Orlando Magic’s bench continues to lose team’s rhythm

The Orlando Magic were in the flow in the second half and expanding their lead. A lackluster bench game halted that momentum and was too much to overcome.

The Orlando Magic were flying high midway through the third quarter. They had just taken a 10-point lead, moving the ball with ease and draining outside shots. The Magic were grinding away and giving themselves all the opportunities to jump back into it.

The team showed a lot of poise to build that 10-point lead. It was gutsy and gritty. A team biding its time and grinding down a team that — by record at least — was worse than them. Orlando looked in control and ready to dominate the game and run away.

The Magic are still learning how to win. Their starters struggled to close out a close game, giving up a 14-4 run to close the game in a 117-109 loss to the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on Monday.

The loss falls on everyone. The Magic still have a lot to learn.

But it is hard not have the eye drawn toward the bench scoring in the box score. Indeed, it was after that timeout when coach Steve Clifford went to his bench in the third quarter. And it was from there the Wizards went on a 12-0 run and tied the game at the end of the third quarter.

Orlando then proceeded to struggle through the early parts of the fourth quarter offensively with poor shot selection and execution. And then get Washington into the bonus five minutes into the fourth quarter. The Wizards took 18 of their 33 free throws in the fourth quarter.

The stretch of play in the late third and early fourth quarters turned a game Orlando seemed ready to take control into one the team was scrambling to come back from. One where the Magic quickly gave into frustration.

The bench is an easy place to start.

Terrence Ross was again brilliant with 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting. He hit four of his five 3-pointers. Terrence Ross was a constant source of comfort offensively. The team fed him the ball out of desperation often and he constantly delivered.

But like last week’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic got little else.

The other players off the bench scored just 10 points on 4-for-17 shooting (23.5 percent). Jonathon Simmons was 2 for 10 on his own. The Magic’s offense with the full bench unit bogged down and killed a lot of the rhythm the team had built to that point.

Jonathon Simmons received some praise (or defense) from Steve Clifford after the game for trying to get into the paint. Clifford said he was taking shots he is confident he will make. And Jonathon Simmons was able to contribute defensively, helping lock down Bradley Beal and Washington’s own struggling bench (Jeff Green scored 18 of the team’s 32 bench points).

But for a Magic team that does not have someone who can take over a game like John Wall — and he did so once again in the fourth quarter putting pressure on the Magic’s defense with his driving ability — lapses in energy and execution can spread between units.

The bench’s role is mostly to keep the boat steady. But instead, the team lost its buoyancy in those moments. And the Magic were not able to recover.

Throughout the late third and early fourth quarter, Jonathon Simmons and Jerian Grant got caught doing the things they cannot do — stationary or probing dribbles without much purpose. The team’s offense devolved into standing around and watching those players try to create something in the paint.

Simmons was 2 for 10 and had a team-high three turnovers. He dribbled himself into traps and forced up difficult shots.

Jerian Grant was not much better. After two solid games, Grant struggled again with the very struggles that had slowed down the team’s development. Grant finished with just three points and three assists. But he took the team out of its flow with his constant dribbling.

Orlando Magic

As Zach Lowe of ESPN pointed out on Friday, Grant entered the game seventh in the league in dribbles per touch among players who play at least 15 minutes per game. D.J. Augustin, for what it is worth, ranks ahead of him. But Grant is the only backup point guard on that list. And his offensive struggles — unlike Augustin who is shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc — make that touch time all the more obvious.

Too often as the game wound through that middle phase of the second half, Grant or Simmons would dribble the ball seemingly in place unable to generate much offense and then dish it off to Ross with a few seconds remaining on the shot clock, hoping his hot shooting would bail the team out.

The Magic remained tied at the end of the third quarter. And Orlando still had things close in the fourth quarter. But the damage was done.

The flow and energy offensively were broken. Orlando was reduced to isolation plays and struggling to create the ball movement. It gave the Wizards more confidence offensively. And the turnovers that started with that group began to spread once again.

Further, the team’s poor defense through that stretch put the Magic in a deep hole. Those 18 free throw attempts started with the Magic putting the Wizards in the bonus early. As Evan Fournier said after the game that put undue pressure on the Magic’s defense throughout the rest of the game. The Wizards took full advantage.

Orlando cannot point solely to the team’s bench for why it lost this game. The poor execution in the fourth quarter from both units — especially the starters — were the ultimate cause for the defeat.

But the pattern of the bench losing leads and struggling to keep the team’s strong rhythms has persisted. Orlando has lost momentum with poor bench play before. They have allowed that play to bring the starters back in trying to force things in the same way. When the bench plays well, it seems to suggest the team will win.

Clifford said he likely would not change his rotation until the team was about 15 games into the season. It is getting to that point where the Magic should consider some changes as players continue to struggle. It might be an opportunity to give Wesley Iwundu more minutes once Jonathan Isaac returns. Or maybe give Isaiah Briscoe a look if Jerian Grant continues to struggle.

Likely Orlando will stick with its current rotation for now. The Magic have experienced enough success and given themselves plenty of chances to win in the meantime.

The Magic are still a team with a small margin for error. They still need everything to fall the right way. A little trip can send the game from what looks like a sure win to a frustrating defeat.

That is certainly what happened Monday night. The Magic still showed their inconsistency and how they need everyone to lift each other up, finding a way to make up for each other’s flaws.