Bismack Biyombo has the difficult position of trying to live up to a massive contract. But the Orlando Magic’s center just needs to re-establish his defense.
The Orlando Magic had money to spend in the summer of 2016. And with pressure growing from within to make the Playoffs, they were going to spend it. Spending it wisely while going out in desperation was going to be the trick.
But the reality still was the team did not have the wares to attract the big-name free agents. And, besides, everyone had cap room. So Orlando had to settle. Or, at least, Orlando had to find someone they could sign to claim some sort of victory.
The Magic seemingly tried to address that long-sought-after bugaboo of rim protection in free agency. Only the team had already acquired Serge Ibaka at the Draft and pushed Aaron Gordon aside to small forward. Finding a replacement for Nikola Vucevic — or at least someone who could push him to start — did not seem like a high priority.
It was a surprise to everyone then when the Magic signed Bismack Biyombo to a whopping four-year, $70-million contract. It was a move no one saw coming both in that Biyombo got that amount and the Magic were the ones signing him, loading up their already loaded front court.
Biyombo fit something of a need, at least. The Magic were looking for a rim-protecting center. But it still seemed like a lot to invest in a player who had been a career backup player and has almost no offensive game to speak of. His performance in the 2016 Playoffs stood out for sure, but that sample size was small, only a glimpse into his potential.
That bore itself out during Biyombo’s first season in Orlando.
Orlando Magic
Biyombo was not the defensive force the Magic hoped for. In fact, his numbers stayed largely flat from his previous season with the Toronto Raptors. As the highest paid player on the team, that was a tough pill to swallow. Then again, everyone seemed to recognize it would be tough for Biyombo to live up to his contract.
At the end of the day, the Magic still needed Biyombo to do some basic things. They needed him to rebound, block shots and defend. And it was here that Biyombo struggled more than the Magic would have liked.
Coach Frank Vogel tinkered with the starting lineup, but ultimately it was clear Nikola Vucevic was the starter. Biyombo never challenged him for the spot. And his defensive impact seemed negligible at best.
In his second year with the Magic, Biyombo will have to re-establish himself and his production. And perhaps show he has room to keep growing.
What To Look For
Bismack Biyombo’s impact is not measured in statistics. Stating he averaged 6.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game is never going to quite capture what Biyombo is supposed to be on the floor.
His role has always been to be a shot blocker, defensive presence and game changer on that end. Without sure hands or much of a post game, the Magic simply needed him to be an impactful player on the defensive end. And he did not provide that last year.
His raw numbers stayed relatively flat, but other indicators did not look good for Biyombo.
He had his lowest block rate (4.1 percent) of his career. His offensive rebound rate (9.3 percent) was the lowest since his rookie year. He gave up 52.9 percent field goal percentage at the rim last year, according to NBA.com’s Player Tracking statistics. In his final year with the Raptors, he gave up 45.2 percent.
It was a down year for Biyombo by those measures.
Other measures suggested Biyombo at least stayed relatively even with where he has been, if a tad down. He recorded 2.1 defensive win shares, in line with his career averages, and posted a 2.0 defensive box plus minus. So it was a bit of a mixed bag, depending on what measurements you go by.
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Biyombo still helped the Magic’s defense. It just was not transformative. Then again, no one probably could have saved the team’s poor second unit. The Magic had a 108.4 defensive rating with Biyombo on the court, according to NBA.com.
Undoubtedly Biyombo suffered from being on the court with a bench unit that rated as one of the worst in the league. But he also struggled defensively playing alongside another defensive-minded big in Serge Ibaka in the early part of the year. His eagerness to go for blocks would often get him out of position. The risk did not match the reward for much of the year.
For the Magic this year, they will want Biyombo to keep his defensive numbers at least level, if not take a jump up. The hope is pairing him with more shooters off the bench — like Arron Afflalo — and more defensive minded wings — like Jonathan Isaac and Jonathon Simmons — will give him a bit more defensive freedom and cause more impact on the game defensively.
For sure, Orlando needs to see Biyombo become a defensive menace again. At that price especially.
What Could Go Wrong
Essentially, Bismack Biyombo’s season last year was about everything that could go wrong for the team. After Biyombo averaged 6.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in the 2016 Playoffs — including a stretch of 10 games where he averaged 8.2 points per game, 11.0 rebounds per game and 2.1 blocks per game — the team expected to see him making a big impact defensively.
After Biyombo averaged 6.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in the 2016 Playoffs — including a stretch of 10 games where he averaged 8.2 points per game, 11.0 rebounds per game and 2.1 blocks per game — the team expected to see him making a big impact defensively. The whole thought process behind signing Biyombo was the theory his numbers would increase proportionally with his increase in minutes. It never happened. His numbers stayed relatively flat. And that is a heavy price tag to pay.
It never happened. His numbers stayed relatively flat. And that is a heavy price tag to pay.
