will at least keep the ship steady for when the starters do come back in. It sometimes feel that is all the Magic are hoping for right now — maintain the lead or deficit so the starters can get some rest.
There is still a bit of tinkering and experimenting going on with the rotation, even as time runs out and the Magic are trying to pick up a few wins to head into the offseason. And certainly, the future for this team would suggest the Magic will try to remake the bench — either by finding new starters to push better talent to the bench or signing more complementary players.
Next: When the Orlando Magic trust the pass
But it is clear all season the Magic have had a difficult time creating a consistent and balanced second unit. The Magic have never been quite sure what they will get from this group. That has become even more evident as the team has played better since the All-Star Break and found a starting lineup with a distinct identity and success.