Orlando Magic’s depth proves to be the difference over New Orleans Pelicans
The Orlando Magic’s depth is proving to be a difference maker for the team in its fast start, delivering in the win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Marreese Speights has waited his turn on the Orlando Magic bench. The veteran center has played just 28 minutes in three games and has rarely come off the bench for meaningful minutes.
Part of that is expected. The Magic signed Marreese Speights to a minimum contract. He was not going to come in and take a large role. Speights said he asked his agent to explore a return to his hometown team after other opportunities fell through.
Despite his production off the bench in the last few years, Speights was going to be buried a bit on the depth chart. The coaching staff would know what he could do, they just had to find the right time to deploy him. And just hope Speights was ready.
Speights was ready when the Magic called his number. Foul trouble to Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac thanks to Anthony Davis‘ crazy versatility and aggression pressed Marreese Speights into action.
He proved to be just the jolt of energy the Magic needed.
Speights scored 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, making 6 of his 10 3-point shots as the Orlando Magic defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 115-99 on Monday.
This was exactly the role and the situation the Magic envisioned for Speights. He got himself shots by spacing the floor and rolling to spots beyond the arc. And he dropped them in, pulling DeMarcus Cousins away from the basket and spacing the floor for the Magic.
They just needed others to take advantage of that space. Everyone played perfectly off each other and his shooting demoralized the Pelicans as the lead got away from them in the second half.
That mindset was not quite a luxury the Magic could have last year. The team’s bench struggled throughout the year as one of the worst units by efficiency rating.
Much of the Magic’s hot start to this point in the season is because of the second unit taking such a huge step up. The second and fourth quarters are not a wasteland for leads, but rather a point where the team could find its energy again. The bench has become something reliable.
This year has been significantly different. Different enough, for the first time, for the Magic to go deep into their bench to pull out Speights. But other reserve players have stepped up to the plate throughout the season.
None more than Jonathon Simmons.
Jonathon Simmons followed up his career-high 27 points in Sunday’s game — one of the few bright spots offensively in the loss Sunday — with another 20-point game.
Even as the Pelicans were scoring at will in the second quarter, Simmons was the one keeping the pace going and pushing the Magic to stay afloat. He drove to the basket and attacked aggressively. His 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting and four assists are indicative of the aggression he plays with.
His energy, whether it always leads to team success immediately, is important for the team.
Jonathan Isaac too proved to be a boost as he returned from an illness Sunday. Isaac scored only four points and grabbed seven rebounds. But his impact goes beyond those numbers.
Take his defensive effort Monday in one important fourth-quarter sequence. Isaac blocked a shot emphatically and kickstarted a fast break for Simmons. He took the defender off the dribble and finished at the rim.
The Magic broke the Pelicans’ spirit with that play, all with their bench out on the court. It came from their reserves. It was the bench unit that pushed the lead back out to double digits and overwhelmed New Orleans in the end.
According to HoopsStats, the Magic bench is ninth best in the league with a +5.8 net efficiency rating.
That turnaround has been as key to anything to the Magic’s turnaround to start the season. They finally have a reserve unit they can rely on consistently.
And it seems like they have a deep bench. Those investments finally seem to have paid off after five years of searching.
Speights is the icing on the cake.
The Magic knew there would be a situation where they would rely on Speights. And Speights, being the veteran he is, would deliver. It may not be every night.
Other players have stepped up and won their jobs. Coach Frank Vogel, at least early in the season, remains hesitant to break his initial rotation. Speights is not going to enter the rotation anytime soon. But he will remain a weapon in Vogel’s holster when he needs an offensive jolt.
Foul trouble forced him to use Speights in Monday’s win. But he — and the Magic — could have faith in the players they were turning to. Vogel and the Magic do not have to play their starters heavy minutes. They felt comfortable — or less uncomfortable — when Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon went out with an injury.
That is how deep the trust has gone this year. Everything is clicking because it stays clicking through all 48 minutes. As David Locke described the Magic on the Locked On NBA Podcast, the Magic have a 240-minute rotation.
That is becoming truer and truer with each game. The Magic can keep the pressure on opponents at all points of the game. And when one unit is struggling for whatever reason, the other is there to lift them up.
Speights finally got his opportunity this season. He slid in perfectly when the Magic needed him, providing that jolt.
As he drained another three he bent over and rose back up in celebration. As he hit another 3-pointer to force a Pelicans timeout, the bench mobbed him. Everyone knew a game like this would come from Speights. They trusted he would be ready when his number was called.
Just as they have been able to trust when everyone has their number called. The Magic are stepping up to the bell.
Next: Grades: Orlando Magic 115, New Orleans Pelicans 99
That is behind their 5-2 start as much as anything.