Orlando Magic Daily
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5 questions that remain for Orlando Magic at preseason’s midpoint

By Philip Rossman-Reich

ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 7: Jordan Mickey #25 of the Miami Heat goes to the basket against the Orlando Magic during a preseason game on October 8, 2017 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - OCTOBER 7: Jordan Mickey #25 of the Miami Heat goes to the basket against the Orlando Magic during a preseason game on October 8, 2017 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Bismack Biyombo, Orlando Magic, Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz
ORLANDO, FL – NOVEMBER 11: Derrick Favors #15 of the Utah Jazz shoots the ball against Bismack Biyombo #11 of the Orlando Magic during a game on November 11, 2016 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Can the Orlando Magic continue building their defense?

The big question for the Orlando Magic throughout last season focused on their defense. The team after the All-Star Break last year struggled mightily on that end, posting a 109.9 defensive rating after the break. The Magic were a bottom 10 team there last year.

The hope was the team would be able to build their defense in training camp and go from there.

Coach Frank Vogel is known for his defense. He has built some outstanding defenses throughout his career with some incredible defensive players. This Magic team does not have that kind of top-end defensive talent — although Aaron Gordon, Bismack Biyombo, Khem Birch and Jonathon Simmons all fit good defensive profiles.

Training camp is an opportunity to get a little bit better.

The Magic still have a lot of work to do defensively. The team still needs to improve its dribble containment and pick and roll defense. Orlando is still not overly proficient there. But the progress defensively has overall been good.

For whatever preseason statistics are worth, the Magic are fourth in the league with an 86.7 defensive rating. The team has been pretty good in the first quarter when teams are most likely playing their starters — 89.1 defensive rating, fifth in the league, and a stellar 105.5 offensive rating. That is not too bad.

It is also preseason. So those stats are relatively meaningless.

The Magic have had a habit of over-relying on help and collapsing into the paint, giving up open 3-pointers. That is something the team can clean up — and indeed, after giving up nine 3-pointers in the first half Saturday, the Magic made an adjustment and held the Heat scoreless from beyond the arc in the second half.

Orlando has gotten some good defensive play from Nikola Vucevic. Bismack Biyombo and Khem Birch have been active defending the rim. Jonathon Simmons is willing to mix things up defensively at all times.

There are things to like about this team defensively. No one is expecting this group to be a top-10 defensive team. But the Magic have some work to do to get their defense up to par. This is going to be a work in progress throughout the rest of the preseason and the regular season as a whole.