Orlando Magic showing signs of defensive improvement

The Orlando Magic have struggled on defense the last month of the season as they have fallen down the standings. Recently, it looks like the D has picked up.

The Orlando Magic were reeling in Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. Their offense was struggling to keep up and close down the deficit against the struggling Hawks team. And Dennis Schroder was rolling.

He was finding his way into the lane, getting past the initial wave of defense, and forcing the second level to help. That is when he could distribute the ball. The Magic needed to make an adjustment on the defensive end.

That has seemingly been the case for much of the last month ever since the Magic started losing. The defense has fallen off a cliff in that time period. It was not just mere slippage, a loosening of principles that comes when the team loses out on practice time in the course of a season.

This felt different. In some ways, it felt the team’s flaws were exposed. Elfrid Payton struggling to get around screens. Nikola Vucevic struggling to step up in pick and rolls and defend the rim. All of those defensive struggles coming forward and putting a hamper on the team.

Orlando for a long stretch was one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

Against the Hawks on Wednesday, the Magic won because of their defense. It was Nikola Vucevic stepping up and defending the rim, using verticality to challenge and change shots. He recorded four blocks in the game and they were not simple tap outs.

The defense has made some shifts the last few games. And it is — cautiously — better.

"“I think the aggressiveness first of all,” Vucevic said. “We’re playing more aggressive. We’re forcing more turnovers as well. Our low man has been much better the last couple games. That was something that was a big issue for us. And just helping each other. And also I think we’re taking better pride guarding our guy one on one. Mostly it’s just effort and concentration.”"

The Magic gave up 96.5 points per 100 possessions in the win over the Hawks. That was a key reason for the team being able to survive their own offensive struggles. The Magic were alert defensively and scrambling much better. But it continued a trend from the last few games.

In the loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, the Magic gave up 98.5 points per 100 possessions. Even with all the fouling, the Magic’s defense played at a high level. If there was a silver lining to take from that game, it was the defensive effort was very strong throughout.

The same could be said about Sunday’s win against the New York Knicks. Orlando again held an opponent to less than a point per possession — 98.6 — marking now three straight games where the defense has played at a higher level.

Even going back to the win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Orlando Magic’s defense played better. The high-powered Thunder (and all their offensive struggles) scored just 106.7 points per 100 possessions. That is at least better than the Magic’s average for the season and better than their recent averages.

It felt like the team was getting itself under control defensively and finally producing on that end.

"“We’ve been smarter,” Aaron Gordon said. “We’re getting smarter on the defensive end. We have a better gameplan. We understand what we’re trying to do when we come into the game and everyone is on the same page. That makes things easier.”"

This is a small three-game sample size of course. And so there is still a lot of noise to sort through.

The Hawks are 23rd in the league in offensive rating, the Hornets are 20th and the Knicks are 16th. New York played without Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. Orlando was not exactly defending against a murderer’s row. And their shot went through a bit of a funk too, making each of those three games close.

Orlando is not out of the woods yet. This is a team that has posted a 107.2 defensive rating this season (21st in the league) and a 111.7 defensive rating in the last 15 games (27th in the league). No one is confusing Orlando with a defensive juggernaut yet.

But there are undoubtedly some things the Magic are doing better on that end.

Vucevic’s shot blocking in the game against the Hawks was a great step. But he did more than that. He challenged shots vertically — mostly without fouling, a problem against the Hornets — and forced Schroder to adjust at the rim. That led to more than a few misses and key misses. It was probably his best defensive game in some time.

The Magic defense has ramped up considerably. In the last three games — a small sample size with all those caveats mentioned — Orlando has given up 56.8 percent shooting at the rim. That is the third-best mark in the league over the course of three games.

Orlando for the season gives up 64.1 percent. Vucevic gives up 63.4 percent field goal percentage at the rim. Among centers who average at least 28 minutes per game, that is the fifth-worst mark in the league.

Improving defense in the paint has been a priority for the team for some time. And improved rim protection helps.

"“We need better rim protection whether it is guards coming up and taking charges or our bigs doing better keeping their bodies in front of the ball,” coach Frank Vogel said. “To me, it doesn’t matter if you block the shot or force a collision. You have to get stops at the rim.”"

The Magic have had to change their defensive game plan some as they have struggled in recent weeks. The team could not rely on the same principles from before.

Vogel said the team has pulled back some of the adjustments and wrinkles they added throughout the season. With the team struggling, they are trying to get back to basics. He said he had changed the team’s switching rules and simplified things to help the team get back some defensive intensity.

Orlando Magic

Slowly the team is returning to its fundamentals on defense. It is far from perfect. Containment is not perfect and rim protection remains an issue. The Magic are still one of the worst rebounding teams in the league.

But the team is also scrambling a lot better. The effort and intensity are higher and the team is getting out to shooters and contesting shots better. They are finding a way to get stops.

Vogel said the team is competing at a higher level too. That is a baseline thing that was sometimes lacking from the Magic. And clearly playing that way has given the Magic a better chance at winning.

Now it is finetuning the rest of the gameplan.

"“I think it can still be better,” Vucevic said. “But obviously it is a big jump from giving up 120 for a couple game. In the last three or four games, it has been better. It was a good defensive effort. It wasn’t always perfect. Players are good in this league. It’s not always going to be perfect. If you keep fighting scrambling you will keep making good things happen.”"

The Magic are taking steps in the right direction. They still have a long way to go. But their defense is giving themselves an opportunity again.

Next: Orlando Magic earning every ugly victory

Orlando is showing signs of the defensive improvement the team will need. In this soft spot in the schedule — next up: the seventh-ranked offense in the Denver Nuggets — the Magic are finding themselves again on defense.