The Orlando Magic are laying down their defensive identity, looking like the team they surely envision with Mohamed Bamba and Jonathan Isaac locking down.
Who knows how much of Summer League a team can take to the regular season. The talent level is obviously not anywhere near what it will be in the NBA. And players are often playing roles they will not play when the games count in the fall.
It is still hard not to be impressed with so many potential roster players for the Orlando Magic buying in and smothering teams defensively the way the team is.
Melvin Frazier was flying to shooters and clogging passing lanes, at one point blocking a 3-point attempt to start a fast break. Wesley Iwundu was sticking to his man and making it hard for anyone to drive past him. He had a few instances when he tried to go for steals too much, but he was active and able to close out.
But what everyone wanted to see was the Magic’s two main young players and how they would fare defensively. They left no doubt of their impact defensively on the very first play.
There, third overall pick Jaren Jackson Jr. got the ball off a scramble and tried to drive the lane. There, Jonathan Isaac was moving to stand in his way. But before that could happen, Mohamed Bamba enveloped him. Jackson tried to shoot a floater and one of those two players blocked his shot, igniting a fast break.
It was an inauspicious start for the Memphis Grizzlies in an 86-56 Orlando Magic win at Thomas & Mack Center on Sunday night. The Magic’s defense dominated the day and fed their transition offense throughout the game.
Memphis shot just 26.2 percent from the floor with Jackson making just one of his nine shots. Orlando blocked eight shots in total. Isaac had five, Bamba somehow had just one and Frazier added two.
But it was less about those statistics and more about the way the Magic accumulated those statistics. Defense is rarely measured in numbers anyway.
Orlando was simply smothering. Isaac and Bamba seemed to close down any drives and crowd shooters around the basket. Any shot that went up near them was not only contested but altered.
As the defense collapsed around any drivers into the paint, drivers found little room to kick back out. Their passes back to the perimeter were often off target and the Magic recovered quickly. This is part of the length the Magic have on the perimeter too. They are able to close down space and make opponents rush even when they might otherwise be open.
The Grizzlies were clearly frustrated with the intensity and difficulty of breaking down the Magic’s defense.
Orlando continued to struggle to make outside shots — 5 for 24 from beyond the arc and 43.1 percent from the field overall. Isaac showed a willingness to take shots but hit on just 4 of 11. Bamba played only 15 minutes overall.
The Magic are trying to lay a foundation for their style of play. The new coaching staff is implementing its vision — in a very basic form — this summer. And they have to be encouraged with the results. Especially Sunday night.
Orlando in its two Summer League games has been dominant defensively. Especially when Isaac and Bamba are on the floor together.
This is certainly a preview of what the Magic want to be when the regular season begins. It is hard to say whether this will translate perfectly — it probably will not, this is Summer League. But this kind of buy-in and commitment looks like the vision the Magic have.
Isaac and Bamba clearly have that defensive mentality within them. Both of their defenses are far more advanced than their offensive abilities at the moment. And that is perfectly all right.
They have an advanced understanding of defense and positioning for their ages. And they have the talent and physical ability to make up for any mistakes they do make. At this point, it feels like those are few and far between. They are closing down the paint and making any path to the rim too difficult to navigate.
Orlando will need to have this mentality in October to make the whole system work. Coach Steve Clifford surely will remain a defensive taskmaster as he tries to establish his team’s culture.
And that defense can feed the offense in a major way.
The highlight of the game — outside of the blocks — was Bamba running down the floor and finishing a reverse-slam alley-oop. Bamba has shown the athleticism to defense and clsoe the lane just as much as he has shown the ability to run the floor and take up space on offense.
It all feels so promising. The Magic are dominating these Summer League games so far with the players who need to dominate. And on the end of the floor the Magic expect them to dominate. The other pieces to the puzzle will come together in training camp.
Next: The Orlando Magic have the potential to build a dominant defense
Orlando is locking down defensively. And if any of this can translate, then Summer league will be well worth it.