Can the Orlando Magic bring their defense back?
Again, the short answer is no.
The Magic were rolling defensively early in the season and that was a big reason why they were able to pile up wins. Even as their shooting started to return to normal. There were still some negative signs and some indications that the defense could collapse.
It was only surprising that the team collapsed a bit defensively facing all the injuries the team faced. it was hard to get much cohesion at all.
The Magic ended up with the fifth-worst defensive rating in the league in the second quarter of the season, giving up 109.7 points per 100 possessions. They continued to bleed points in the paint too. For the entire season, the Magic give up a league-high 49.6 points in the paint. That included giving up 72 points in the paint against the Washington Wizards on Friday.
That suggests defensive failures on many levels. the Magic are not a good defensive team. it is hard to point to much positive on the defensive end.
Almost certainly, the Magic’s inability to defend consistently is a big reason why the team collapsed as it did. Of course, it is not the only reason why.
The offense had a lot to do with things too. That was perhaps even worse than the defense.
Sure, injuries played a role. The team was never whole and its best offensive weapons were always seemingly on the shelf. The Magic had to play without its top two scorers in Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier for a fairly long stretch in the season. Players like Jonathon Simmons and Elfrid Payton could not pick up the slack around Nikola Vucevic.
And then, of course, Nikola Vucevic went down with an injury too.
Things just kept piling up. But, in all, the Magic had a league-worst 101.4 offensive rating in this time frame. That did not help matters.