New Orlando Magic starting lineup provides cosmetic changes. . . for now

The Orlando Magic made a change to their starting lineup. It was largely a cosmetic one as the results after one game showed much of the same on defense.

Terrence Ross approached coach Frank Vogel a few games ago volunteering to go to the bench. The team was mired in a losing streak and Terrence Ross himself was struggling to get shots consistently, let alone score consistently. The Orlando Magic needed to make changes as they fell further and further behind.

Vogel pulled the trigger on a change, taking Ross on his offer. The Magic started Jonathon Simmons at shooting guard, bringing Terrence Ross off the bench, in Monday’s 121-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

As that final score might suggest, the results were mixed at best. And ultimately the team still fell in defeat.

This was not the lineup change many thought the Magic would make. Ross was coming around with his shooting slowly but surely and his defensive effort was never in question. This seemed like a move to make a move. Something simple the team could do just to make any changes.

What was also clear after Monday’s loss is the Magic might need a bit more. A change to the starting lineup was only going to take the team so far.

The Magic indeed played with renewed energy and intensity. Orlando was not going to get blown out again.

Yet. . . the starters again left the team a hole to dig out of. Orlando gave up 33 points in the opening quarter. The Magic had to chase the lead for much of the game. A better start did not deliver better results.

The final results too were evident. Only Jonathon Simmons had a positive plus/minus among the Magic starters — a +1 at that. It was hardly the encouraging effort.

The starting lineup of Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Jonathon Simmons, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic posted a 101.0 offensive rating and a 126.5 defensive rating in 23 minutes. It is indeed a small sample size. It is tough to draw too many conclusions.

Orlando Magic

But the lineup change Vogel made was largely cosmetic. He made a move that seemed comfortable and at least on its face to make the improvements the team needed. Simmons is nominally a strong perimeter defender. And he added a defensive intensity to the team, at least early on.

That quickly dissipated. The Pacers caught the turnover bug early on to give the Magic some life and some chance to get settled. But then they turned up the heat and took control of the game. Once again in the first and third quarters, the Magic fell behind.

Orlando’s best stretch with this new lineup and rotation came in the second quarter with the bench unit. Terrence Ross did find his rhythm with the second unit in the second quarter. And Bismack Biyombo — with his 88.2 defensive rating for this game in a mere 7.5 minutes — actually provided the defensive anchor the Magic so desperately needed.

There are lineup changes the Magic can still explore. There are still holes that need to fill.

Vogel had said in the past he did not really want to make any substantial changes until after he could get a practice with his new unit. But clearly, the team needed even a momentary boost.

Vogel is not likely to make those dramatic changes soon. He has professed on previous lineup changes that he owes it to the players to give them a decent sample size to make things work. When he inserted Bismack Biyombo and D.J. Augustin into the starting lineup for a time last year, he stuck with it for 15 games before making a change. It was clear then that lineup did not work.

The lineup Vogel used to start the game Monday showed signs of promise. It was not a complete disaster. With more time playing together, perhaps they can establish themselves again. One game is hardly a sample size to make any conclusions.

But the thing that remains evident is the flaws that buried this team in the first place have not gone away. The team is still weak defensively on the interior.

The Pacers scored 32 points in the paint, well below the average the Magic gave up, but they were still able to get into the paint and kick the ball out for open 3-pointers. Nikola Vucevic’s tendency to drop on screen and rolls gives opponents too much room to make plays. Victor Oladipo was walking into open mid-range jumpers when he was not getting all the way to the rim.

Vucevic is getting a lot of the blame — and he has not set good angles to corral and contain the ball — but the perimeter defense continues to struggle too.

The team’s energy can be great, and it largely was. But the results are still the results. Orlando was still digging itself out of a hole and it still largely had its defense to blame.

The team is not effective on that end of the floor. And the new lineup did not change that. Throwing Simmons into the lineup alone is not enough to change that. It appears the Magic’s problems are much deeper than a single lineup change.

Vogel said earlier this week he was considering a lineup change at nearly every position. He had to with the team struggling as much as it has. There is no scenario where a team will win many games giving up 120 points per game — as Orlando has in three of the last five games, giving up 118 in one of those outliers.

More lineup changes may be necessary soon.

Orlando still needs to shape up its defense. The offense has continued to churn and play well. The Magic are not falling anywhere offensively. Orlando ranks 12th in the league in offensive rating. The defense is the part the team needs to get under control.

The lineup changes the Magic made Monday night were largely cosmetic. The team needed to make a change. They will likely stick with just these changes for the time being. Vogel will give it its chance to breathe.

Next: Grades: Indiana Pacers 121, Orlando Magic 109

But the lineup change the team made clearly did not resolve the larger problems with this team. Perhaps a little more time will confirm what already seems obvious.