What To Look For
Khem Birch’s stat line with the Orlando Magic last season was hardly impressive — 4.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in roughly 14 minutes per game. That is not something most fans would get excited about.
But with so many games where he was playing so few minutes, his per-game output is not indicative of his overall performance. Not by a long shot.
This might serve a better indicator of his ability.
In his final 17 games, Birch averaged 17.7 minutes per game, 5.8 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. Those are solid numbers for a backup big with a limited offensive game. Especially considering the Magic played him at power forward a lot of the time in an attempt just to get him on the floor.
For the record, the Magic had a 104.5 defensive rating with Khem Birch on the floor, a mark that only trailed Jonathan Isaac and (surprisingly) Marreese Speights. One of those things is certainly not like the others.
Anecdotally, Birch’s defense was extremely strong. He was probably the best pick-and-roll defender on the team among big men. According to NBA.com’s player tracking stats, Birch gave up 0.86 points per possession on pick and rolls to the roll man — good to be in the 70th percentile in the league.
At Birch’s best he was a wall. He was able to seal off the paint and give the guard enough time to recover or stick to the guard long enough to make his shot difficult. Birch had at least that much positional versatility.
Khem Birch might have been the best shot blocker on the Magic last year too. Even with Bismack Biyombo on the roster. The struggle was simply finding him time to play.
Birch’s offensive game is not a whole lot to look at. He has a rudimentary jumper and few post moves. His scoring is likely limited to put backs and rolls to the rim. That is plenty fine if his defensive level remains as high as it seemed in his first year.
That will also make it hard to leave him on the bench once again.