Biyombo is never going to be a strong offensive player. At this point in his career, he is kind of who he is on offense. But what is important for the Magic is to see him becoming a defensive force again. Failing to do that would leave a big hole in the Magic bench — a hole that Marreese Speights could fill because at least he can shoot the ball even if he is a sieve defensively — and a big piece of dead weight in the Magic’s finances.
Biyombo is not likely to fall off a cliff. It is quite possible to see him bouncing back after a down year. But the questions remain after a season where Biyombo struggled to provide much of a presence defensively.
He may have put up some decent numbers individually on the defensive end, but they were nowhere near impactful enough. The Magic were a bad defensive team for much of last season, but the team was worse when the bench came in. If Biyombo were truly a defense-changing player, that would not have been the case.
Maybe the issue was the Magic’s lack of shooting. It only highlighted Biyombo’s weaknesses on offense as teams crowded the paint and made it even tougher for him to make catches.
Maybe the issue was the Magic had a lot of poor perimeter defenders off the bench and Biyombo cannot clean everything up. This year will then represent a chance for him to redeem himself. He has to become a defensive force.
There were games last year where Biyombo really asserted himself on that end and looked like the player the Magic always imagined. Those were among the best games the Magic played all season — think his game against the Los Angeles Lakers in December.
They will need that Biyombo to show up more this year. Otherwise, it could be another frustrating year for him and the team.
The Logjam
Last year, Bismack Biyombo and all of Orlando’s post players were caught in a heavy logjam. It was a mess trying to figure out lineups where the Magic could use their best players at the same time and have the pieces fit together. Biyombo got caught in the middle of that.
Ultimately, though, the Magic hoped pairing Bismack Biyombo and Serge Ibaka together would give the team a strong defensive anchor of rim protection and versatility. That did not end up being the case. The duo just did not work well together.
Frank Vogel was still desperate to try to find good uses for Bismack Biyombo. It took him a while to settle into the fact Biyombo is just likely the team’s backup center. There was no way to get more out of him than what he was giving. That is a disappointing place to be.
That logjam has lightened some. There is a clearer pecking order now. Nikola Vucevic seems certain to start unless the Magic need defense more than scoring and Bismack Biyombo will settle back into coming off the bench.
Yet . . . the concerns about Vucevic’s defense are not going to go away. He is not the ideal for a center in today’s NBA. Vucevic may have turned in his best defensive season of his career, but he will never have Biyombo’s menacing potential. Biyombo’s ability to block shots and fly around the basket and the paint are just more valuable, even if he cannot hold a flame to Vucevic’s offensive production.
The pressure to play Biyombo then not only comes from his contract ($17 million is a lot to leave on the bench) but also from Biyombo’s skills. It is still incredibly tough to play defense in this athletic, dynamic league without a rim protector at least making drivers think twice about coming into the paint.
That makes Biyombo unique on this roster. He is the only proven shot blocker on the team. There will come a time during the season when the Magic are struggling on defense and naturally the team will have to debate starting Biyombo and taking whatever offensive hit comes.
Biyombo may not be the guy everyone imagines taking that role, but he is what the Magic have. And as a rim protector, he is the best they have.
Overall Outlook
Bismack Biyombo is probably never going to live up to the contract he signed last summer with the Orlando Magic. The expectations placed on being the highest paid player on the team were always a bit unfair to him. Biyombo just is not the kind of player who produces the raw numbers necessary to scream out that label.
That did not mean Biyombo should be excused for a difficult season for him. He did not provide the base line defensive impact the Magic hoped for when they pursued him in free agency. Orlando needed him to be a game changer on defense to help establish their identity and make their whole gambit work.
He certainly fell short, posting near career low marks in several defensive metrics.
At the same time, Biyombo is not the kind of player who cand o things on his own. He is maybe not a player who can cause change by himself but rather augment the good work others do. He is the ultimate backstop in that sense, but if a team is bad on defense already it does not matter whether that backstop exists.
If the Magic’s bench has improved defensively as everyone expects — Shelvin Mack, Arron Afflalo, Jonathon Simmons and Jonathan Isaac project as at least decent defenders — then perhaps Bismack Biyombo is set to have a stronger defensive year. He will spend less time cleaning up other player’s mess and be in better position to make stops and protect the rim.
The Magic can only hope.
Biyombo will have his chance to make his impact this year. He will have the chance to show he can still be a defensive force, one who can eventually push for starter’s minutes. The Magic would love for him to take that step up. The plan all along when they signed Biyombo was to use his defense as an anchor in the starting lineup.
That day may not be here yet. But the hope is that question becomes more urgent and pressing as the season goes on. That is a good problem to have — especially if it pushes Nikola Vucevic to a higher level.
Ultimately, Biyombo’s play is tied to his team’s success. If the Magic play strong defense, Biyombo will get some of the credit for it and the perception of him will change.
Maybe not completely though. Biyombo has a long way to go to live up to that massive contract he signed. It is a hill he may never climb.
Next: 2018 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Jonathan Isaac
In 2018, Biyombo at least has to get back off the mat and start making the long ascent.