Orlando Magic cannot rely on their offense as they search for their defensive backbone

The Orlando Magic had one of their best offensive efforts of the season Wednesday. But that is not enough alone. The Magic must be defense first.

The moments that fans remember from games are the ones at the end.

Nikola Vucevic had been solid offensively throughout the entire game, stepping out to the perimeter where Andre Drummond did not want to go and torching him throughout the game. Turning to the Orlando Magic’s best player down the stretch and in overtime was the absolute right decision.

And so when Nikola Vucevic sprung open on several occasions in overtime, Orlando made the correct read and fed him the ball. He missed. And the team will have to live with that, even as fans likely put ire on him for those critical misses late in the game.

After the game, Terrence Ross, who made both of the Magic’s field goals in overtime, said it best. The team got good looks late in the game and simply missed them. They have to find a way. There are no excuses.

To that point, the Magic had one of their better offensive games. They shot 50.0 percent from the floor, made 14 3-pointers, dished out 29 assists on 47 field goal makes and had a 116.2 offensive rating.

For a team that is one of the worst offenses in the league, this has to be a game that turns into a win.

But for the second time in a row, the Magic turned in a killer first quarter and the strong offense seemed to betray any notion of defense for much of the rest of the game.

To be sure, the Magic can play some really strong offense for long stretches. But this is not the central identity for the team. The key to success for the Magic is not on the offensive end, as important as that still is.

The team has always known its backbone needs to be on defense.

What has become abundantly clear — or should be — is the Magic cannot rely on their offense to get the job done. This team will always be better winning with its defense rather than relying on its offense.

The tone defensively was somewhat set in the first quarter.

Orlando set a season record shooting 75 percent (15 for 20) and making four of eight 3-pointers. It was an offensive tour de force, using a late push to go up 34-26. Things seemed to be good. But the strong shooting for the Magic always seems to hide their flaws.

The game was oddly similar to losses on the road during the recent road trip.

The team made 54.5 percent of their shots in the first quarter of their game against the Utah Jazz, building as much as a 21-point lead eventually. Similarly, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Orlando Magic made 73.9 percent of their shots in the first quarter scoring 40 points.

They lost both of those games. One strong quarter to start can get the ball rolling for the team, but it is not indicative of winning.

As Steve Clifford often tells the media, this is not a team that can show up and win or outscore many opponents. They know how they have to play.

And the way they have to play is on the strength of their defense. Their offense is simply not reliable enough for them to give an inch defensively.

It is disappointing then to see the Magic give away such strong offensive efforts like they did against the Detroit Pistons.

Orlando has had some surprisingly poor results in their best offensive games this season. The Magic are 9-5 in their best 14 offensive games this year (where they score more than 113 points per 100 possessions).

Yes, Orlando won the team’s top five offensive games this year. So good offense does give the team a chance to win. But it is no guarantee.

Not like the defense.

In the Magic’s top 14 defensive games this year, they are 10-4. Three of those four losses occurred when the team’s offense scored fewer than 95 points per 100 possessions.

The Magic’s defense then keeps it in games it probably should not have a chance to win with such poor offense. But it is hard to say the same thing about the other end.

This is the result anyone should expect from this team.

It is no surprise the Magic are one of the worst offensive teams in the league. Without a strong playmaker or a consistent scorer, Orlando is constantly working to manufacture points. They need strong ball movement and cutting to create the open looks that will get the offense going.

That is precisely what happened in the first quarter Wednesday night. But it is not always sustainable.

Orlando Magic

What is and must be sustainable is the team’s strong defense. Orlando was never really engaged defensively in this game.

Despite one of the best offensive efforts of the season, the Magic gave up 120.0 points per 100 possessions. That is the seventh worst defensive effort this season.

The Magic are at the midpoint of their season. The Eastern Conference has been forgiving enough to keep them well within the Playoff race. Orlando has to know how it needs to play to win.

It starts on the defensive end. It starts with closing down the paint and challenging shots. That effort certainly includes working the defensive glass, an area the Magic struggled with a lot particularly down the stretch Wednesday.

None of this is new. And Orlando has experienced success this year because the team has largely done these things well.

The Magic are 14th in the league in defensive rating. It is not the top-10 mark Clifford wanted, but it is strong progress for a group that has not ranked that highly in defensive rating since the rebuild began (the 2016 team finished 17th in the defensive rating).

Similarly, Orlando has usually done well keeping opponents to one shot. The Magic are seventh in the league in defensive rebound rate, grabbing 73.7 percent of available defensive rebounds.

Orlando had a 61.2 percent defensive rebound rate in the loss to Detroit. A sure sign the team’s defense was not getting the job done or playing with the proper physicality, intensity and attention to detail.

The Magic’s offense will still be a problem. Even if the team plays good defense. But what should become exceedingly clear is the Magic are rarely going to win if their defense is not locked in and dialed in.

That is not what happened in this critical game. And with the offense rolling in a way that is rare for this team, the Magic did not have what should be their most reliable trait.