What Could Go Wrong
The biggest impediment to Khem Birch going out there and showing what he can do is just figuring out where to play him.
Birch is unequivocally a center in this NBA. Really in any NBA. Without a consistent jumper and a consistent offensive game to speak of outside of being around the rim that is really the only place he can go. And again, Orlando is stacked at center with Nikola Vucevic, Mohamed Bamba and even Timofey Mozgov on the depth chart.
Birch has to continue improving and defending at a higher level first and foremost. He was a good defender but it was still not an every night thing. Khem Birch potentially is as good a post defender as any player on the roster currently — even Mohamed Bamba, at least for now.
The question remains how will Birch’s game evolve and what kind of role can he carve for himself. Or better what role can he take.
Birch clearly needed more playing time in the atmosphere the Magic had last year. The team was tanking (for lack of a better term) and needed to throw the big man out there. He largely delivered for the team even if he was out of place.
Finding his place in this rotation is the biggest task left for him. And so he has to find a way to stand out.
For Birch, that means playing defense at a high level consistently. While Birch was never bad defensively last year, his strong games on both ends of the floor came and went. There were moments where he was the best defensive player on the floor for the Magic. And then there were games where he was almost invisible.
And adding some sort of offensive game outside of dunks — even a 15-foot jumper — would go a long way to helping him secure his spot.
Maybe that is all asking too much. It felt like at the end of last year, Birch had more than earned his time. But that time still feels so elusive. It is hard to understand why.