Orlando Magic’s young guns deserve a longer leash

It is as obvious as ever the Orlando Magic’s bench unit needs a shakeup and that the young guns deserve some more run, even after a win over the New York Knicks.

The New York Knicks did not need their two best players – Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. – to make Sunday’s game against the Orlando Magic a close one.

Nikola Vucevic was a +13, scoring 34 efficient points including 12 in the fourth quarter. Evan Fournier offered 20, Elfrid Payton 15, Aaron Gordon 10 and Jonathon Simmons 16. Together, those five shot 52 percent from the field for 95 total points.

The starters were, for the most part, very good. It was especially obvious at the start of the game.

At the end of the first quarter, the Magic led 36-25 and were shooting 61 percent from the field. They began with eight assists on just two turnovers. Guys were driving and kicking, dishing to the open man and sharing the ball until someone got a good shot.

The bench unit was a different story. Bismack Biyombo and Marreese Speights have played together far more frequently than they should, as Speights has taken over as the backup power forward in Jonathan Isaac’s stead.

Somehow, that pairing was one of Orlando’s best two-man combinations heading into Sunday’s game. It had a +6.8 net rating (for reference, only three NBA teams have a better net rating: the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors). Considering the multitude of reasons that playing two centers together rarely works in the modern NBA, that number was very surprising.

Frank Vogel’s two-big contingency plan came down to earth against the Knicks, as the Magic’s entire bench mustered a grand total of 10 points. The offense bogged down completely.

The Magic clearly miss Terrence Ross and Jonathan Isaac. With those two out, the bench will unavoidably have issues. Vogel was always going to have to experiment with unconventional combinations. But Marreese Speights and Bismack Biyombo together should not have been the first contingency plan when Jonathan Isaac went down.

Orlando Magic

Although Speights is clearly far too slow to guard most power forwards, the second unit’s issue is not defense. The two-big pairing held opponents to a meager 41 percent effective field goal percentage before Sunday’s game.

The problem is offense. The lineup has no shot creation, not enough spacing and cannot get up and down the floor like it needs to.

Per NBAwowy.com, Speights and Biyombo play at a pace of 92.7 possessions per 48 minutes together. That is a full 10 possessions per 48 minutes slower than the team’s average and would be last in the NBA by a wide margin.

The Magic need a unit that can keep the offense going especially when the starting unit begins to stop the ball or stagnate. Isaac is clearly their best bet at power forward, but with him sidelined, they need to go with someone who can at least avoid bogging things down.

Orlando has some options to fill this role.

Mario Hezonja is currently out of the rotation. He looks to be on his way out of Orlando too. But if he is best as a 4, as Vogel has said he believes, he should have been on this bench unit instead of a second center alongside Biyombo. Mixing him in with this unit would not be that – it would just be the better basketball decision.

For all of Mario Hezonja’s faults, and there are many, he at least commands gravity as a real or perceived shooting threat. And he has the quickness to move around screens to put pressure on the defense.

He has decent enough passing and playmaking chops to make him worth a flyer over a second center. He is defensively limited, but at least has the quickness and puts forth the effort to keep up with an average NBA power forward.

Biyombo or Speights alone are both fine options off the bench. But they both must be paired with a speedier, smaller option at the four. Hezonja provides that if nothing else.

Like many of his teammates, Hezonja is still young and prone to make small mistakes that veterans often do not. That, among other things, often has led to his benching.

Similarly, Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton sometimes have shorter leashes than their veteran teammates.

The Magic are in a position where they could use an injection of youth and new energy. They are stretched thin with injuries and coming off a long losing streak.

But Wesley Iwundu and Khem Birch cannot even get into games during garbage time. They were just called up from the G-League on Friday. Jamel Artis and Adreian Payne are on two-way contracts. But they have spent all their time with the G-League affiliate thus far.

It is understandable that a coach who wants to win every game would not feel inclined to bet on a second-round pick, an international journeyman and altogether raw and unproven talent to execute his system the way he wants. Terrence Ross and Jonathan Isaac’s absence has led to desperate times.

If there were ever a time to take a flyer on some new faces in the rotation, that time would be now.

No one is suggesting young players receive minutes they have not yet earned. There just needs to be more flexibility in the rotations under these somewhat dire circumstances.

As with many teams around the league, it is obvious the young guys have a much smaller margin for error. After watching Sunday’s pitiful bench performance, it is obvious that margin should have widened a while ago.

Next: Grades: Orlando Magic 105, New York Knicks 100

It is at least due some new ideas and some fresh blood.